A nice clear and very graphic explanation of why wifi, especially public wifi, is a very dangerous thing to use. And no, it has nothing whatsoever to do with radiation – if that worries you, and it absolutely shouldn’t, you should be a lot more worried about your TV or radio and positively scared stiff by cellphones, heat lamps and electric stoves. Or light, for that matter. Dangerous stuff, light.
But, back to the article, most of the more frightening issues it illustrates can be dealt with using a good VPN, use of secure sites (like this one) and very careful attention to what you are clicking and what you are sharing. Others, especially those involving man-in-the-middle attacks and password cracking, can be much trickier to deal with.
If you are worried by this, and you absolutely should be if any of your devices uses wifi, including your home system, then there are numerous articles that will reassure you that you have some basic safeguards in place, such as:
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/amadoudiallo/2014/03/04/hackers-love-public-wi-fi-but-you-can-make-it-safe/ (good basic advice, but does not address some of the issues raised here)
- http://www.gizmag.com/how-to-stay-secure-on-public-wireless-hotspots/28694/ (a little more complex but a little better informed and offering a little more protection)
- http://www.watchguard.com/infocenter/editorial/27061.asp (for the geeks or those with a serious interest – a more detailed pair of articles on how wifi evil twins work and what can be done to avoid them, as well as other risks)
If you’ve not thought much about such things, now is a good time.
Address of the bookmark: https://medium.com/matter/heres-why-public-wifi-is-a-public-health-hazard-dd5b8dcb55e6
