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2026-01-05 blog.readTime
The Risks of Public WiFi: Is Your Coffee Worth It?
The Invisible Threat
Connecting to "Free Public WiFi" feels safe, but it puts you on a local network with strangers. Trusting a public router is like having a private conversation in a crowded room where everyone is listening.
1. The "Evil Twin" Attack
How it works: You search for WiFi and see "Starbucks_Free". You connect. But wait—the hacker sitting in the corner is broadcasting a hotspot with the exact same name from their laptop. You just connected to their device, not Starbucks'. They can now see everything you do.
2. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM)
Even on legitimate WiFi, if the network is not encrypted (no password), traffic is broadcasted in the air. A hacker can use software like Wireshark to "sniff" packets flying through the air, capturing cookies and unencrypted passwords.
3. HTTPS isn't Invincible
While HTTPS encrypts your data, sophisticated attacks (like SSL Stripping) can trick your browser into downgrading to HTTP without you noticing.
How to Stay Safe
Your Toolkit:
- Use Mobile Data (4G/5G): It's much safer than WiFi for banking.
- Use a VPN: A VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates an encrypted tunnel. Even if a hacker intercepts your data, they only see gibberish.
- Disable Auto-Connect: Don't let your phone blindly connect to any open network it sees.