Miscellaneous 2 min. read

What Kind of Wireless is Secure…and What Isn’t?

What Kind of Wireless is Secure…and What Isn’t?

WiFi was born to be convenient—but not secure. More than anything, though, it depends more on what kind of wireless we’re talking about.

Public. Free, unsecured WiFi is the least secure. Shared WiFi in public, at home or in the office lacks encryption of the data packets streaming from the connected devices. In other words, your data is unlocked and free for the picking. Is the threat of data or identity thieves widespread? You bet. Your local coffee shop or airport could easily (and probably does) have a hacker sniffing out data for fun or profit.

free wifi securityWEP. Home or office WiFi with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption offers minimal security. This encryption is 15 years old and has since been compromised to the point where it’s basically useless. As a result, newer routers aren’t even equipping routers with this antiquated security.

WPA. Home or office WiFi with WiFi Protected Access (WPA) encryption is better than its predecessor, WEP. WPA is a certification program that was created in response to several serious weaknesses researchers found in WEP. WPA and WPA2 are tougher to crack, but not impossible.

Mobile 3/4G. Mobile broadband has a degree of encryption that has been cracked, but the necessary hardware isn’t widely deployed by criminals. Researchers have demonstrated how the system can be hacked, but it’s still more secure than other options.

Cover all your bases by installing Hotspot Shield. A free, ad-supported program, Hotspot Shield VPN protects your entire web surfing session by securing your connection, no matter what kind of wireless you are using—whether you’re at home or in public, using wired or wireless Internet. Hotspot Shield does this by ensuring that all web transactions are secured through HTTPS. It also offers a VPN for iPhone and a VPN for Android.

Learn more about Hotspot Shield VPN

Robert Siciliano on

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