![]() ![]() For another, attackers need more than one successful hit to make an attack worthwhile. For one thing, that's just too much work. It's highly unlikely a bad guy broke in, replaced your router, and then waited for the good stuff to roll in. The Threats at Homeįor the most part, we can be assured our home networks are safe. The encrypted tunnel it creates blocks anyone on the same network as you-even the person managing the network-from seeing what you're up to. These are situations in which you definitely need a VPN. At the Black Hat conference a few years ago, a security vendor detected an evil access point that had changed its SSID 1,047 times, tricking 35,000 devices into connecting. Granted, this is an exotic attack, but one that can be carried out successfully. Instead, they'll configure their evil access point to switch SSIDs to match the ones devices are asking for. ![]() This is easier than you think since many businesses have easily guessed Wi-Fi network names.īoth of those attacks require a lot of guesswork, but a good attacker won't bother with that. But if an attacker uses the same name of a popular Wi-Fi network-think Starbucks or Boingo Hotspot-your devices may automatically connect, even without your knowledge. Many devices are configured to reconnect to familiar networks by default. Once victims are online, the bad guy executes an attacker-in-the-middle attack, potentially letting the nefarious attacker monitor your web traffic and even intercept some of it.Īn attacker doesn't even need to trick you, they just need to trick your phone or computer. That's a problem, because, clever bad guys set up access points with familiar names, hoping to trick people into connecting. If you're at a coffee shop, for example, how can you tell which Wi-Fi network is legitimate? Unless the SSID is posted somewhere, you're just going to have to guess. Outside your home, it's hard to tell which networks you encounter are safe. These will all protect your devices and data from the most common threats. PCMag also strongly recommends using antivirus software on your devices, enabling multi-factor authentication wherever it's available, and using a password manager. Using a VPN covers the little that HTTPS can't, and also protects against ISP snooping very effectively. It's also important to know that much of your web browsing is already encrypted with HTTPS, although not all of it. The built-in tracker blocking capabilities of browsers such as Firefox are also important for protecting your privacy. We recommend using a tracker blocker, like the EFF's Privacy Badger (Opens in a new window). Its main function is to keep anyone-including your ISP-from monitoring your internet traffic and make it harder for observers to trace online activities back to you.Įven with a VPN, advertisers and snoops may still be able to gather data about you. ![]() To make the most of a VPN, it's important to understand its limitations.
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