We are all very happy to get access to a Wi-Fi connection at a coffee shop, or a mall, or at the waiting lounge at the airport. That gives us a chance to deploy our laptops, and while some of us actually get some work done, for most of us, it is a chance to look all busy and officious! And possibly a bit macho too, by appearing to be not bothered at all about whatever is going on around them!

However, if you do happen to use a public Wi-Fi network, there are certain things you need to keep in mind. They aren’t your home Wi-Fi networks, and are definitely not very secure.

How you may get attacked?
There are usually two methods by which the hackers might steal your data. The first method is where the hacker will intercept the data being transferred between you and the router enabling the Wi-Fi connectivity. Once your Laptop's various logins and passwords reach the hacker, your credit card details are at a huge risk, if they are stored on the Laptop.

The second method is to set up a ghost network with the same network name and possibly the same password. The hacker may position this router closer to where the connected laptops will be, and since the network with the most powerful signal strength shows up at the top of the list, the chances of more and more people connecting to it increase.

How to secure your data on a public Wi-Fi
Some simple steps to keep your data secure on any Wi-Fi (or any internet connection for that matter) network other than your secured home network. After all, this little effort can make a huge difference, God forbid, if someone actually makes an attempt to steal your data and information for their own nefarious reasons.

Know what you are connecting to: If you want to use a Wi-Fi connection, ask the manager as to which one is the official Wi-Fi network operated by the establishment. There may be many more networks detected, and some may not even be password protected. Do not connect to those. Only use the Wi-Fi verified by the people who run the network.

Free Wi-Fi isn’t always good: While it is enticing to find a free Wi-Fi network and not having to pay for the browsing, but the chances of that being bait are a lot higher. While you may be glad to have saved a few pennies, the risk of losing a lot more is definitely higher.

The good old antivirus: If you don’t have an updated antivirus running in the Notebook, you are just asking for trouble. If you still don’t have one, install one and keep it updated.

The great wall of fire: While Windows does have its built-in firewall capabilities, it is still recommended if you install something like a Zone Alarm firewall solution to prevent unauthorized intrusion into the Notebook. This will be a huge protection in case you do connect to one of the networks that have people with bad intentions set up.

Avoid shopping from the coffee shop Wi-Fi: It is better if you don’t use the unprotected Wi-Fi networks to send out and receive sensitive information, particularly the financial type. Avoid online shopping, online banking or even sending financial data to some other user when on such networks.

Eyes away: While you may be typing away merrily on the laptop, there may be eyes noting down what you are typing. Be it someone standing over your shoulder, or the closed circuit camera on the wall behind you. It is strongly advised that you try to keep the keypad shielded as much as possible.