Are you safe on Wi-Fi?

This is a great article from our partners at RAIS that we wanted to share with you.  This is good information for any business who uses Wi-Fi while on the road. With the use of Wi-Fi become ever more popular, your safety is very important.

Blog written by Renaissance Insurance

If you’re on the go this Summer, you are probably relying more and more on your mobile devices to stay connected with your office and your customers. All over the world, hotels, coffee shops and restaurants use free WiFi as a lure to increase traffic. But when using those free networks, have you ever stopped to think about how secure those connections are? And even if you are on a secure network — one that requires a log-in — you may still be exposed to others who are using that same network. Could that teen sitting near you be practicing hacking skills? Could the surfer at the corner table be looking to steal your identity? Others on the same network can access readily available tools to intercept unecrypted data that is passing over networks. Your session could even be hijacked. On a public network, you must use precautions when transmitting any information that is personal, financial, or confidential in nature.

Even people who take every precaution on home and work computers can be fairly cavalier when it comes to mobile devices – it’s easy to forget that our phones and tablets are really computers and subject to the same security risks. Lifehacker has a good article on how to stay safe on public WiFi networks – explaining how to turn off Sharing and enable your firewall on various devices, and how to automate your public WiFi security settings. It also suggests using SSL whenever possible and explains what this means and how to do it. Another suggestion is to set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). ArsTechnica talks more about VPNs and other WiFi security issues at public WiFi hotspot.

Your security and safety on open Wi-Fi networks is very important.

Penny Hanley & Howley is always here to protect you with the proper insurance for your Auto, Home and Business.