What is the threat of free Wi-Fi?

Nowadays, own Wi-Fi is not such a luxury. However, there are people who do not mind using someone else's network. And now it's not just about free Wi-Fi in a cafe or airport, but also about the most common home network. In other words, the neighbor, which was not spoiled by a friendly neighbor. And you are happy. It would seem that why spend if there is a free internet behind the wall?  And, in fact, your connection will not hurt anyone? But it only seems at first glance. And in certain situations, such naivety can get away from you, as well as your neighbor.

Option 1 - Wi-Fi base

Sometimes, we don't even pay attention to which Wi-Fi we connect to. Freebie? Well, good! Why spend precious megabytes of mobile internet? Anyway. Some attackers may specifically create an un password-protected network to which naive users connect. This way, they can get some data that you don't want to share.

The other day, a rather interesting story happened to Mikhail, the head of our website. A guy approached him on the street and what do you think? Asked to distribute the Internet. It is doubtful that this could be a self-taught hacker who decided to hone his skills. But vigilance should not be lost. Nowadays, strangers and their requests should be treated with caution.

Option 2 - all the Internet

If you connect to an unlocked Wi-Fi neighbor and use it to the fullest, in the end it will definitely not lead to anything good. For example, if this neighbor catches a virus, your device may also be affected. It all depends on the type of virus, operating system and reliability of your antivirus.

Remember that if you connect to someone else's free internet, the administrator of this Wi-Fi hotspot will have all the information about your device, possible payments, phone number, etc. So don't be surprised if you start to get weird ads or unknown numbers and services. And even worse, if money suddenly starts to disappear from your accounts.

In addition, there is no guarantee that only you will be connected to this neighbor. There will probably be a few more freebie lovers in the house and this can also cause problems. For example, you may not even know that you have a hacker behind the wall who is collecting your data. Alternatively, it will spread the virus or install malware that will be carefully hidden in the system.

Option 3 - Free Wi-Fi = Bad Wi-Fi

So, if several neighbors are connected to an unclosed network, and all of them start watching a movie, playing an online game or downloading some torrents at the same time, it is doubtful that everyone will have enough speed. That is, all these processes will be slowed down. This means that you will definitely not enjoy the free internet. So, it is better to have your own, but fast.

In fact, I don't even know who doesn't put a Wi-Fi password these days. Unless a person lives in a place where tens of kilometers around no soul. There is definitely no point in setting a password. In cafes, trains and airports, I would strongly advise against using free Wi-Fi. There is a very high traffic and it is unknown who and for what purpose connected to the network. Your device will definitely have quality important data that can be easily lost due to device hacking. For example, work e-mail, bank card PIN, personal photos, correspondence, etc. So, think twice before connecting to a network you don't know. It is easier to completely give up such a freebie or pay for mobile internet.