The risks of public WiFi are real but frequently misunderstood. Whether your traffic is readable depends almost entirely on whether the sites and apps you're using are encrypted.
WHAT THEY CAN AND CAN'T SEE
- HTTP sites (no padlock) — Everything. Page content, anything you type, login credentials. Plaintext.
- HTTPS sites (padlock present) — The domain you visited, but not the content. Your passwords and data are encrypted in transit.
⚠️ The more dangerous attack is a fake access point — an attacker creates "Airport Free WiFi" that looks identical to the legitimate network. You connect to them instead. They can then perform SSL stripping attacks that downgrade HTTPS to HTTP. Verify the exact network name with staff before connecting.
PRACTICAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Verify you're on the legitimate network. Don't access banking or sensitive accounts on public WiFi. A trusted VPN encrypts all traffic and prevents DNS leaks — but you're shifting trust to the VPN provider, so choose carefully. The most important thing: ensure every site you log into uses HTTPS.
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