Who doesn’t like free Wi-Fi in today’s world where meeting on Facebook and WhatsApp has more importance than meeting face to face, and for that an internet connection or a Wi-Fi zone is needed. It is quite common to scan for and connect to public Wi-Fi networks which aren’t password-protected and let you connect to the Internet cheaply and simply. In fact, a typical selling-point of many restaurant chains nowadays is that they offer free Wi-Fi connection to customers. In fact, Tech giant Google on Monday announced the launch of free high-speed public Wi-Fi service at 15 railways stations across India over the extensive fiber network of Indian Railway’s RailTel, which provides internet services as RailWire.
Connecting to a free Wi-Fi can be cheap, easy and effective but there are certain risks involved too. Here are certain things which one should keep in mind while conceding to a free Wi-Fi.
1. Anyone can connect to the same network and spy on data communications
Yes, anyone connected to the network could capture the data traffic sent from your device, and there are simple, free apps available for this purpose.
2. Anyone can see which pages you’re visiting, or access the data you enter on unencrypted sites
It’s very simple to capture this information, and anyone could see what pages you connect to, what you write on a forum or any other type of unencrypted page.
Solution to this Chaos : One good way is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service. This ensures all data traffic from your device is encrypted. It doesn’t matter whether the site is secure or not, everything is encrypted. When you are connected to the VPN, the router’s DNS settings are not used in any event, so you’re protected from the types of attack described above.
Author’s Name : Pulkit Kalra
