If your wireless service is down and you need an Internet connection, you may be tempted to connect to an open, unsecured wireless network that your wireless access point finds. Before you connect, however, you should be aware of the risks of using open Wi-Fi networks.
Is public wifi network safe?
It is not safe to connect to an unknown open wireless network, especially when transmitting sensitive data, such as an online banking password. Any information sent over an unsecured wireless network (one that does not require a Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), WPA2, or WPA3 security key) is sent in plain text, making it accessible to anyone.
Whenever you log into a website or use an application that sends plain text data over a network, anyone who wants to can capture that information. For example, your email address and password, if not transmitted securely, are all a malicious hacker needs to gain access to your email account and any confidential or personal information within it without your knowledge. Similarly, hackers can capture all instant messaging or unencrypted website traffic.
If your computer is not behind a firewall or is not properly configured and file sharing is not enabled, a hacker can gain access to the computer's hard drive through the network to obtain confidential or sensitive data or even perform spam and virus attacks.
