Use a VPN when using Hotspots

eirman

Registered User
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When you use a Hotspot or any public WiFi, all data transmitted between your device
and the WiFi router is unencrypted and can be easily "sniffed".

If you use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) all traffic is encrypted.
The main function of a VPN is to change your IP/location, so the encryption is a big security bonus.

There are loads of VPN services out there. My favourite @ $40 per annum is ....
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/
It's really very easy to setup on your Phone/PC/Laptop/Tablet/AndroidBox.
 
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When you use a Hotspot or any public WiFi, all data transmitted between your device and the WiFi router is unencrypted...
No it isn't. That's only if you use an unencrypted protocol, in which case your data is insecure whether you are on a public WiFi or not. Don't imagine there aren't people sniffing your data on the wired network too. A WiFi is marginally less secure, but that includes your home WiFi too as it can be sniffed from outside your house. And by the way, a VPN doesn't help either as the data is still unencrypted downstream of the VPN gateway (and sometimes not even that good). A VPN only does end-to-end encryption if the gateway is on the premises (or at least on the local network) of your target site.

The only way to have a secure connection is using a secure protocol, like https (though that can be [broken link removed] too). Personally I make sure my email and banking use SSL, and I reckon anyone who wants to sniff anything else is welcome to it. I don't have that many secrets -- sort of "security by banality".
 
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Can you tell me what SSL is?
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. Internet networking is conceptually organised into a number of different stacked layers of abstraction that use each other's services. At the bottom of the stack is the physical layer which sends data over the physical medium, such as the radio of your WiFi or the twisted pair cable of your Ethernet. At the top is the application layer, an example of which is http (the HyperText Transfer Protocol) used by the World Wide Web. Http is concerned with locating and transferring hypertext resources (web pages, broadly speaking) around the network. In the address bar on your browser you can see examples of web addresses or URLs (Universal Resource Locators) used by http to reference the webpage you are currently on.

The application layer uses a lower level layer called the session layer to initiate and mediate a conversation with a particular server on the network. The session layer is where SSL resides. It manages encrypted sessions with servers, including the initial exchange of encryption keys. When http sits on top of SSL it is referred to as https. In your browser you will see either that URLs start with https:// (instead of http://), or your browser will display a padlock symbol next to the address bar. Each website determines whether you can, or must, use https when communicating with it -- you don't generally get to choose this yourself.

Once you are using https to a website you can be reasonably certain your communication with that site is secure. However, not all applications on the internet are web servers and browsers. Your email uses a different application layer protocol to communicate with an email server. A common one is SMTP, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Once again you have the option of running on top of SSL if your mail server supports it. There will be a setting somewhere in your email client, though it might also be referred to as TLS, for Transport Layer Security.

Note that this only applies if you are running an email client program. Lots of people use web mail, which is an ordinary web site accessed via the browser. In that case just make sure that your provider uses https on the site.
 
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Hi Dub-Nerd
That arstechnica link is very informative - thanks.
As an experiment, I restarted my PC.
I started my VPN client.
Then I started my browser - it showed that I had a London IP address.

I understand and accept everything you are saying about using HTTPS

If you are using a VPN on your phone you have to install an application on your phone.
Everything going to and from your phone to a hotspot goes through the app and is (further) encrypted.
These are my PC encryption settings (Stronger encryption settings are available).

PIA.JPG
 
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In addition, you can install a VPN service on your router (the site "bestvpnrating" looks helpful for choosing a proper VPN) securing all devices connected to it at the same time. As for me, this technology will be useful for home wireless network seeing the fact that average VPN services offer a limited number of simultaneous connections. Anyway, having installed a VPN on your mobile phone will be helpful.
 
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