I Ask You to Use a VPN in Hotels
Keep your key card with you, do not leave valuables unattended in the room, and keep the door locked. Most of us follow basic hotel security measures, but I implore you to add one more to this list: Don’t use Wi-Fi in hotels without VPN protection.
Why is hotel Wi-Fi so sketchy?
Connecting to a public network poses a risk everywhere – cafes, libraries, and airports – but hotels are some of the worst since hackers have so many possible targets using the same connection. Password protected networks are not much better; they can keep the niggard out of public Wi-Fi, but other users can easily intercept web traffic if they know what they are doing.
It’s not just the hotel’s official Wi-Fi networks that you need to worry about. Other visitors may have set up a router or personal hotspot in their room that appears in the list of available networks on your device, but most of them don’t do it out of kindness. Most likely, they just don’t know how to configure security settings on their device, but it is also possible that they want to trick others into connecting to their network so that they can spy on you. And even if this is an honest mistake, connecting to an unsecured network is still a risk (and could eat into a poor man’s data plan), so make sure you are connecting to the right public network first.
How does a VPN help?
VPNs keep you safe by encrypting your device’s connection to the websites and servers you access and by hiding your location and IP address by redirecting your traffic through a proxy server to prevent unauthorized people from tracking your online activities. Most people use VPNs to keep ISPs and data trackers from accessing their browsing data, but there are even more eyes that can observe when you are using public Wi-Fi, making them more important when you are using one and the other. the same network with others.
But while VPNs are easy to use, not all are safe to use, especially on public Wi-Fi, as many VPNs without registration secretly track you and can accidentally leak your data. Finding the right VPN is the key to success, but that can be tricky. At least don’t use a free VPN . Paid VPNs can be useless too, but they are (usually) better than nothing and should give you enough protection to get you through basic online tasks.
EpressVPN, NordVPN, and Proton VPN often get high marks, and I’ve used Surfshark successfully for several years with no issues. You probably even have a discount code for one of these services provided by your favorite podcast or YouTube channel, just check the professional and trustworthy reviews online before you subscribe.
In terms of smartphones, some mobile browser apps like Vivaldi and Opera have VPNs built in, but you’d be better off signing up for a paid VPN app instead. Just don’t use free VPN apps from your device’s app store .
More Tips for Browsing the Internet with Hotel Wi-Fi
The VPN should be secure enough to safely participate in most online activities over the hotel’s Wi-Fi, such as streaming video and music or receiving news. However, you should use other data security measures even if you always use a secure VPN, such as enabling DNS over HTTPS (DoH). DoH adds an extra layer of security to your web traffic by hiding which websites you’re accessing (it’s more difficult, but it’s essentially the end result), and DoH can be enabled in many browsers or at the system level on Windows. 10 .
Finally, even if VPN and other security options such as DoH are enabled, we strongly recommend that you only do important work with mobile data. As we’ve already explained , the safest strategy is to ditch hotel Wi-Fi altogether and use cellular wherever possible. At the very least, don’t log into your bank account or reveal sensitive information when connected to Wi-Fi.
Learn more about VPN from partner G / O Media:
– Best VPNs – Best Free VPNs – Cheapest VPNs – NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN Lifehacker does not contribute to these articles, but may earn commission on purchases through its content.