The information age that we currently live in is characterized by many positive changes triggered by new technology. New devices and optic internet, provided fast data transfer and convenient communication channels. Unfortunately, just like everything else in life, the concept of dualism applies here, too. A positive change can’t happen without some negative side effects.
For instance, nowadays we can easily transfer data and access the internet from everywhere, however, we are not always 100% sure that our personal data is protected and safe. Especially, after the Facebook Cambridge Analytica data scandal, the awareness about online privacy has been raised in the public eye.
The abuse of your personal data for marketing purposes is not the only problem. There are fraud and phishing activities on the internet that can cause serious personal damage and financial losses. The risk to be victimized by these activities is higher if you travel a lot and you expose your data to public Wi-Fi spots. That’s right, not all public WIFI is safe. It might not be a surprise to you, but many people still believe, for example, in the safety of the airport internet.
If you travel frequently, and you carry work-related devices with you where all the sensitive data is stored, you need to be careful of how you use the public internet. Even if you do take safety measures and visit only websites created with the best website platform for small business, there is no guarantee that your data will be safe. Everything is not so bad out there, there are few measures you need to undertake in order to secure your data from external frauds.
1. Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Fortunately, with VPN you can be safe even if you use a public Wi-Fi connection. The service secures your connection by encrypting the data and making sure your online browsing is completely safe. By using a VPN, you will be also protected by “man in the middle” attacks or users that can abuse the data traffic in the public Wi-Fi connection.
There are various VPN possibilities available on the internet. However, the paid services are the best solution as you will get all of the functionalities such as speed and protection for a very low subscription.
2. HTTPS everywhere
If you believe that by doing usual browsing you will be safe, you are wrong. Even if you use the public Wi-Fi at the airport just to read the news, valuable data can be exposed, such as log in credentials or your personal pins and passwords. In order to stay completely safe, you would want to surf the webs with HTTPS encryption.
Many websites do have HTTPS, however, if you want to have 100% security, you can install extensions such as HTTPS everywhere that will help you stay protected all the time. The extension is available for all browsers on the market and is very easy to use and install.
3. Secure password
When you are connected to a public Wi-Fi, make sure you do not log in to any important accounts where sensitive data is stored. You need to remember that your data fraud can happen in just a few minutes after you entered the password in the browser. Please avoid logging into bank accounts, entering your credit card details or do any online shopping. Identity theft is the most common online crime in the last couple of years. In order to prevent it, you need to make sure your password contains special characters; therefore, it will be harder to decode it.
Using the same password for all of your accounts is also another way your data can get exposed. It’s, of course, easier to remember one password instead of a dozen, however, the risk of online fraud will be very high.
When they crack at least one password, they will try to log in with every account you have stored on your computer. Therefore, if you have the same login credentials for most of the websites, all of your personal data can get stolen and abused for various purposes.
It’s best if you avoid using public Wi-Fi when you are traveling with your work-related devices. If you must be online all the time, then please make sure you are using certain measures to protect your data. Do not rely on luck as the next online crime victim can, in fact, be you.
