How do you stay safe on public WiFi? At home & abroad

I’m sitting writing this article in a cafe, on their free WiFi, with my much-needed oat flat white in front of me. It’s where I get half my work done. Add airports, hotel lobbies and the odd train in to the mix, and well, basically that’s my office!

So, it is safe to say that I am a pretty regular user of public WiFi networks. They are incredibly handy, what with them being (mostly) free, and you can find them near enough everywhere. From parks and cafes to airports and trains. It’s especially useful abroad, when data roaming costs a fortune.

But the thing with public WiFi is that it can be pretty sketchy. And could pose a serious risk to your data and privacy, if you aren’t careful, that is!

So, let me take you through how I stay safe when using public WiFi – every single time, no matter where I am or what I am doing. I will also discuss the different types of WiFi and the risks it may pose, so you can get a deeper understanding of the topic!

What is public WiFi?

Public WiFi is any internet connection you can join in a shared, public space. Like cafes, airports, hotels, libraries, train stations, and trains themselves. It is free (usually), and it can be particularly useful when you’re low on mobile data!

I rely on it heavily whilst I am travelling. I work from cafes a lot, and it saves me spending loads more money than I need to on eSIMs.

But here’s the thing, Public WiFi can come with a real security risk. It is a shared network, which means anyone sitting in the same cafe or airport lounge can join it too, with the same ease that you did.

This is what separates it from home WiFi networks, where you set the password and only share it with people you know and trust.

The fact that public WiFi is indeed public is what makes it so handy. But it’s also what makes it risky, unless you follow a few important safety measures, which I’ll cover shortly!

What are the different types of public WiFi?

Not all public WiFi is the same, and the type you’re connecting to makes a real difference to how exposed you may be. Here are the three you’ll come across most:

• Open networks: No password and no encryption, so anything you send can be seen by others on the same network. The easiest to join, and the riskiest to use.
• Password-protected networks: The kind where you ask the barista for the code. It feels safer, but everyone in the building shares the same password, so you’re still on a network full of strangers.
• Captive portal networks: The login pages you get in hotels, airports and on trains, where you accept the terms or enter a room number. Convenient, but fake versions do exist!

What risks does public WiFi pose?

Most of the time, you’ll use public WiFi and nothing bad will happen. But your phone has your banking, your emails and your photos all on it, so it’s worth knowing what can actually go wrong.

• Man-in-the-middle attacks: On an unsecured network, someone with the right tools can sit between you and the sites you visit and read everything that passes through. That includes your bank logins, which means access to your bank and your money.
• Evil twin networks: Fake hotspots with legit-sounding names like “Airport_Free_WiFi” or “Hotel Guest”. Connect to one, and your whole session runs through someone else’s device, including any logins, card details or personal info you type in.
• Malware: Some networks push fake update prompts the moment you connect. Others slip something on by exploiting out-of-date software. Once it’s on, it can quietly log what you type, steal your saved passwords or lock you out of your own files.

If you are abroad, all of this could pose a greater risk than normal. You may rely on public WiFi more when roaming is expensive, often on unfamiliar networks, and a captive portal in a language you don’t read is much harder to figure out.

How to stay safe on public WiFi?

The good news is you don’t need to avoid public WiFi to stay safe on it. You just need to follow a few easy steps to secure yourself whilst using these networks! Here’s what I do.

Use a VPN

If you are only going to do one thing, I’d say this is the one you really must do. A VPN encrypts your connection, which means that even on an unsecured network, anyone trying to snoop on your data just sees scrambled data rather than your logins and card details.

Once it’s set up, it runs in the background without you having to think about it. You can even use it to access things from back home, like iPlayer, or to find potential savings on flight prices.

I use ExpressVPN. You can have it set up on multiple devices, including your phone and laptop, so you are secure no matter where you are browsing from. It is also super fast, so I can barely tell I am using it.

Find out more about the brand in my full ExpressVPN review.

Avoid online banking and anything sensitive

Try not to do your online banking whilst using public WiFi, and the same goes for shopping or anything that involves typing a password or card details. Save these things for when you are on a network that you trust, like your home WiFi or your phone data.

There’s really no rush to check your balance from an airport! But if you need to, then I recommend using a VPN (as mentioned above), as this will keep your data protected.

Check the network name before you join

If you are worried about connecting to one of the ‘evil twin’ networks that I mentioned earlier, particularly if a few similar-looking public WiFi networks are being listed, you can double check the name of a public WiFi with a staff member from wherever it is you are (like in a cafe or hotel).

If two look almost identical, this is the easiest way to find out which is the genuine one.

Connect via LAN where you can

If you’re on a laptop and there’s an ethernet port in your hotel room, you may want to consider using it. Particularly if you are doing anything sensitive and don’t have access to a VPN (as mentioned above).

A wired ethernet connection isn’t sent through the air the way WiFi is, so the people around you can’t pick it up and snoop on you!

It won’t always be an option, and you’re still sharing the hotel’s wider network, so ideally I’d still keep a VPN turned on. But when you’ve got a cable to hand, it’s definitely a safer way to get online.

Use your own data when it matters

As I mentioned earlier, I do sometimes use public WiFi to save my mobile data and my eSIM data whilst abroad, but mostly only to do things that won’t necessarily risk my data. Like a Google Maps search, or a quick search for things to do in the local area.

For anything sensitive, I switch to my own mobile data or eSIM, because a connection only you are using is far safer than one shared with a room full of strangers.

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