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Another Wi-fi security question

Some of the small, local cafes and pubs I go to, who I trust and locals know each other, have their Wi-fi freely accessable, others require my email address, DOB etc. for the first connection (obviously to send marketing) and others have a notice/poster advertising the customer Wi-fi code for access.

Do any of the above options mean one establishment's Wi-fi is more secure than another?

Whether or not I use BT/Norton's Virus protect Wi-fi scanning tool or rely on my own phone's security, I occasionally get a pop-up from one or both, saying connected/not secure.

So, what makes the establishment's Wi-fi insecure?

Comments

  • Neil_Jones
    Neil_Jones Posts: 9,652 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The clue is in the name.  Public W-Fi.  You won't know who set it up, how secure it is, all you'll know is that every man and his dog could be connected to it and you won't know who or what else is connected to it either.

    As a general rule if you have to be a member of the establishment to use the Wi-Fi (such at as the library for example) it may garner more trust since non-members/equipment may not be able to get on, but at the end of the day its still public.
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 26,476 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 7 April 2023 at 4:56PM
    I often browse the web on public networks, as I don’t see any downside if someone else is listening in. Am I naively unparanoid?
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • km1500
    km1500 Posts: 2,790 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    if you are going to websites starting https then is doesn't matter if the whole world is listening as the traffic is encrypted. 

    So the answer to your question is it doesn't matter as most sites use https nowadays

    One proviso - if you are eg in Cafe Nero (just an example) and look for their wifi and see 'cafe nero' come up - make sure it really is cafe nero and not some scammer setting up a hotspot called cafe nero - if you connect to them all bets are off.
  • Thank you for the advice.

    So why do some places require a password, like a visitor to my house would need if they wanted to use my Wi-fi, and others just require no password?


  • Funny how you should use Cafe Nero as an example. Ours has no Wi-fi at all, so it would be spooky if it came up😁
  • km1500
    km1500 Posts: 2,790 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Some places put a password to prevent people eg sitting outside using their wifi but tbh they might as well not bother. Some establishments want your email address but I asdume this is for marketing to you.
  • km1500 said:
    Some places put a password to prevent people eg sitting outside using their wifi but tbh they might as well not bother. Some establishments want your email address but I asdume this is for marketing to you.
    Be sensibly wary of public wifi, but it’s rare that they use the email address to then validate the wifi connection. On the odd occasion I use a public wifi and it requires an email address, it’s been the case that any random string that looks like an email will do - xxxx@yyyy.com - the norm is just to check that the format passes a regex check, then you’re in. 
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