How To Change Wifi Privacy Settings

Techlicious editors independently review products. To assistance back up our mission, we may earn affiliate commissions from links contained on this page.

So y'all're at your favorite coffee shop and have hopped onto the gratuitous WiFi with your tablet to check your social networks, read the latest news, and maybe accept a quick peek at your banking company residuum while y'all're enjoying your latte. We're and so used to having Cyberspace access whenever and wherever nosotros need it that we don't often cease to consider whether logging into a public network is rubber.

Over the last decade, Techlicious has been tracking the dangers of using public WiFi, and we take found three major means these free public hotspots could get you into trouble. And to proceed you condom, we recommend five simple things you tin exercise to protect your privacy when you utilize public WiFi.

The 3 big risks of gratuitous public WiFi

Using public WiFi is like having a conversation in a public place: Others can overhear you unless you take precautions.

1. Your personal data is sent in clear text

If y'all don't take precautions, information your devices send over a public WiFi network goes out in clear text — and anyone else on the network could hands have a look at what you're doing with but a few unproblematic software tools.

Someone spying could easily selection up your passwords or other private information. If you lot use the aforementioned password on multiple sites, that could be a big problem. This is the biggest concern with public hotspots.

2. Y'all connect to a honeypot WiFi hotspot set up past thieves

The next potential problem is what is called a honeypot. Thieves might ready their own WiFi hotspot with an unassuming proper noun like "Public WiFi" to tempt you to connect and so they can catch up any data y'all transport. These are easy to fix without whatever kind of special equipment — it could be done only using a laptop or smartphone — so y'all could come across them anywhere.

iii. Hackers hijack your connection to social media and other sites

Finally, using public WiFi puts you lot at risk for session hijacking. This is when a hacker who'due south monitoring your WiFi traffic attempts to accept over an open up session you have with an online service (like a social media site or an email client) past stealing the browser cookies the service uses to recognize who you are. Once hackers have that cookie, they tin can pretend to be you on these sites or even detect your login and password information stored inside the cookie.

5 ways to stay safe on public WiFi

one. Know your network

Before you connect, exist sure you know whose network you're connecting to so you lot don't fall prey to WiFi honeypots. If you're not certain what the public network at a business is chosen, enquire an employee before connecting. And bank check to make sure your figurer or smartphone is not set up to automatically connect to WiFi networks other than your work or home — or set it to enquire yous before connecting. This way yous'll be sure you know what you're connecting to when y'all connect.

2. Go on your connection secure

Make sure to connect to websites via HTTPS, which encrypts anything you send and receive from the website. While a VPN service encrypts everything you send, HTTPS ensures that communication to and from a detail website is secure. To verify if you're connected via HTTPS, look at the address bar of your browser window; you lot should see "HTTPS" at the beginning of the spider web address (or, on some web browsers, a lock icon).

three. Use a VPN

If you lot apply a VPN service, anyone trying to steal your personal information will meet only encrypted information. Based on our ain testing, as well equally tertiary-party analysis, nosotros recommend SurfShark (on sale for $2.49 per month). Information technology receives top marks for speed and privacy from AV Test Comparatives and is recommended by many other third party testers, including Security.org, Top10VPN, PCMag, and more. We also similar the free version of ProtonVPN yous're looking to protect just one device (just your laptop or just your phone). ProtonVPN is also recommended by ZDNet and Digital Trends and sits in the heart of the pack for speed, according to AV Exam Comparatives.

four. Use two-factor authentication

Whenever yous can, use two-factor authentication, which requires both a countersign and a secondary lawmaking that changes regularly, for websites and apps. This makes information technology very difficult for hackers to get at your accounts because even if they can get your password, they won't have the secondary code. Though not all services back up it, many popular sites offer this level of security including Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Apple and Microsoft. Authy has a list of sites that support two-factor authentication.

5. Disable file sharing

Make certain your estimator isn't configured to share admission to files or exist seen on public or guest networks. When you lot're at habitation, it may be convenient to keep things in a binder y'all share with other members of the household, but that's less safe when you're connecting to public WiFi.

Disable sharing in:

Windows 10: Go to Command Panel > Network and Net > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings. Turn off file and printer sharing and network discovery and salve changes.

Mac OS 10: Go to System Preferences > Sharing and be sure that File Sharing doesn't take a check marking past it.

Skilful luck, and condom browsing!

[This feature has been updated on 7/23/2021]

[adult female with laptop via Shutterstock, HTTPS image via BigStockPhoto.com]

Elizabeth Harper is a author and editor with more than a decade of experience covering consumer technology and entertainment. In improver to writing for Techlicious, she'southward Editorial Director of Blizzard Watch and is published on sites all over the web including Time, CBS, Engadget, The Daily Dot and DealNews.