Dangers of public wifi abroad
Travelling abroad can often be a new and exciting adventure for you and all the loved ones who accompany you. With new sites to visit and new cuisines to try, travel will broaden your mind and concept of life but will leave you exhausted by dinner time.
Exploring new destinations is tiring and kicking back with your favourite shows seems like a natural way to relax after a long day. However, have you ever considered how safe it is to access the Internet for online streaming?
Watching bbc iplayer abroad can seem harmless enough, but behind the scenes there may be some nasty circumstances waiting for you if you are not careful.
Free Wifi hotspots
These kind of Internet connections shoulld always come with a warning label.
Just because they are labelled ‘free’ doesn’t mean they are the best way to keep up to date on emails and watch your favourite weekly TV shows. Free Wifi is always a big bonus in hotels and other forms of accommodation but you should always take extra care when using one of these free services.
Many hundreds, even thousands, of people can also gain access to the free Internet you are accessing, but think hhow many of those people could also be trying to hack in to other accounts whie they are there. It isn’t a nice topic to think about, but it does happen and often through the free connections. Take heed when connectin and makesure that the conenction is legitimate and secure before clicking anything.
Signing up to freebies
When joining networks throughout your travels you may notice a form now and then that you have to fill in in order to gain access to the connection. These are often companies just gathering information on how their service is used etc, however if you are not vigilant enough you could be giving all of your private details to a hacker.
Read everything clearly before you do anything and if your gut is telling you something isn’t right, it is probably best to ignore it and look elsewhere. Fake forms are an easy way for hackers to gain entry in to private accounts, and unfortunately this type of phishing does have many victims. Take your time before rushing online and watch what you sign.
Dodgy connections
We mentioned before about making sure your connection was legitimate. It may seem that all connections are what you call ‘legitimate’, however, something labelled as free wifi may actually only be a link between your device and another, i.e. the hacker’s.
When trying to watch bbc iplayer abroad, you should look carefully for the correct wifi connection before clicking on the first one you see. There are normally some telltale signs that one connection is reputable and attached to your place of residence, but then again anything which says ‘free wifi’ is always appealing. Connecting to the Internet through a private, secure connection even on your phone is the best option.
