Be careful if you connect to public WiFi

[AuchanX]

If you often visiting cafe to hanging around with your friends, you should be careful using public WiFi. We don't know how the cafe set the security for their customers but I heard the cafe can trace their customers activity while connecting to the WiFi.

I know this from conversation with my cousin when I meet him few days ago, he told me that many cafe's offers free WiFi to attract customers visiting their place. But some local cafe or public service places use this chance to gets the internet history of their customers, even they can get the log of banking credentials of their customers.

If you use free WiFi from a cafe or local store or hotel, you should not login to your mobile banking app but if you really need to login to your mobile banking app, make sure you use data connection from your phone to avoids the hacking.

Your security will be your responsibility so make sure that you can be careful if you connect to public WiFi and don't login to anything personal.

PS: I am sorry if this is not the right board. Please tell me and I will move it to the right one.

Another thing is that sometimes, even if there is no problem with the cafe's network, an attacker can launch another connection using the same name as the cafe's real network. And if we connect there thinking it is free, the attacker can send us to fake bank login pages, induce us to download software, or collect insecure information. Therefore, it is important to connect to the right network when connecting. And you should try not to connect to any outside network.

[AYOBA]

I don't think there's anything wrong with using public Wi-Fi. The most important thing is the device and what's on it that you connect to public Wi-Fi. If you have a wallet or other sensitive data on it, then yes, you shouldn't use it.

It look like you misunderstood his point. He didn’t stated that is wrong to use the public Wi-Fi, I think you don’t get his points well from my understanding is try to give advise for security purposes what he mean is that we should be very careful when ever we find ourselves not every public Wi-Fi is safe for us to use, because some cafe are very dangerous some may after your banks or wallets details .

However, if you have a phone that doesn't have a wallet or anything else that could be stolen, then I don't see anything wrong with using Wi-Fi

What you need to understand is that it is impossible for you to have phone and your into crypto without having your wallets or any of banks app inside, accept your using different of phones and even with that you will still install something very important inside, because you don’t know where you can find yourself at times.

[tabas]

I'm not risking my personal devices by connecting to any of these public wifis even if they're high speed. I usually avoid to connect to public wifi, I don't know if upon connecting to one leaves our traces to whoever has made it. Because hackers are also in the public and they might make their own connection that seems to be the public wifi even it's not. Pocket wifis are affordable these days and if we want to go to public places, airports or other countries. Just buy the sim card there that's available and have it loaded with data connection for how much gb you want to spend while staying on that location.

[Jewan420]

Especially when logging into important accounts or making any kind of transactions, you should not use public WiFi, as doing so will put your device at risk and the risk of accounts being hacked increases. Not only can hotel authorities or cafe authorities access your device information, but other people using that WiFi can also know about your internet usage history or steal your information or hack your device. Imagine a hacker attacking that WiFi while you are using or after using public WiFi, this may be enough for hackers to hack your device.

I usually do not use unknown WiFi, especially when logging into any account. It is also not safe to use other unknown or known WiFi in addition to public WiFi. Try to use your personal WiFi and use your phone's data connection.

[Patikno]

Your security will be your responsibility so make sure that you can be careful if you connect to public WiFi and don't login to anything personal.

I completely agree with you, using public Wi-Fi does require extreme caution. Hackers can launch attacks through public Wi-Fi, especially if they already have access to the same network. In fact, my biggest concern is the possibility that; the router has been modified to steal data from users.

Personally, I prefer to only use the network I own, whether it is using cellular data, or a portable modem. Even in a pinch, I will only use my phone, which doesn't have sensitive data on it, and I will immediately disconnect after using public Wi-Fi. Furthermore, when I use my laptop, I usually change the "Network Profile" setting to "Public" so that my device can't be used for file sharing. You may be able to use my methods to be safe, but still, I cannot guarantee you 100% safety from hacking, or data theft. Keep doing it on your own responsibility, and DYOR.

Well, I think you need to be very careful when using public Wi-Fi, or better yet, avoid connecting to it altogether. Sometimes, things that seem trivial can become a very big problem.

By the way, here is a reference if you want to read about our discussion this time, here : Cryptomus.com - Why Using Public WiFi Is a Bad Idea?

[Zoomic]

Public WiFi might appear to be very convenient to use especially when you're outside the coverage of your own WiFi and struggling to access the internet but you'll only understand how risky it is when you your private details are exposed for few minutes of using it.

Sometimes, it's not even the network owners that are targeting users but hackers and scammers who connect to monitor and attack other users.

Some persons might want to tell you safe ways to use them and not lose anything but I think the safest measure is to totally avoid public WiFi no matter how cheap they appear to be.

[Outhue]

Maybe this advice is good fof some people but you won't even see a public WiFi in my country because data is now a very costly thing, no business is going to run data and make it available for the public, gone are those days even unlimited data access have been cancelled because of data cost so no room for public WiFi over here.

