Hints & Tips

Do you use unsecure free WiFi?

Using public WiFi can be unsecure and even dangerous affecting both your personal data and potentially, your bank balance.Cellhire MiFi

If you’re out and about traveling and you need to access your personal accounts on various platforms including internet banking and social media, you might find that you’re walking right in to the arms of cyber criminals.

Most café and hotel WiFi is insecure allowing anyone with the right know-how to hijack your traffic and steal your information. Among the most common threats are “man in the middle” attacks where hackers insert themselves between users and a hotspot to gather data passing between two points. Other problems include rogue hotspots with names like “Free Public Wi-Fi”, tricking people into connecting to what they think are legitimate hotspots. Cyber criminals set these up to steal information from unsuspecting users.

One reason for the increase in Wi-Fi hacking is the proliferation of Wi-Fi hotspots. Figures from a report commissioned by the Wireless Broadband Alliance show the number of Wi-Fi hotspots reached 1.3m worldwide in 2013 and will rise to 5.8m in 2015.

Tools such as Firesheep make it easy for a hacker to snoop on other people’s browsing sessions over Wi-Fi and steal information. Other more advanced tools like Wireshark can also be used to capture and analyse traffic.

Instead of using free WiFi and taking these risks, you can take a MiFi device from Cellhire which offers a secure connection for all of your personal data. Don’t take unnecessary risks with security, why would you when you can buy a MiFi from Cellhire for as little as $59?