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In case you had any doubt, the recent flap over Googles Street View cars has made it clear that private data transmitted over Wi-Fi can quickly become not-so-private.
The good news is that there are ways to easily protect yourself, without going back to wired connections.
The easiest and most direct way is to simply protect your Wi-Fi with a password. But thats not always an option especially when youre using a Wi-Fi in a public place, like a coffee shop. Many employers provide a secure VPN (virtual private network) for their employees, but many dont, and theyre often limited.
Enter Private WiFi. The service provides VPN service to anyone for $9.95 a month. With the service, all the data going in or out of your computer gets encrypted. The software is designed to be always on (so you dont have to remember to launch yet another app), and its both Windows- and Mac-compatible.
SEE ALSO: Google Spends More On One Day of Lunch Than It Will On FCC Fine
The service also gives the added bonus of anonymity. Since all your transmissions are routed through Private WiFis servers, it assigns your machine a temporary and random IP address. The company says the address cant be traced, and no one will be able to determine your real IP address or location.
Although many tech threats are sometimes overblown (Y2K, anyone?), the danger from snoops on public Wi-Fi networks is very real. Even if you dont opt for a service like Private WiFi, its a good idea not to input any sensitive date over a public Wi-Fi network.
How do you protect yourself on public Wi-Fi? Share your tips in the comments.
More About: Google, vpn, wi-fi, wifi
