{"id":857,"date":"2017-09-25T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T13:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/?p=857"},"modified":"2020-04-27T07:57:24","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T12:57:24","slug":"5-tips-to-avoid-the-dangers-of-public-wi-fi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/2017\/09\/25\/5-tips-to-avoid-the-dangers-of-public-wi-fi\/","title":{"rendered":"5 tips to avoid the dangers of public Wi-Fi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Public Wi-Fi is everywhere \u2014 such as coffee shops, hotels and airports, just to name a few. But this convenience comes at a price.
\nPublic hotspots are an easy way for cyber criminals to track your online movements and steal valuable information. How? The same features that make free Wi-Fi attractive to consumers also make them desirable to hackers. It requires no authentication to establish an internet connection. This presents an opportunity for cyber thieves to gain access to unsecured devices on the same network.
\nJust how scary is unsecured Wi-Fi? Hackers also can use it to distribute malware. If you share files across a public network, the hacker can plant infected software on your computer. And that’s not just on single device. Because office devices are all connected through a network, a hacker with access to one machine through public Wi-Fi can make the jump to access all of the machines and information stored on that company network.
\nBelow and on the following pages are five tips to protect data when using public Wi-Fi, courtesy of Christopher Roach, managing director and national IT practice leader at CBIZ Risk & Advisory Services.
\n1. Use a VPN<\/strong>
\nThe best solution to prevent your data from being hacked is to use a Virtual Private Network, called a VPN, which creates a network-within-a-network encrypted tunnel to protect your data. Because some networks may block VPN traffic, the VPN should be sent across HTTPS, a protocol for secure communication, which is generally allowed on most networks.
\nA VPN is a must-have when connecting to your business through an unsecured connection, such as Wi-Fi. Even if a hacker is able to gain access to your data, it will be encrypted. “Since hackers are after an easy target, they’ll likely discard stolen information rather than put it through a lengthly decruption process,” according to Kaspersky Lab, an internet security company.
\nThe expense is less than you would think. According to PC Magazine, the cost of 10 top VPNs is less than $12 a month.
\n2. Make sure to use encrypted websites<\/strong>
\nIf you are unable to connect to a VPN, instead protect yourself when surfing the web by only accessing websites that begin with \u201chttps.” These websites are considered more secure (that’s what the ‘S’ stands for) compared to those that begin with \u201chttp.”
\nIn short, “http:” provides a secure connection over an insecure network.
\n3. Secure your computer<\/strong>
\nWhether you are in a private hotel room or public coffee shop, Roach recommends selecting the \u201cpublic network\u201d Wi-Fi option on your computer and not the \u201chome network\u201d or \u201cwork network\u201d options. The public network option locks down the connection, ensuring your computer isn\u2019t sharing any files or other sensitive data with machines on the local network. It\u2019s also important to be up-to-date on security patches and use a firewall, such as the one built into most laptops.
\nAdditionally, be aware of your surroundings. If you are working on your laptop in a public place, such as a hotel lobby, someone may be observing your computer screen behind you. If it’s not possible to sit with your laptop screen turned away from everyone else, periodically look around to ensure that no one is watching what you type. Norton, the antivirus and software security company, recommends to purchase a privacy screen, for use in public spaces.
\n4. Be careful when shopping<\/strong>
\nNever store your credit card, bank account numbers or business information on a website, or even in your device, while using public Wi-Fi.
\nThis includes using Apple Pay, purchasing an item on Amazon or accessing your online banking account on public Wi-Fi. Use different passwords for your business accounts and personnel accounts.
\n5. Limit access to social media websites<\/strong>
\nSocial media can be a necessary business tool, but logging into Facebook or LinkedIn and clicking on links from social media sites from a business device may leave your proprietary data at risk, Roach says.
\nIt\u2019s very easy for someone with malicious intent to infect your laptop by merely connecting with you on social media.
\nIn addition, hold off on visiting any sites that require you to log in with a name and password, such as financial institutions. Save visiting those sites until you are on a secure, private network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Public Wi-Fi is everywhere \u2014 such as coffee shops, hotels and airports, just to name a few. But this convenience comes at a price. Public hotspots are an easy way for cyber criminals to track your online movements and steal valuable information. How? The same features that make free Wi-Fi attractive to consumers also make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flagshipinsuranceservices.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}