precaution while using wifi

Internet Safety is difficult and yet critical. Here are the seven key steps to internet safety and steps to keep your computer safe on the internet. Encrypting important private files and folders is a great method of keeping them from prying eyes that may have been able to access your machine through a Wi Fi network.

If you re accessing something sensitive on public Wi Fi, try to do it on an encrypted website. The HTTPS Everywhere browser extension can help with this by redirecting you to encrypted pages when available. If you frequently browse on public Wi Fi, you may want to pay for a VPNand browse through it when on public Wi Fi. Anyone in the local area will only be able to see that you re connected to the VPN, not what you re doing on it.

Compromised laptops and other devices may also be connected to the local network. When connecting, be sure to select the andPublic networkand Wi Fi option in Windows and not the Home network or Work network options. The Public network option locks down the connection, ensuring Windows isn t sharing any files or other sensitive data with the machines on the local network.

Most dangerously, the hotspot you connect to itself may be malicious. This may be because the business s hotspot was infected, but it may also be because you re connected to a honeypot network. For example, if you connect to andPublic Wi Fiand in a public place, you can t be entirely sure that the network is actually a legitimate public Wi FI network and not one set up by an attacker in an attempt to trick people into connecting.

Today, most tech users know how (and why) to secure their home wireless routers. Windows 7 and Vista now pop up a dialog box to warn you when youre connecting to unencrypted wireless networks. In a coffee shop, an airport lounge, or a library, however, people frequently connect without thinking twice and though using an unencrypted connection to check a baseball score or a flight status might be acceptable, reading e mail or performing any Web activity that requires a login is akin to using your speakerphone in the middle of a crowd.

Following the above tips should keep you pretty safe while you re using free Wi Fi, but if you are a regular traveller and often find yourself at coffee shops surfing the internet, we recommend a Wi Fi AC750 Portable Router. Not only will you be able to transform a public Wi Fi connecting into your own personal Wi Fi hotspot , you ll be able to use it as a full router, including the added bonus of setting up WPA encryption just as you would any other router. Wondering why you would want a full router while you re getting work done at your local coffee shop? Two words: firewall features. With those features you don t have to worry as much about your information being compromised while browsing the web so you can surf freely. As an added bonus, the WiFi AC750 Portable Router features 11AC technology for fast/dual band Wi Fi. Frequent travelers, I know you re in love.

Switch off the wireless connection when you re not using it. Also, don t forget that your device, especially if it s an Android, is vulnerable to malicious software. Norton, ESET, and Sophos all offer good mobile security and antivirus apps for smart phones.

Make your passwords difficult to hackandand unique, so if one is stolen it can t be used to unlock other accounts. Use a digital password manager if you have trouble remembering them all; Lyne recommends 1Password and LastPass.

Don t assume that a hot spot is real just because the name that pops up in your phone looks correct. If you re at a hotel or cafand, ask a manager to confirm the name of its networkandand that the network is encrypted (i.e., locked and password protected). While online, stay on encrypted channels by using the website prefix https(rather than http).

Even if you re on a password protected network, there s still the possibility that someone will intercept your transmissions. To ensure absolute privacy, use a VPN service, which basically creates a network within a network just for you. Boingo offers a VPN through its subscription plans (from $9.95 a month) that lets you access more than 500,000 global hot spots. The new Norton Hotspot Privacy service ($49.99 a year) will also route all your traffic through a private connection.