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Public Wi-Fi networks—like those in coffee shops or hotels—are not
nearly as safe as you think. Even if they have a password, you're
sharing a network with tons of other people, which means your data is at risk. Here's how to stay safe when you're out and about.
Just because most wireless routers have a firewall to protect you from
the internet doesn't mean you're protected from others connected to the
same network. It's remarkably easy to steal someone's username and password, or see what they're doing
just by being on the same network. Don't take that chance. We're going
to show you which settings are the most important ones, as well as how
to automatically change your settings to the appropriate level of
security every time you connect to a public network.
Blast from the past
is a weekly feature at Lifehacker in which we revive old, but still
relevant, posts for your reading and hacking pleasure. This week, we're
reminding everyone of the importance of Wi-Fi security when you're away
from home.
The Settings
First, let's start by talking about what settings and apps can keep you
safe. Make sure these are enabled anytime you're on public Wi-Fi,
whether it's password protected or not. If other people you don't know
are on the same network, you want to protect yourself.
1. Turn Off Sharing
When you're at home, you may share files, printers, or even allow
remote login from other computers on your network. When you're on a
public network, you'll want to turn these things off, as anyone can
access them—they don't even need to be a hacker, and depending on your
setup, some of that stuff probably isn't even password protected. Here's
how to turn off sharing:
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In Windows: Open your Control Panel, then browse to
Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center, then click Choose
Change Advanced Sharing Settings. Once here, you should definitely turn
off file and printer sharing, and you may as well turn off network
discovery and Public folder sharing. Some of this is done automatically
by Windows if you specify the network as public (more on this later).
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In OS X: Go to System Preferences > Sharing and make sure all the boxes are unchecked.
You'll also want to turn off network discovery, which will be in the
same place. This will prevent others from even seeing your machine on
the network, meaning you're less likely to be targeted. On Windows (as I
mentioned), it's just another check box under advanced sharing
settings. On OS X, it will be called "stealth mode" and be under your
firewall's advanced settings (see below).
2. Enable Your Firewall
Most OSes come with at least a basic firewall nowadays, and it's a simple step
to keeping unwanted local users from poking at your computer. You may
already be using a firewall, but just in case, go into your security
settings (in Windows under Control Panel > System and Security >
Windows Firewall; and on a Mac under System Preferences > Security
& Privacy > Firewall) and make sure your firewall is turned on.
You can also edit which applications are allowed access by clicking on
"allow a program or feature" in Windows and "advanced" in OS X. Your
firewall is not an end-all, be-all protector, but it's always a good idea to make sure it's turned on.
3. Use HTTPS and SSL Whenever Possible
Regular web site connections over HTTP exchange lots of plain text over
the wireless network you're connected to, and someone with the right
skills and bad intent can sniff out that traffic very easily. It's not
that big of a deal when the text is some search terms you entered at
Lifehacker, but it is a big deal when it's the password to your email
account. Using HTTPS
(for visiting web sites) or enabling SSL (when using applications that
access the internet, such as an email client) encrypts the data passed
back and forth between your computer and that web server and keep it
away from prying eyes.
Many sites—including Facebook, Gmail, and others—will do it
automatically, but keep an eye on the address bar and make sure the "s"
in "https" is always there when you're exchanging sensitive information.
If it disappears, you should log out immediately. Other sites will
default to HTTP connections, but support HTTPS if you manually type it
in.
Note that if the sensitive browsing can wait—especially if it's something very sensitive like banking or credit card info—you should just wait to do that sensitive browsing at home. There's no reason to risk more than you have to.
If you access your email from a desktop client such as Outlook or
Apple Mail, You'll want to make sure that your accounts are SSL
encrypted in their settings. If not, people could not only theoretically
read your emails, but also get your usernames, passwords, or anything
else they wanted. You'll need to make sure your domain supports it, and
sometimes the setup might require different settings or ports—it's not
just a matter of checking the "use SSL" box—so check your email
account's help page for more details. If it doesn't support SSL, make
sure you quit the application when you're on a public network.
4. Consider Using a Virtual Private Network
Unfortunately, not all sites offer SSL encryption. Other search engines
and email providers may still be vulnerable to people watching your
activity, so if you use one of these sites frequently (or really just
want the extra protection), you may want to try using a VPN, or virtual
private network. These services let you route all your activity through a
separate secure, private network, thus giving you the security of a
private network even though you're on a public one.
You have a lot of choices, and we've rounded up some of the best VPNs here—but if you don't feel like doing the research, we recommend CyberGhost
as a dead simple, free option. Install it on your computer, turn it on
whenever you're on a public network, and you'll be much safer than
without it.
5. Turn Wi-Fi Off When You Aren't Using It
If you want to guarantee your security and you're not actively using
the internet, simply turn off your Wi-Fi. This is extremely easy in both
Windows and OS X. In Windows, you can just right-click on the wireless
icon in the taskbar to turn it off. On a Mac, just click the Wi-Fi icon
in the menu bar and select the turn off AirPort option. Again, this
isn't all that useful if you need the internet, but when you're not
actively using it, it's not a bad idea to just turn it off for the time
being. The longer you stay connected, the longer people have to notice
you're there and start snooping around.
How to Automate Your Public Wi-Fi Security Settings
Obviously, you don't want to have to manually adjust all of these
settings every single time you go back and forth between the coffee shop
and your secure home network. Luckily, there are a few ways to automate
the process so you automatically get extra protection when connected to
a public Wi-Fi network.
On Windows
When you first connect to any given network on Windows, you'll be asked
whether you're connecting to a network at your home, work, or if it's
public. Each of these choices will flip the switch on a preset list of
settings. The public setting, naturally, will give you the most
security. You can customize what each of the presets entails by opening
your Control Panel and navigating to Network and Sharing Center >
Advanced Sharing Settings. From there, you can turn network discovery,
file sharing, public folder sharing, media streaming, and other options
on or off for the different profiles.
That's a good start, but if you want a bit more control, previously mentioned NetSetMan
is a great program to customize your network profiles for different
networks; you choose your IP address, DNS server, or even run scripts
(opening the window for pretty much any action) every time you connect
to one of your preset networks.
On OS X
OS X doesn't have these options built-in like Windows, but an app like ControlPlane
can do a fair amount of customization. With it, you can turn on your
firewall, turn off sharing, connect to a VPN, and a whole lot more, all
depending on the network you've connected to.
In Your Browser
The previously mentioned HTTPS Everywhere
Firefox extension automatically chooses the secure HTTPS option for a
bunch of popular web sites, including the New York Times, Twitter,
Facebook, Google Search, and others, ensuring secure HTTPS connections
to any supported web site, every time you visit. You can even add your
own to their XML config file. Note that as a Firefox extension, this
works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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