This can cause you a lot of trouble…
During a trip, we all use our cell phones: whether it’s to capture memories in photos, to find our way via its GPS application, or to stay in touch with our loved ones… This technology is used for many things. On vacation, some even have their little habits with their phone, like taking a photo of the sunset every day, planning an alarm or listening to their favorite podcast, etc. And among all these reflexes that we can have, there is one that can unfortunately harm us. It’s also a mistake that we regularly make without realizing it.
It involves connecting to the public Wi-Fi of an establishment. This could be a train station, an airport, a restaurant, a café, a library, or even a beach terrace. You may have already done it one day to have a better network, to read a restaurant menu or simply to stay connected without having to spend your entire Internet package, especially if you are abroad. The reasons can be multiple, as can the consequences…
Indeed, public Wi-Fi networks present several risks. Hackers can easily hack an unsecured network, others pretend to be the Wi-Fi network of an establishment with a common goal: to recover user data. Once connected, hackers can have access to every piece of information you send on the Internet (emails, credit card data, identification data, etc.). As a result, you can easily become a victim of identity theft or financial fraud.
To protect yourself from these dangers, IT experts often recommend using a VPN (virtual private network). In concrete terms, a VPN is an application that you install on your phone and that allows you to establish a private connection between a device and the Internet network. With this tool, in principle, you can connect on vacation without fear of being robbed.