03 Dec 2015 by Paul Ducklin
FAST FREE WI-FI
Fast, free Wi-Fi sounds handy, and it is, but we’ve written about the potential problems with open Wi-Fi hotspots several times before.
Some of the risks you face are:
- The hotspot could be run by anyone, and there’s almost no way of telling who that might be.
- Anyone in the vicinity, whether they’re on the network or not, can “sniff” (eavesdrop on) and record all your network traffic.
- Your DNS requests, which turn server names into network numbers, are visible to anyone, so even if you subsequently use secure HTTPS connections only, the services you are using are nevertheless revealed.
- The hotspot can send you bogus DNS replies, redirecting you to imposter servers, blocking your access to security updates, and more.
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