When travelling with kids, having extras of the following items is highly recommended: snacks, clothes, readily available entertainment and a camera to capture endless memories. Don’t forget sun lotion, hand wipes, and a few tactical toys. But what about WiFi?
Free Wi-Fi can be found in many countries, particularly cafes, airports, and train stations. While you’re on the move finding a public network and connecting often feels harmless. However, you might want to consider the risks first. You truly can never tell what lies behind a “free” open network.
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Is the Risk Worth the Reward?
Public WiFi often feels like a gift, but sometimes it comes with massive, unexpected, and awful strings attached. Aside from sometimes having frustrating, slow connection speeds, under certain circumstances, you may be exposing a lot of sensitive data. Cybercriminals utilise several types of schemes associated with open WiFi networks.
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👩💻 About the author – Nichola is a family travel expert and has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Lonely Planet Magazine and Wanderlust, amongst many others. She’s spent over a decade travelling the world with her children, finding the best places for you to explore too.
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks happen when a hacker sets up shop in between your device and the website you’re visiting. You can imagine a MitM attack if you think about passing a bill to your bank, only to have someone intercept it, read it, and send their own version instead. Instead of a bill, it’s your data, personal information, or credentials.
Evil Twin networks are public WiFi networks that look legitimate but are actually fake networks set up by hackers. Evil Twin networks usually use familiar network names like “Gatwick_Airport_WiFi_Free,” tricking an unsuspecting traveler into connecting without thinking twice.
Data sniffing is a tactic that uses tools to search for data that is being accessed on shared networks and that is unencrypted. This can include anything from websites you’ve visited to messages or files that you’ve sent.
A high percentage of public WiFi networks are probably safe. It’s not like connecting to free WiFi is synonymous with being hacked. The problem is that you just never know. It’s becoming harder and harder to tell a real network from a fake one, or to avoid making human mistakes that may cause problems down the line. Hackers know this, and they exploit it.
Ways to protect your devices on public WiFi
Taking steps to protect yourself while using an open network is practical and easy. Most of these steps are part of basic digital wellness and should be incorporated into the way you and your family use the internet.
Don’t do sensitive tasks on insecure networks
Banking, shopping (anything that includes inputting credit or debit card details), and sensitive work assignments should wait until you are on a secure, trusted network.Keep updated device software
Software patches fix system vulnerabilities that hackers actively know and exploit. Keeping your software updated makes you a harder target. Set your devices to update automatically, and you don’t even need to think about it.
Use a VPN
Investing in a VPN service is an easy way to protect your sensitive information on public networks. When your VPN is turned on or activated, it encrypts your connection. VPN companies have created products for every occasion and configuration, so you can freely explore online VPN services to find the best fit for your needs.
Turn off auto-connect and forget the network after use
Change the settings on your phone, tablets, and laptops so that they don’t automatically reconnect to potentially risky networks without you being aware.
Practice good password hygiene
This is advice for the entire family, friends, and friends of friends: always use a strong password. A password manager can help you keep track of all of them, because when you have dozens of complex passwords, it’s fair that you would struggle to remember them. Also, enable multifactor authentication on all accounts that offer the ability.
Talking about internet safety with your family
Technology is part of modern travelling, and it has a lot of benefits. Access to the internet from even the most isolated locations can facilitate less stressful journeys, particularly with family. Embracing free WiFi wherever it’s accessible is perfectly fine. Try not to take it for granted and be aware of the risks.
It’s good to keep kids informed, updated, and in the loop about cyber safety, whether while travelling or at home. The subject doesn’t need to be panic-inducing, condescending, or overly complicated. The best approach is to open the door to honest conversations and make starter agreements about being safe online. Set a good example by being conscious about what you share online, how you protect your devices while travelling, and using appropriate tools to make online safety a practical priority.