If anyone have to connect to public WiFi they should verify from the staff first, because attackers can create fake network names that is similar to the legit ones for example...

Mamamias_WiFi instead of Mamamia_WiFi.

[IceLincoln]

I don't think there's anything wrong with using public Wi-Fi. The most important thing is the device and what's on it that you connect to public Wi-Fi. If you have a wallet or other sensitive data on it, then yes, you shouldn't use it.

It’s the number one precaution you should take, to never connect your device with sensitive information or documents to a public WiFi. Not properly secured WiFi always removes a layer of security which could be leveraged by hackers, either an insider or just some random hacker that knows how to infiltrate the system.

What they do is, they put themselves in the middle of your device and internet connection, making them serve like a third party or a router and that puts them in control of sieving just about anything.

The most precaution I do when I’m going to a new place is to research about them when unfamiliar and take necessary precautions to be online.

You have listed a good necessary precautions to take but then you going to research about a new place you’re going to, how does that really help?, what if, like you said there’s a sneaky hacker nearby waiting for who to ponce on,  can you know about that from researching the place?
I never really took connecting to public wifi seriously until I got into crypto, I knew your device becomes open in that instance but I just felt I had nothing they could take.
It’s important for newbies to know and take their security serious.

[HajiBagi]

If you often visiting cafe to hanging around with your friends, you should be careful using public WiFi. We don't know how the cafe set the security for their customers but I heard the cafe can trace their customers activity while connecting to the WiFi.

I know this from conversation with my cousin when I meet him few days ago, he told me that many cafe's offers free WiFi to attract customers visiting their place. But some local cafe or public service places use this chance to gets the internet history of their customers, even they can get the log of banking credentials of their customers.

If you use free WiFi from a cafe or local store or hotel, you should not login to your mobile banking app but if you really need to login to your mobile banking app, make sure you use data connection from your phone to avoids the hacking.

Your security will be your responsibility so make sure that you can be careful if you connect to public WiFi and don't login to anything personal.

PS: I am sorry if this is not the right board. Please tell me and I will move it to the right one.

I have been thinking about this free Wi-Fi for a very long time because there is one of my friend that start receiving many notifications from his banks apps and sometimes in his email about he should click on a link and that start happening since he went to register for a job at cafe where he use their Wi-Fi, i always advise him to not click on any links that he did not know anything about and he always believes in what i said and ask me sometimes if he sees anything he did not understand.

It will be difficult to see me using Wi-Fi of any Cafe or hotels because those Wi-Fi can not to your phone even when you don’t know the password, we should be very careful with anything that concern free Wi-Fi because some of us like anything free because they are not spending their money, we can not trust anyone and we should also remember that some free things are dangerous.

[Ishicryptic]

Public WiFi might appear to be very convenient to use especially when you're outside the coverage of your own WiFi and struggling to access the internet but you'll only understand how risky it is when you your private details are exposed for few minutes of using it.

Sometimes, it's not even the network owners that are targeting users but hackers and scammers who connect to monitor and attack other users.

Some persons might want to tell you safe ways to use them and not lose anything but I think the safest measure is to totally avoid public WiFi no matter how cheap they appear to be.

I'm always very skeptical about free things and that is why I try to avoid freebies as much as possible so declining free WiFi is a part of it, I've never been a victim before and I don't plan to risk being hacked so it's a big NO for me. You're correct that the WiFi providers might not be the ones that would be scouting for victims, scammers and hackers would always be around such vicinities knowing that a lot of people like free things and would visit such a place to get free data to access the internet and they would lay siege waiting to connect to their victims devices. I've been offered WiFi many times when I cannot connect to the internet but I've always respectfully declined even from people that I know, it's not like I don't trust them but I simply don't accept out of habit, if I have data and it's due to network ero I would simply switch off my phone and on it back and most times the network would restore.

[Rabata]

If you use free WiFi from a cafe or local store or hotel, you should not login to your mobile banking app but if you really need to login to your mobile banking app, make sure you use data connection from your phone to avoids the hacking.

Your security will be your responsibility so make sure that you can be careful if you connect to public WiFi and don't login to anything personal.

In any case, you should take care of your own security. It is not a problem if the WiFi network is public. What should be emphasized is that the network is real, that is, whether the network is configured correctly. Hackers can try to attack in various ways. They try to change traffic in many ways, including fake access points, MITM, DNS spoofing. However, to reduce the risk, HTTPS and end-to-end encryption are now mostly used especially for legitimate sites. Everyone must be careful from their own position. I would discourage using public WiFi for using any apps related to financial transactions. If necessary, it is better to connect your own mobile data and perform all those tasks.

