Why You Should Never Connect to Public Wi-Fi Without a VPN

Though residential internet connections have become faster, they are not as portable as we expect them to be. It means you occasionally have to connect to public Wi-Fi networks. It could be while working from cafes or when at the airport. However, these public networks can cause a variety of issues, especially if you don’t use a VPN. Here are some reasons why you should never connect to public Wi-Fi without a VPN.

What is Public Wi-Fi?

Public Wi-Fi networks are Wi-Fi networks commonly found in airports, cafes, hotels, and other public spaces. These networks allow users to join without requiring a password-username combination. While there might be an authentication system, you end up connecting to a single public Wi-Fi network.

So, if there are one hundred people in the airport/hotel, all of them will share a single wireless network.

As mentioned previously, these networks are becoming increasingly popular because Wi-Fi has become essential, and people need access no matter where they are. Airplanes or trains often provide Wi-Fi access to help users stay connected.

While this is highly convenient and accessible, there are inherent security risks. The primary issue is that no password-username combination is required to log in, meaning that anyone can access the same public Wi-Fi network.

We shall explore this point in detail.

Disadvantages of Using Public Wi-Fi Without Protection

Let’s have a look at the significant disadvantages of using public Wi-Fi without protection.

1. The most significant disadvantage of connecting to a public Wi-Fi without VPN protection is the lack of an additional encryption layer. This means that all traffic between your device and the network is unsecured, allowing intermediaries to access this traffic.
2. The fact that threat actors can intercept personal information is another issue associated with public Wi-Fi networks. It implies that people can access the information you send and receive over the network, potentially manipulating it to involve you in problematic activities such as fraudulent traffic and scamming.
3. Moreover, as long as you are connected to a public Wi-Fi network without a device-specific username-password combination, you are vulnerable to various cybersecurity threats, including identity theft, malware attacks, and phishing.
4. Threat actors can also use multiple tools to access other devices within the network, including yours, thus exposing your device to numerous illegal risks.

Depending on the device you use and the data inside it, there could be additional disadvantages to using a public Wi-Fi network without a VPN. You may also want to know that threat actors may execute a number of cybersecurity attacks using a public Wi-Fi network.

Types of Attacks on Public Wi-Fi

Here’s a quick overview of the types of attacks on public Wi-Fi that you may come across.

• Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks: Man-in-the-middle attacks are common when connected to a public Wi-Fi network because a threat actor can intercept information sent from your device before it reaches the network. Even when you are sending information to a specific server, the threat actor can access it due to the lack of encryption. Additionally, the threat actor may also be able to access sensitive information stored locally on your device.
• Rogue Hotspots: Threat actors may also create fake Wi-Fi hotspots that people can join. Once they’ve joined these hotspots, threat actors can use them to access sensitive information. It is one of the most common ways of identity theft.
• Evil Twin Attacks: These attacks also work by making people believe that they are joining a legitimate network while they are not. In most instances, you can find multiple Wi-Fi networks with a similar or identical SSID. When people join the fake one, they end up losing data.
• Packet Sniffing: These attacks work when threat actors can intercept and control the data between the network and the user device. Compared to other attacks, packet sniffing is stealthy, and you would not know about data loss for a long time.

These are the most common types of attacks that threat actors use via public Wi-Fi attacks. We should also keep in mind that threat actors are upping their game every day. So, an additional protection layer has only become more critical than ever.

How a VPN Protects You on Public Wi-Fi

A Virtual Private Network, commonly known as VPN. This works as an additional layer of security between your device and the internet. Instead of forwarding your request to the website/app directly, a VPN client would tunnel all the requests through an encrypted line. There are two obvious benefits to this action.

1. The website does not understand that the request originates from your device. Instead, it believes that the request is from the VPN server.
2. As far as your ISP or any intermediary is concerned, all they see is an encrypted line of traffic to the VPN server, not the actual web server.

As a result of these two, your IP address is masked, and threat actors cannot access the information you send or receive from the device. This way, the additional security layer from the VPN can prevent data theft, as the entire data stream will remain encrypted.

A VPN connection is an effective way to ensure that your data remains secure. Even when logging into a public network. Regardless of whether the public network provides equal access to all users, a VPN ensures that threat actors cannot access the information you send or receive through your web browser.

Additionally, suppose the website itself is not encrypted. In that case, all traffic sent and received through your device will be encrypted according to the latest military standards. This makes it virtually impossible for hackers to decipher your activities.

You also get the following additional benefits when you use a VPN to connect to a public Wi-Fi network.

• When traveling, public Wi-Fi networks may not always give you access to the content you seamlessly access when you are home. For instance, streaming content may not always be available. You get to solve this problem by using a VPN connection, which lets you choose the desired server location.
• Since a VPN connection protects your traffic from any kind of interception, you can stay safe from a variety of state-based surveillance or censorship. For instance, if a particular website is unavailable in a country, you can use the VPN to access the content, nevertheless.
• VPNs help you get rid of ISP-level throttling as well. You may have noticed slower speeds while using a public Wi-Fi network at cafés. You can bypass these restrictions by using a VPN.

As you can see, using a VPN can give you benefits other than staying away from malicious actors on your Wi-Fi network.

How to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi Without a VPN

There could be situations when you need to use public Wi-Fi without a VPN. Here are some tips to stay safe in these instances.

• As much as possible, stay away from sensitive activities such as payments and banking websites.
• Make sure that you restrict your browsing to encrypted websites (you can spot them via HTTPS)
• Whenever possible, make use of two-factor authentication or a password-less system so that you can stop keystroke logging.
• You can also turn off how public networks are configured on your devices. For instance, you can turn off file sharing within public networks.
• You should generally be wary of accessing unfamiliar websites. This way, you can reduce the chances of falling victim to phishing attacks.

However, using a VPN client on your computer or mobile devices isn’t a difficult task these days. Doing so will keep things better. If you’re traveling to the region, the best eSIM for Saudi Arabia ensures seamless connectivity without expensive roaming fees.

Signs You May Be Connected to an Unsafe Wi-Fi Network

Of course, you don’t have to worry about these aspects if you are using a VPN network. But if you cannot do it for some reason, watch out for the following signs.

• Unsafe Wi-Fi networks cannot offer you good browsing or downloading speeds. It happens because threat actors need network resources.
• If you are connected to an infected Wi-Fi network, you will also come across more ads and pop-up messages. You would also see requests for unnecessary permissions.
• Security certificates on websites may not work as they usually do. It happens because a threat actor may try to manipulate these certificates.

If you come across any of these issues, you must disconnect from the network as soon as you can.

Conclusion

I’m sure the potential risks of using a public Wi-Fi network without a VPN outweigh the money you need to spend (if at all) on a VPN. As you might know, there are plenty of free VPNs, and they are enough to protect you from the threats I talked about.