Are you aware of the dangers that lurk when you go travelling with your computer and log onto open Wi-Fi networks out and about? Most people aren’t but in this article we will cover some of the dangers and what you can do to prevent yourself for becoming at risk.
Below you will find a range of different risks and at the end of this article you will find the solution.
The Danger of Open Wi-Fi Networks
Free Wi-Fi sounds great doesn’t it? Often you when you come to a hotel you hear that there is free Wi-Fi available for guests. The problem is that when you log into a Wi-Fi network whether open or not you put yourself at risk. This is due to other users ability to run so called sniffer programs that can record data packages send over the network. These data packages might contain sensitive information such as your passwords and user names.
Man in the Middle Attacks
Another common problem is users logging on to what they think is a free hotspot. Some hackers have set up hotspots that are actually computers sharing their Wi-Fi connection. As a user you will not 
notice the difference and you can log onto the open network and surf away. The problem is that your Internet connection is now running trough the hacker’s computer and as a result he can record all of your activity.
How to Avoid Identity Theft
The two above scenarios are becoming more and more common and especially as we are taking our computers with us when we go abroad to travel. Every 3.8 second an identity is stolen and theft via online data is becoming more and more common.
Thankfully there is a solution to this problem. In both scenarios the hacker is able to record all data that is not encrypted, which in turn is most of our web traffic. In order to get around this problem you need to use a VPN connection when connecting to the Internet as this will encrypt your data traffic and hackers will be unable to gain access to your personal data.
What is VPN?
VPN stands for Private Virtual Network and it will enable your computer to connect to a server via an encrypted data connection. This might sound a bit complicated, but all you have to do is install an application and it will take care of the rest. Personally I prefer the solution from Unlocator as it is very simple to setup. Just install the app on your PC or Mac and then connect to a server of your choice. That is all there is to it and you data is now secure when your surf the Internet.
An added benefit is that by using a VPN connection you can appear to be located anywhere in the world you like. This means that you can connect to websites back home such as and Hulu that is only available to people in the US.
