Who does not like things that are available for free? It
feels really good when you do not have to pay for the things that you are
using. But be aware. Not everything which is available for free is good for
you. Hence it is important for you to keep your eyes open and be conscious
about what all you are going to do. For example, there are a number of free
public WI-Fi hotspots but not every hotspot provides protection like your home
network provides you.
.png)
Your notebook, your smart phones and your tablets offer your
default settings that keep you safe from all prying eyes while you are on the
way. If you really want to keep your files and information secured, here are
some essential tips that will help you in protecting your documents and files
secured when you are away from your home.
Turn Off Sharing
You must be sharing your music library, printers or files or
even you will be allowing remote login from other computers on your personal
Wi -Fi network at home. If you do not disable these settings before you share
any other public Wi -Fi network, anyone else will be able to hack your PC in
your vicinity.
Get a VPN
This VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is
considered as the most secured way of browsing the internet on a public network.
This VPN will route your traffic through a secure network, even when using in
public WI-Fi and will provide you with all the perks of our private network
while you still be having a freedom of using a public Wi -Fi.
While there exist free VPN services, where a paid VPN
service guarantees the integration of your connection. If you connect
regularly to some unknown networks, setting your VPN could be a smart move
for protecting your personal information.
Try Not To Use Wi -Fi Spots That Connect
Automatically
Your smart phone or a tablet might be set to get connected
with the WI-Fi that gets connected automatically, but this could be very
dangerous for you and your personal information. Not only this will allow your
device to get connected to the public networks, but will also get connected to
the malicious networks that will steal your specific and useful information.
Make Use of HTTPS
Generally websites transfer the content in plain texts, making it easy for anyone who has hacked your network information. Many
websites make use of HTTPS to find out the encrypted transferred data, but you
should not rely on these websites for keeping you protected.
You can always keep this encrypted connection with the HTTPS
browser extension everywhere. With the help of this plugin enabled, almost all
your website connections get secured with HTTPS and will make you sure that any
kind of data transfer is safe from all the prying eyes available in the
market.
Two-Factor Authentication Should Be Used
Two-factor authentication means that you have to use two
pieces of information for logging into your account. The first information is
that you already know and the other is that you have with you. Most of the time
this takes a kind of information and a code that is being sent to your
cell phone.
Many popular websites and services will support you
two-factor authentication. This will mean that even if someone gets your
password because of your bad and unreliable Wi -Fi network, they won’t be able
to login to your account.
Always Confirm The Name Of Your Network
Sometimes hackers use fake Wi -Fi network to attract innocent
public Wi -Fi users. If the Wi -Fi is not named properly, it means the Wi -Fi is
fake and connecting to it could make your device into the hands of malicious users
that could misuse your personal information for
Protect Your Passwords
It is good to use unique and original passwords for
protecting your different accounts and this will also help you in keeping your
accounts well compromised. By keeping a track of multiple secure passwords will
become tricky for you. It would be good to keep your passwords safe and secured
that nobody could misuse your personal information.
Turn on Your Firewall
Most of the Operating Systems offer built-in-firewall
settings which will monitor your incoming and outgoing connections. A firewall
will not provide you complete protection, but this is a setting that you need to
keep enabled always.
When you use Windows notebook, you can locate your firewall
settings in the Control panel when you look into the System and Security. Click on
the Windows Firewall and click on the Turn Windows Firewall On or Off whatever
you want. Enter your admin password that will verify that your Windows Firewall
is on.
Run Anti-Virus Software
Running your up-to-date anti-virus software will help you in
providing the first alert if your system has been compromised well while it is
being connected to an unsecured network. An alert will show you if any virus is
being loaded onto your PC or if there is any strange behavior of your system
like modifications to the registry of the files.
By keeping these 9 points in mind, you can always be sure
that you are working safe with your PC or your mobile device while using it
with a publicaly shared Wi -Fi network.
It is possible that your anti-virus software might not catch
all the unauthorized activities while running, but this is a great way of
protecting your mistakes against most of the network attacks.
Author Bio: Kaylyn
Gabriele is a Network Engineer who has completed her graduation in Networking
from Canada University. She is also responsible for organizing various Network
Administrator Programs for the same university. After this she is very good
with technical writing and she likes to share her views about Networking and
Technical issues in her blogs. Also she keeps on sharing tips and tricks
regarding networking and technology. Writing posts and articles is her hobby
and she lives up to her readers’ expectations almost every time. Follow her on Twitter and catch her on Facebook to
know her better.
COMMENTS