[Awaklara]

Honestly, I have no idea how systematic the data or information leaks are related to public Wi-Fi. But I’ve heard about this a few times. So I really avoid using public Wi-Fi for important stuff like banking or anything like that. 
My question is, if I connect to public Wi-Fi and the device is only used to visit entertainment sites like YouTube or games, is there still any danger? 
Public Wi-Fi surely just records our device activity, not the personal details on the device we’re using, right?

[stadus]

I run a small business that provides internet service in a small city, and yes, I can confirm that I can see some of the websites or online services my clients are visiting because I manage the network.

The devices I use are Ruijie and MikroTik.

However, I cannot see their usernames or passwords because that information is encrypted. So I believe their private login details are still safe even when they are connected to my network.

[ImGenius]

If you use free WiFi from a cafe or local store or hotel, you should not login to your mobile banking app but if you really need to login to your mobile banking app, make sure you use data connection from your phone to avoids the hacking.

Your security will be your responsibility so make sure that you can be careful if you connect to public WiFi and don't login to anything personal.

I heard ISP can track users activity maybe cafe also do something like this to track connected users activity. they can track which application is open but they can't view username and password because those are encrypted content. If you use a reputable VPN you can get hidden from them.
Many hackers use public network to hide themselves maybe some hacker try to access other users information while they are at it. That's why we can't always blame cafe owner but the problem is actually real.

[qwertyup23]

You are right about this and we have discussed about it on this forum often, but your topic about it after a long time ago is also good so that many newbies can learn from it.

When I rent hotel room which is the place I noticed I am being offered free WiFi, I just decline it. I have enough data already and it is a huge amount of data.

I have a question- up to what extent can these providers get on your personal information the moment you connect to their WiFi?

Is it possible to leak your security details, passwords, and other personal information by mere connecting to a private/public WiFi? I really never thought about this given that most of my information are stored using some passwords. I wonder if this kind of security can pose risk to my information; and assuming that it can, why isn't it all over the internet or the news?

I am genuinely curious as to how they do it and up to what extent of my data can they get. Can anyone please enlighten and explain on how they do this and what can they get from my device?

[Su-asa]

This is common knowledge but it is going to be helpful to those that don't really know much about it. A friend of mine got hacked and this was actually monetary theft, he used a free wifi in a hostel and few days later he started getting debit alerts that he didn't authorize on online bank. Asides from gaining Access to your bank details they can also gain access to other personal informations as well.

[_act_]

I have a question- up to what extent can these providers get on your personal information the moment you connect to their WiFi?

Is it possible to leak your security details, passwords, and other personal information by mere connecting to a private/public WiFi? I really never thought about this given that most of my information are stored using some passwords. I wonder if this kind of security can pose risk to my information; and assuming that it can, why isn't it all over the internet or the news?

I am genuinely curious as to how they do it and up to what extent of my data can they get. Can anyone please enlighten and explain on how they do this and what can they get from my device?

I may not be exactly correct, but according to what I know about it, they can know the sites that you are browsing about, but if you are visiting just only sites that has security certificate, they can not know you password. But everything you are browsing can be known. When discussing about this, people are discussing about privacy and not security. But you know that they are linked, so all I do is that I avoid connecting to the public WiFi.

[Z_MBFM]

When you connect to a public WiFi, normally the admin can see the device's IP address, MAC address and device name from there, but if someone reads your WiFi setup critically for hacking purposes, then in that case they can monitor your browsing history. And now all websites use HTTPS in the sense of SSL, so browsing is always secure, so normally no one can see your browsing history, but with time hackers are also getting smarter. So of course, public WiFis should be avoided for security reasons. I always take a monthly mobile data package and use mobile data when I am outside the house and that seems comfortable to me. Although I sometimes use their WiFi when I stay at a hotel, but other than that I never connect to public WiFi anywhere else.

[GEMIN_M4]

Why would anyone want to connect to public WiFi 😕
It makes no sense to me.

Data today is something you can get easily from your service provider or bank app, with $1 you are good to go.
There is no reason for anyone to scan for public WiFi anymore.

What am I even saying? With $0.40 in my country I can buy data that will last me for three days, and I will have to waste it away watching TikTok video or downloading a movie to watch later.

[MusaPk]

Why would anyone want to connect to public WiFi 😕
It makes no sense to me.

Data today is something you can get easily from your service provider or bank app, with $1 you are good to go.
There is no reason for anyone to scan for public WiFi anymore.

What am I even saying? With $0.40 in my country I can buy data that will last me for three days, and I will have to waste it away watching TikTok video or downloading a movie to watch later.

We must avoid free public wi-fi specially on gadgets where our financial data like banking apps or crypto wallets are stored. Always buy data package from your mobile service provider according to your budget and if due to some reason you can't use mobile data then stay away from free public wi-fi as much you can. If you are connecting to some free or unknown wi-fi then you are giving hackers an opportunity to hack your system. Just few simple steps can save you from big disasters.