Keep your data safe when using a public Wi-Fi network

Drop into any McDonald's, Burger King, or Starbucks, and you'll see more coming down than just hamburgers and lattes. Just about every corner of the place you'll find somebody with a laptop computer or e-tablet – everyone loves a free Wi-Fi connection. Sadly, "everybody" also includes crooks.

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Yes, there are some shady folks out there who would like to intercept your electronic communications and get their nasty little fingers on stuff like your credit card numbers and other personal information you'd rather keep to yourself. Just what can you do to protect your private personal information when logged onto public Wi-Fi networks?

A couple of simple steps can go a long way to ensuring that some nogoodnik won't run off with your personal information. First, before you log into a company provided Wi-Fi network, make sure it really is the legitimate network. Yes, bad guys can and do impersonate a wireless network, by setting up their own hotspot in a public area, giving it a name that may sound like the "real" one. Log into this shanghai network and your data is subject to theft. So ask at the counter: "Could you tell me the name of your wireless network?" and then, before you log on, make sure it's the same as what you've been told.

Next, be aware that unless your connection to a specific Internet site isn't through a "secure socket layer" (SSL) connection, anything you transmit can be easily spied on. How do you know if you ARE connected through an SSL? Look at the letters preceding the URL of the site you're connected to. If it reads, "HTTPS" then that secure technology is in place, making anything you sent over the Internet just a lot of garbled characters. If it only says "HTTP" – without the "S" at the end, then you're not on a secure connection. Don't send anything or look at anything on the web that you would be concerned that someone else saw it.

Even when you're connected with an SSL connection, be careful. If a pop-up warning tells you that the site has an "untrusted" security certificate, it's possible that you're not connected to a legitimate web site – it's a good time to get off that site.

To really ensure your security, for a few dollars a month, you can invest in a subscription to a VPN or "virtual private network." A VPN system means any information you transmit over the Internet is first thoroughly encrypted, then sent to the VPN's server, and then finally on to the Internet itself. Anybody who's trying to snoop your communications will only see garbage characters. VPN service can be had for less than $10 a month for a regular subscription. Beware, however, that even with a VPN service, once your information hits the Internet, it can still be seen by determined hackers. Make sure private information is transmitted only with SSL.

David Bott's clear exposition on this topic was the inspiration for this article, our thanks. Check out his fun -- and practical -- website at outsideourbubble.com.