Getting online and doing your TikToks, replying to emails, and browsing the web is quite convenient when using public Wi-Fi networks. However, this comes with a price as these networks are known to be unsecured and expose your information to hackers.
Unsecured wireless networks are also called open wifi and they’re often offered in public places like cafes and marketing stores. The main sign of an unsecured network is the absence of a password when connecting to the Internet. This means that anyone can use it and access your personal and professional data.
You can easily recognize an unsecured network by looking at the available wireless networks list in your device settings. It should show the name of the network with a padlock icon, which indicates that it’s secured. Alternatively, you can check the name of the network in the list and look for a public Wi-Fi icon. If there’s no padlock, then it’s an unsecured network.
Another way to recognize an unsecured network is by checking whether the network uses security encryption or not. If the network is secure, it will ask you to input a password when you join the network and this will protect your data from hacking attempts. Secured networks are also more reliable than unsecured ones as they provide faster connections. However, you should still refrain from logging into highly personal or confidential sites on unsecured networks. This is because it’s technically stealing for hackers to access your personal and professional information when you connect to these kinds of sites.
