Unsecured wi-fi networks, like those found at airports, restaurants and coffee shops – are public networks that are available for anyone to use. Some of these are managed by legitimate businesses while others are managed by “Honey Pot Operators”.
In either case – on an open network – users are generally not protected from other users, hackers who get into that network, or viruses. Some open networks are operated with the sole purpose of gaining access to the information of the people who use them. Anything you type to gain access to web sites can be stolen by the honey pot operator and once they’ve gained access they can also steal anything stored on the computer’s hard drive.
How can you protect yourself?
Of course – make sure you have adequate anti-virus and internet security protection. The sure proof way to avoid jeopardizing your personal and financial information is to limit your activity on these networks to browsing the web, reading the news, and watching videos. Don’t use anything that you have to login to.