3. Use SSL Whenever Possible
Regular web site connections over HTTP exchange lots of plain text over the wireless network you're connected to, and someone with the right skills and bad intent can sniff out that traffic. It's not that big of a deal when the text is some search terms you entered at Lifehacker, but it is a big deal when it's the password to your email account. Using HTTPS (for visiting web sites) or enabling SSL (when using applications that access the internet, such as a mail client) encrypts the data passed back and forth between your computer and that web server and keep it away from prying eyes.
Some sites will do it automatically, but keep an eye on the address bar and make sure the "s" in "https" is always there when you're exchanging sensitive information. If it disappears, you should log out immediately. Note that if the sensitive browsing can wait, you might as well just do it at home—no reason in risking more than you have to. Other sites will default to HTTP connections, but support HTTPS if you manually type it in. Gmail, for example, will allow you to log in using HTTPS, and you can specify in your Gmail Settings whether you want it to use HTTPS automatically in the future. (Go to Settings, find the Browser connection setting, and set to Always use https.)
If you access your email from a desktop client such as Outlook or Mail.app, You'll want to make sure that your accounts are SSL encrypted in their settings. If not, people could not only theoretically read your emails, but also get your usernames, passwords, or anything else they wanted. You'll need to make sure your domain supports it, and sometimes the setup might require different settings or ports—it's not just a matter of checking the "use SSL" box—so check your email account's help page for more details. If it doesn't support SSL, make sure you quit the application when you're on an insecure public network..
4. Consider Using a Virtual Private Network
Unfortunately, not all sites offer SSL encryption. Other search engines and email providers may still be vulnerable to people watching your activity, so if you use one of these sites frequently (or really just want the extra protection), you may want to try using a VPN, or virtual private network. These services let you route all your activity through a separate secure, private network, thus giving you the security of a private network even though you're on a public one. We've detailed how to set up a VPN with Hamachi, though there are a number of great services—check out our Hive Five for best VPN tools for more ideas. If all that's a bit too complicated, you can always go with previously mentioned Hotspot Shield, which is a fairly popular app that will run in the background and set up the VPN automatically.
To Be Continued .....
By Whitson Gordon
