How to Avoid Snooping on your Hotel Wi-Fi?
When staying away from home one of the first things we do is log on to Wi-Fi. But, hotel Wi-Fi networks are rarely secure, and in many cases are completely open with only a room number or generic code needed to access the internet. As a result of the lack of encryption, internet activity is not private and this means that when accessing the internet in hotels it can leave you vulnerable to snooping from others in the hotel, and from malicious attack by hackers. Thankfully there are ways to avoid snooping when you are online in hotels.
- Wi-Fi networks like the ones in use at most hotels are open and so anyone can connect to the internet without entering a passphrase. This means that they are open to snooping.
Hotel Wi-Fi networks are often open which means that anyone can connect to the internet without the need for a password. The lack of encryption means that any data that is sent can be seen very easily by anyone who is nearby and monitoring the data travelling over the air. This means that it is possible for others to snoop whilst you browse the internet.
- Snooping is the main danger
When accessing the internet via open Wi-Fi networks such as those in hotels, all of the unencrypted traffic that you send over the internet is visible to those nearby. Many websites do not use HTTPS and so with such sites it is easy for people to monitor the pages that you visit and what you type. Make sure to check that the sites you log on to use HTTPS if you put in any sensitive information.
- To protect yourself from snooping, get a VPN and connect to it when browsing on public Wi-Fi networks.
To really ensure that you keep safe when online, make sure to access the internet using a VPN or via a HTTPS encrypted website. Some hotels do use encryption to protect users and you will easily be able to tell if you have to enter a password in order to be able to access the internet. To keep yourself as safe as possible make sure that you look out for security information, and be aware of warnings sent by your computer about others being able to see the information that you send.
