Hi Roadtrippers, here’s a #TravelTip #1 for this Tuesday.
Free Wi-Fi is available nearly everywhere these days, giving us the ability to remain connected remotely in hotels, coffee shops, restaurants and public parks, especially when travelling. It’s convenient and liberating, but potentially unsafe. Connecting to a public network requires little authentication — at best you’ll be greeted by a captive portal and have to check a box agreeing to the terms of service (ToS), or ask an employee for the password. Anyone can connect to these networks, including cybercriminals. Attackers can setup their own “free” Wi-Fi network in an attempt to lure in unsuspecting users. All an attacker has to do is find a high-traffic location, near a hotel or restaurant perhaps, and set up his fake network with an attractive name like “Free Public Wi-Fi” or “Hotel X Wi-Fi.” By the time authorities or telecom employees could arrive with the equipment needed to locate the source of the signal, the attacker would be long gone, stolen user credentials in hand. With that said, be careful when using Wi-Fi in public spaces and never make your credentials easy to track and trace.
