Public Wi-Fi can be dangerous: What really happens when you connect your phone

New Delhi:

India has become much more advanced, with public Wi-Fi being installed in regions where people prefer to travel in and out. It's almost everywhere in the country – airports, railway stations, cafés, malls, hotels, and metro stations. You name it, and there will be a free network waiting which may tempt many users, who have limited mobile data to use for a day. But every time you connect your handset with one of these public hotspots, you are opening a wide gateway to major security risks. Many of us do not even realise how dangerous this public wifi could really be and the dangers of it in the current scenario where there are so many hungry cyber criminals waiting for prey to steal everything that they own.

What will happen if you connect your phone to a public Wi-Fi? 

Well, many of you must be thinking of what the worst can be if you connect your mobile to a public Wi-Fi. Well, chances are that your smartphone and the Wi-Fi router will start to chat. 

How is it different? 

Unlike your home Wi-Fi, these public networks usually are not encrypted – hence, they are unsecured, and anyone can barge in to them. This is an open invitation to the hackers who would like to snoop on your data.

With public wifi, hackers could get the following access:

1. They can track everything- and could have a close watch at what you are doing online
2. They could get your passwords to various apps – your Gmail account, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Bank details, SMS for OTPs, etc. 
3. Once they get the access, they will definitely mess with your banking information
4. They can easily slip in some malware to your device, which you may not notice but could do major harm.

Here’s what you are really risking when you use public Wi-Fi in India:

1. Data theft: We all know that the best and easiest way to find the bait for the hackers is the public Wi-Fi. They can steal stuff like your login IDs, OTPs, emails, and bank details just by sniffing out your data as it moves through the network.

2. Fake Wi-Fi networks: Some attackers prefer to set up fake hotspots which may look, feel and sound legit, but they are not. They may have names which could sound real- like ‘Free Airport Wi-Fi’-- which could simply attract anyone who is looking for Wi-Fi access. Hence, if you are think that you are connecting to something safe (yet unknown), remember, that you could fall into the pit of majorly escalated scam, where your lifelong savings could be drained easily.

3. Malware attacks: This is one very common mode of hacking a smartphone user, who is connected to a public internet. Once they are connected and linked their handset, the hackers mya push a spyware, ransomware or sneaky apps silently- which will keep running in the background without you even noticing it.

4. Account hijacking: In case you check your personal email or social media while connected to a public Wi-Fi, aND hackers could jump in, take over your accounts and could use your identity for who knows what.

5. Man-in-the-middle attacks: Hackers could intercept whatever you send between your phone and any website you visit and keep a track which could also be used to blackmail.

How to protect yourself if you get trapped in a public Wi-Fi scam

Here are some quick tips to keep up before you connect to any public internet:

1. Do not do any banking or UPI transactions while connecting to a public Wi-Fi. Its risky- and you should definitely prohibit it.
2. You must always use a reliable VPN. It scrambles your internet traffic so hackers could easily read it.
3. Turn off auto-connect for Wi-Fi: This way, your smartphone will not hop onto unsafe networks without you knowing.
4. HTTPS websites: Only use websites that start with HTTPS and show that little lock icon when you are entering personal info in any public internet space. Do not login
5. Keep your phone updated. Those software updates often fix security holes that hackers love to exploit.
6. Avoid downloading apps or files while you’re on public Wi-Fi. That’s an easy way for malware to sneak in.
7. Always log out of your accounts when you’re done using them on a public network.

Public Wi-Fi is convenient, but it’s not always safe. Stay alert and protect your data every time you connect.