EFF explains why you can safely use public Wi-Fi

Feb 1, 2020 06:59 GMT  ·  By

Using a public Wi-Fi network is no longer as dangerous as it was a decade ago, as the mass adoption of HTTPS has made snooping on network communications much harder.

This is the latest message of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which explains that the general advice to avoid using public Wi-Fi and sticking with password-protected networks is no longer applicable these days.

“The advice stems from the early days of the Internet, when most communication was not encrypted. At that time, if someone could snoop on your network communications they could read your email. They could also steal your passwords or your login cookies and impersonate you on your favorite sites. This was widely accepted as a risk of using the Internet,” the EFF says.

Hello, HTTPS!

But the rapid adoption of HTTPS has resolved this drawback of public Wi-Fi networks, the EFF emphasizes. No less than 92 percent of the websites in the United States currently use HTTPS, while other countries are also increasing the use of secure certificates going forward.

The EFF, however, explains that HTTPS doesn’t necessarily protect all your data, with some information still exposed when connected to a public Wi-Fi with a malicious actor trying to spy on you.

Information like the domain name that you load, the size of files your download and upload are indeed available for someone intercepting the communications, but on the other hand, login names, passwords, and messages are fully protected.

“They’d be able to see that metadata, just as your ISP could see when you browse at home. If this is an acceptable risk for you, then you shouldn’t worry about using public Wi-Fi,” EFF says.

FBI has recently advised Internet users in the United States to avoid using public Wi-Fi for a series of activities, including online shopping. The feds said public Wi-Fi could expose private information, including details related to a payment that you make online.