Scienza e Tecnologia
NordVPN: Hackers explain hidden dangers of public Wi-Fi and how to avoid them
"People are always looking for ways to reduce the amount of mobile data they use each month, which leads many people to use free wi-fi spots, especially while out and about in town. Unfortunately, public places make a good cover for hackers who can easily set up malicious hotspots and steal people's data, without you even realising," says Paul Ashton , Japan Country Manager at NordVPN .
Daniel Markuson , digital privacy expert at NordVPN , discussed the risks of unsafe public Wi-Fi with a couple of hackers in closed online forums.
From NordVPN study, hackers agreed on two common points that can make any public Wi-Fi hotspot vulnerable. These are poor router configuration and lack of a strong password. They claim it can take a couple of minutes to start peeking at confidential information sent from a device connected to unsecured Wi-Fi.
If you're lucky, the snooper may just read your browsing activity. But in the worst-case scenario, they can steal all your sensitive information, including passwords and credit card details.
As your device is constantly looking for trusted Wi-Fi networks, stalkers can use these connection requests to find out where you live. It's enough to type it on public website that creates heatmaps of Wi-Fi hotspots, such as Wigle.net.
Daniel Markuson , provides some useful tips on what you should do to protect your devices and information they hold.
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