Using free public WiFi has its risks, not least other users snooping on your data. It may seem like a convenience, especially while travelling overseas, but you should never use it without a VPN. These virtual private networks create a secure tunnel, as it were, that other users on the same network can’t peer into or access your data.
It’s one of the things I use whenever I use any free public WiFi – anywhere. It’s part of the utterly essential cybersecurity checklist we should all follow.
We must “prepare our laziness in advance” NordVPN’s Karolis Pabijanskas told Stuff – referring to the way we just accept cookies and other T&Cs without being conscious of how it affects our security. We need to reset our habits, and using a VPN is essential for using public WiFi.