In places like airports you can easily connect to the internet thanks to public WiFi networks. However, bad actors can exploit them to access users’ personal data: here’s what it would be best to avoid doing.
Nowadays many people have a WiFi network at home or in the office. Accessing the internet at any time of the day has become a priority: in addition to study and work, just think about the use of apps, but also the importance of the connection for the smart home, for watching films and TV series with the various streaming platforms and much more. Clearly when we are away from home we cannot take advantage of our WiFi network and we have to rely on the GB of our telephone tariff. However, there are places where there is public WiFi that we can use to connect to the internet and not consume our Gigabytes.
Let’s think for example of the airport, one of the places where there is public WiFi made available to all travellers. An excellent resource, which allows those who are waiting to board – especially if their flight is delayed – to be able to easily access the internet to carry out a variety of activities.
Public WiFi, how many risks: better be careful
But the question that users often ask is the following: Are you always on the safe side with public WiFi or can there be privacy risks? In fact it is a more than legitimate doubt, as underlined by the expert consumer lawyer Massimiliano Dona. In addition to being a lawyer, Dona is also a creator and popularizer and is highly followed on Instagram (around 437,000 followers).
In a film from a few days ago, the expert explains why we need to pay close attention to public WiFi even at the airport. But why all this alarm? What are the actual risks involved?
Massimiliano Dona explains how cybercriminals are able to create malicious hotspots and in this way they manage to spy on our smartphone and therefore access our personal information. To do this, they take advantage of the public WiFi that we find in places such as airports: this is why maximum attention is required.
What should you avoid doing to avoid danger?
And what about charging stations? Are these tools also potentially dangerous? The expert consumer advocate explains that the risk associated with the charging stations has been reduced: however, if we notice a wire or transformer already connected, it is best to stay away.
How to defend yourself? The advice is Never access your email or home banking via a public network: in this way you protect yourself from possible attacks by malicious people.
