Airports provide free wifi hotspots to their customers in most countries now. However, there are a lot of issues with using such open networks in public spots. It is because there are tens of hundreds of cyber threats involved whenever you are connected to a public hotspot.
In this article, we will learn 5 different reasons to use a VPN at the airport and how it can protect you from various issues. Besides that, we will also tell you a cool little secret through which you can get a faster connection even when connected to a public hotspot.
So if you are interested in learning all this, scroll down and keep on reading!
Photo by Petter Lagson on Unsplash
1- A Public Hotspot Can be Easily Hacked
A person who hacks into your personal computer or laptop can access everything that’s stored on it including your sensitive information like financial data, emails, passwords, or any other thing that could affect you.
When you are connected to a free WiFi hotspot provided by an airport, you don’t have many options to stop hackers from getting in; they can just walk up to you and hack into your system and steal whatever they want since it’s not secured.
They may even install malware on your device and try stealing your financial information or data related to your business.
2- You Won’t Lose Internet Connection
A public hotspot provides a limited amount of bandwidth. This means the speed of internet connection offered to people can go as low as 512 kbps.
So imagine yourself trying to watch a full HD movie while connected to such a slow network. It would take ages before you see a good quality video, and you will notice lags all over.
This happens due to ISP throttling because the service provider usually wants to limit the bandwidth. Under such conditions, you will need to use a VPN to overcome the issue of ISP throttling.
This way, you can increase your internet speed and stream your favorite content without buffering.
3- Privacy and Security
Public WiFis are meant to offer convenience to their users, but in many cases, these hotspots do not come with adequate security features. For instance, a hacker might gain access to your personal information and track every single move you make online.
If you ever intend to visit a website where your private information may be recorded (your bank account, credit card number, or anything), then you need to be extra careful when connecting to such places. Because if you happen to connect to one of those websites unknowingly, you may end up losing money to them.
However, when using a VPN, you are totally safe from such things. You can protect yourself by masking your true ID and surfing the web safely without any issue whatsoever.
4- Downloading Speed.
When you download something important like movies/music etc., you probably expect the file to load quickly. And guess what? If you are downloading a large file like a movie via torrents or something similar, chances are you feel frustrated because it takes ages to actually finish.
However, if you use a VPN, you will never experience this problem because the connection is encrypted through an anonymous IP address which hides your location and prevents anyone from tracking down where you are located.
When you connect to VPN, you get the IP address of another server somewhere abroad which makes sure that whenever there is a request for content, the fastest server available in that country will send back the required data.
5- Securing Your Online Activity
A lot of times, people log into the same social media sites and other accounts multiple times a day. These activities leave traces behind, which tell others where you are located and how often you visit certain websites.
While such information can be easily found out if you don’t use a VPN, a VPN ensures that your identity remains unknown. Therefore, we can safely say that if you want to enjoy a safe and secure online experience, you should definitely use a VPN on your computer, phone, tablet, or smart TV.
To Sum It Up
While airports provide free and open wifi to their customers for convenience, these wifis are not safe most of the time. Hackers are usually waiting for their prey on such open networks, and as a result, they can steal all of your info easily.
Apart from that, the internet might be too congested due to which you may not get the right speed. This happens due to the ISP throttling as the service provider usually limits the bandwidth. Due to this and some other conditions (discussed above), you will need to use a VPN.