WI-FI
Public WI-FI is not safe, but Internet providers could change that
A couple of weeks ago a lengthy article on Medium described how easy it is for somebody to collect data from users connected to a public WI-FI network. If you have not read it yet you should do it.
It has been an open secret for a long time that public WI-FI networks, where you do not need a unique username and password for access, are a safety hazard. Yet most people do not seem to worry at all to use them without any safety precautions. And that despite the fact that basic protection is pretty easy to accomplish, with the help of a VPN (virtual private network). As Wikipedia explains, a VPN “extends a private network across a public network”. It lets a computer or mobile device create a secure connection to a dedicated server, thus encrypting traffic that is being sent in between. While, as always, no guaranteed security exists, it is a good way to make sure your chat conversations, photo uploads and WordPress login data is not being compromised while you are connected to the open airport, hotel or café WI-FI (An increasing number of apps and sites use the TLS protocol which encrypts your data as well, but it’s not always supported).