Yesterday as my family was driving around doing errands the kids squealed with excitement when we stopped near a public WiFi hotspot and they were able to get their iPods online.
They didn’t need to enter any security information or credentials. All they needed to do was join the network and voilà, free surfing!
This isn’t really a big deal. They don’t have any information on their iPods that could cause them any real problems. Or do they?
- Email addresses
- Birth dates
- Phone numbers
- Passwords
- Addresses
Most of think banking, credit cards and government IDs when we think security but when someone who wants your information they will use anything to get in.
One study indicated that 39% of people have used WiFi to transmit sensitive information. 26% have checked bank accounts and 19% have paid bills using unsecured WiFi.
It really is that simple and dangerous.
What you can do to protect yourself
1.) Always ensure that the free WiFi network you want to join is legitimate. Ask the host
2.) Use a specific password only for WiFi hot spots. Have one password that isn’t used for anything else.
3.) Surf for fun. Avoid doing anything secure or sensitive on open WiFi networks. Save the good stuff for a secure network.
4.) Make sure your home network is secured with a password and go the extra step and don’t name your network with your family name or address.
5.) Make sure your file sharing options are set to private / no sharing / off.
Update:
Special thanks to Kristen Rose who shared this tip with me on Twitter in response to this blog post. Kristen knows what she’s talking about. Give her a follow to learn much more!
@T_Burrows great post Tim! I also recommend people turn off the settings on their device that allow it to auto search for Wi-Fi networks.
— Kristen Rose (@kristenjrose) September 22, 2014
Thank you Kristen
And another great follow up tip and conversation with @Paramedic_Mike and @ClickFlickCa. Thanks Jo for the boost about file sharing!
@Paramedic_Mike @T_Burrows Make sure your file sharing or remote access is turned off. This is screenshot for Macs. pic.twitter.com/u6VH9uSUuQ
— Joallore (@clickflickca) September 22, 2014
