We all do this and don’t think anything about it, but did you know that using these public “free wi-fi” access points at say Starbucks, McDonalds or even an airport is the most unsecure connection to the Internet you can get?
It’s true.
Most of the free wi-fi hot spots use unsecured and unencrypted data streams which basically means anyone that could be data sniffing has clear text access to what you are transferring from your laptop, iPad and in some cases even your cellphone.
While here in the Tri-Cities we don’t have a huge problem with this kind of malicious activity, but when you visit any number of the larger cities that are close to us you could be making your personal and business data available to these hackers or data sniffers.
The solution (since we all must use these connections occasionally)?
First off when using either Gmail or Facebook switch to an encrypted connection. Its easy to tell if you are using an encrypted connection because in your browser’s address bar the website address will begin with https:// instead of the usual http:// prefix.
For ultimate security though consider using a VPN (virtual private network) back to your office or home’s Internet connection. Lots of cell carriers offer these now too so if the expense of installing a VPN at your home or office is more than you want to invest in check with your cell provider to see if this is available to you.
