Use Public Wi-Fi Safely! #AAH
We are still working hybrid may be from coffee shops etc. or maybe you have some time before your flight and you want to finish some work. In such scenario we end up using the internet service made available at the venue.
Wi-Fi hotspots in coffee shops, libraries, airports, hotels, universities, and other public places are convenient, but often they’re not secure. If you connect to a Wi-Fi network and send information through websites or mobile apps, someone else might be able to see it.
Public Wi-Fi Isn’t Secure
When you’re at home, you can take steps to keep your home wireless network secure — like using a strong router password, limiting what devices can get onto your network, and turning on encryption, which scrambles the information you send over the internet into a code that can’t be read by others.
But when you’re using your favorite coffee shop’s Wi-Fi, there’s not a lot you can do to control its network security.
If the network isn’t secure, and you log into an unencrypted site — or a site that uses encryption only on the sign-in page — other users on the network can see what you see and send. They could hijack your session and log in as you. New hacking tools — available for free online — make this easy, even for users with limited technical know-how. Your personal information, private documents, contacts, family photos, and even your login credentials could be up for grab
When you sign on to public Wi-Fi, you may also be sharing your data with the companies providing the Wi-Fi. Many public Wi-Fi networks such as in airports and hotels will also prompt you to install a “digital certificate” to use their internet. They may do this to scan your traffic for malware — but this also allows them to read your traffic, even if it’s to a site using https (which encrypts information
SAFETY STEPS TO FOLLOW:
- Connect to websites securely. If you see https in the web address, you have a secure connection to the website. But using https does not mean a website is legit. Scammers know how to encrypt sites, too. They know that people assume https means a website is safe — so they’ve started adding it to their websites, as well. So your data is encrypted on its way to the site, but it won’t be safe from scammers operating that site.
- Consider using a VPN app.A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is the most secure option to surf on public networks.
- Several virtual private networks, known as VPNs, offer encryption.
- VPNs encrypt your data traffic and act as a protected tunnel between the client (browser) and server.
- Another potential benefit to VPNs, is they mask your IP with their own IP addressfrom different location. You could physically be in the Australia, but your VPN would show that you’re in a different location.
- Not all VPN services are created equal. There are some free VPNs that are less secure than the paid ones.
- Use your mobile data. Your mobile data is usually encrypted. If you’re on the go, don’t have the option of using a secure website, and have no VPN encryption, consider using your mobile data instead of Wi-Fi. This is a good option when you’re putting personal information into apps, since it can be hard to know if they’re encrypted.
- Don’t access your personal or financial information. Always assume a public Wi-Fi network isn’t secure.
- Log in or send personal information only to websites you know are fully encrypted. To be secure, your entire visit to each site should be encrypted (meaning that the URL starts with https) — from the time you log in to the site until you log out. If you think you’re logged in to an encrypted site but find yourself on an unencrypted page, log out right away.
- Don’t stay permanently signed in to accounts. When you’ve finished using an account, log out.
- Don’t use the same password on different websites. It could give someone who gains access to one of your accounts access to many of your accounts.
- Pay attention to warnings. Many web browsers alert you before you visit a scammy website or download malicious programs. Don’t ignore those warnings. Also keep your browser and security software up to date.
- Change your device’s settings so it doesn’t automatically connect to nearby Wi-Fi. That way, you have more control over when and how you use public Wi-Fi.
Keep the Firewall Enabled
Turning on the firewall can prevent hackers’ unauthorized external access to your system. A firewall won’t provide complete protection, but it’s a setting that should always be enabled.
A firewall also acts as a barrier that protects your device from data-based malware threats. It actively monitors the data packets that come from networks and checks whether they’re safe or not. If it sees any malicious data packet, it gets blocked by the firewall. By blocking certain kinds of data, the firewall protects your computer or network and safeguards your data from attacks.
Use Antivirus
Antivirus can help protect you while using public Wi-Fi by detecting malware that might get into your system while using the shared network. Always make sure to use latest versions of antivirus program that is installed on your device.
- Always use 2 factor authentication – this way, even if a hacker obtains your username and password, they still won’t be able to access your accounts.
- Always check forget network after using public Wi-Fi.
- Don’t run financial transactions over public networks.
Please do watch the video for detailed safety tips.
Stay Aware, Stay Safe.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
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ABOUT ‘AKANCHA AGAINST HARASSMENT’
‘Akancha Against Harassment’ is India’s largest social impact initiative against cyber harassment. It was founded by Miss Akancha Srivastava in February 2017. Its a not-for-profit Section 8 organization.
Honorary Board of advisors
Foundation’s advisory board hosts – Former Special DGP RK Vij (Chattisgarh), ADG Navniet Sekera (Uttar Pradesh), Special IG Krishna Prakash (Maharashtra), Dr Poonam Verma (Principal- SSCBS, Delhi University)
Goals of this initiative
The initiative aims at Education, Empowerment & Bridging of general population with the authorities.
Support of the Indian Police for the initiative
Bridging is the most unique attribute of the initiative. We have a host of over 65+ senior police officers from across the country supporting us in content & awareness drive.
This unique strength helps us address any victim complaints that come to us as well as inform people about various measures of law enforcement across the country.
Multilingual AI Chat helpline for cyber safety
We run India’s only private national multilingual AI chat helpline for cyber safety. This helpline is currently available in Hindi & English on our website. It can be accessed from any internet enabled device. You can chat here anonymously, fearlessly.
Stay Aware, Stay Safe.