Most people wouldn’t go outside without putting on clothes, but many of those same people aren’t so careful when using unsecured wireless networks that leave them just as exposed. Travelers who are away from their secured home or work connections and jonesing for that Internet fix are especially vulnerable, often falling prey to password-free “honeypot” networks at airports and coffee shops that seem to good to be true. And they are. In many scenarios this can result in your computer broadcasting your private data to anyone in range, which is great if you’re running a charity for thieves or happen to love calling your bank and canceling your credit cards while in a different city.
There are a number of easy ways to protect yourself and your sensitive personal data while traveling. The simplest is to cut the cord for a bit, maybe read a few books and relax a bit, what with being on vacation and all. The solutions you actually want to hear include: always paying a few dollars to join secure encrypted networks, browsing on open public networks but avoiding any sites that require inputting your logins or passwords (not the time for online banking), or even bringing along your own portable router for creating a private encrypted network while connecting to public networks. You might also connect online through a VPN, if such a thing is available to you.
Unfortunately, due to the unending craftiness of criminal types, it’s important for a traveler to have their wits about them no matter which strategy you use for getting your wireless while in transit. Be careful even when joining secured networks; some diabolical hackers will even create so called “evil twin” networks, so that when you try to access, for example, ‘Legit Secure Coffee Shop Network’, you may see two networks named as such, or, worse, you may not see both and do your online shopping on the evil one.
The risks of falling for a bad network can get even more insidious than the obvious fears of losing banking or credit card information. Any information sent over an unsecured network via email or even using a social network may be captured and put to shady purposes. In some ways, having your accounts handed over to spambots or having inappropriate material posted in your name can be worse than an exposed credit card; in those situations there’s no bank to call to set it right and no insurance to cover your losses, only profound apologies to friends and family and the hope that your total embarrassment comes across as genuine. Even more horrible, the nastiest hackers can put programs onto your computer through an unsecured network, including malware that may record your keystrokes or enlist your computer into their legions of zombie machines, where your bandwidth can be used to attack websites or perform other malicious acts. The scariest part is, say you realize your email or logins have been hacked and go to change your password, or even add personal security questions. The hacker can’t possibly know your dog’s name or what high school you went to, right? But with a keystroke recorder, yes they do!
If using a portable router to bridge a public hotspot and set up a private network for yourself and any traveling companions, one tip for extra security is to not even allow outsiders to see that your network exists. You can accomplish this, on any router actually, by changing your router settings to disable the SSID broadcast. This renders your network invisible, i.e. it doesn’t show up on the list people see when checking for WiFi connections. Criminals won’t know to even try to mess with your network, and those in the know can type in the network name like it’s an exciting secret.
When you know the risks of using public WiFi networks, nothing feels better than being a step ahead of the hackers and logging in with confidence. Next time you’re at the airport, or even just at your local coffee shop, take a look around at the other patrons sipping their coffees and staring at screens. One of those people is a criminal (maybe), watching network traffic for juicy data, poised to pounce on a credit card number or personal login, ready to ruin lives. Then, log on to a secured and encrypted network, or take out your portable encrypted router, and just laugh.