However, public Wi-Fi networks also have a dark side. Despite the fact that free Wi-Fi is great, it’s not always safe. For instance, you may encounter malicious users on the same public Wi-Fi network you’re currently using. These agents can be hazardous to your safety and privacy since most of them are out to get your personal data. But enough chit-chat, you’re here to discover how to keep safe on public Wi-Fi networks and that’s exactly what we’re going to teach you.

Keep safe your PC on a public Wi-Fi Network

Conclusion

All things considered, there are several ways to stay protected while using public Wi-Fi networks. Not only does a VPN such as PIA re-route your traffic through its private servers (secure tunnel), but it also encrypts it. Thus, even if someone would intercept your traffic from inside the public Wi-Fi network, it would all look like gibberish, thanks to encryption. However, note that this feature should be only used at home/work, or wherever you can trust all the users on the network. With that in mind, we recommend you only use this feature in safe environments and if it’s absolutely necessary. It goes without saying that you should never ever use it on public Wi-Fi networks. Therefore, we’re going to teach you how to disable it. It goes without saying that turning off network discovery will make other devices unable to see you on the current network. A firewall’s purpose is to regulate the incoming and outcoming network traffic thus keeping your computer safe from attackers. This is how you can check if your Windows Firewall is running: If you have a third-party firewall installed, Windows Firewall will turn itself off automatically, and there’s no need to enable it. If you’re not using a VPN to encrypt your whole traffic, you should at least make sure you’re using an encrypted connection in your browser. It’s really easy to spot an encrypted connection since it’s marked by HTTPS. HTTPS is an extension of HTTP and it’s used for security purposes. Of course this doesn’t apply to apps or any other services where you can’t see what’s going on or whether or not your traffic is encrypted. However, checking the protocol in your browser is a simple and quite effective thing to do to ensure you’re alright. Remember, HTTPS – good, HTTP – bad. SPONSORED So, to avoid any accidental data leaks, turning off your Wi-Fi when you’re not actively using it turns out to be a wise decision. One such example is connecting to any public, unsecured Wi-Fi if the signal is strong enough. Yeah, that saves you just about 2 precious seconds, but it may also connect to a trick hotspot created by a malicious hotspot. Those are called Hotspot Honeypots. Do you want to know why? Because they make monitoring traffic of unsuspecting victims look like child’s play. However, one of the most common reasons is stealing accounts. All of them, if possible; your social media, bank accounts, cloud storage, you name it. It’s wise to take a step back and consider that these accounts are not exactly fair game. No, they have passwords to protect them. So what’s the first step you need to take to protect them? That’s right, choose a strong password, one that’s generated automatically if possible. Can’t remember all the mixed characters and symbols? You could just use a password manager. But wait, there’s more! In addition to using strong, uncrackable passwords for your accounts, you could also activate multi-factor authentication. That way, if the attacker manages to get its hands on your password, it will also need an additional confirmation to access your account. We advise against using your email address as a 2FA for obvious reasons. If the attacker grabs hold of your email address, it basically has access to everything you linked to it. They’re responsible for your device’s wellbeing, after all, especially when you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network. Just make sure everything is running smoothly by checking for updates every now and then. Well, you should definitely do that a lot more often than every now and then, but you get the picture. Without a doubt, using a VPN is just about the best way you can go about it. A VPN will re-route your connection and encrypt your traffic, keeping potential traffic monitoring enthusiasts at bay. However, if you’re not ready to commit to purchasing a VPN plan, there are plenty of other ways you can tackle public Wi-Fi security.

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