How To Avoid Public Wi-Fi Dangers

Public Wi-Fi is ubiquitous now. Nearly every coffee shop, fast food restaurant, and airport offers it. It’s even hard to find a public park without Wi-Fi. But with that convenience comes risk. There are several ways you could be the target of an attack via public Wi-Fi.
The first is called a Man-in-the-Middle attack. This is when someone collects login information or other personal data as it is passed between your computer and access points. A hacker can then go back later and log in as you or use your information, such as credit card numbers.
Similarly, someone might set up what’s known as an Evil Twin. This is an access point that provides free public Wi-Fi but is also collecting all your personal information while you use it. The network name might be very similar to the network the store offers and could even use the same password. The perpetrator might even position the Evil Twin access point closer to where people are using computers so that the signal is stronger than the legitimate network. Stronger networks will show up on your computer at the top of the list of available networks.
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