Computer and smartphone users are using public Wi-Fi all the time — in a coffee shop, at the airport or simply in a library or other public spot.  However, not many people are aware of the threats that could be behind any public Wi-Fi network.  There are some things that you have to know before using public Wi-Fi hotspots in order to browse safely.  It is important to understand that data, which is sent through public Wi-Fi networks, can be easily intercepted by cyber-criminals or hackers.  Below you’ll find some basic information about the public Wi-Fi threats and how to avoid them.

What are the risks of using public Wi-Fi networks?

One of the most common dangers is fake Wi-FI networks.  If you are a basic internet user, it might be pretty hard to notice because usually those networks have similar names to legitimate public Wi-Fi networks.  The danger behind fake networks is that they are created to trick users, leading them to believe that they actually joined a legitimate Wi-Fi network.  After the user connects to this type of fake Wi-Fi network, everything that person does online is monitored by someone who hosted that particular network.  Of course, the individual who are doing this are what we can term “cyber-criminals”.  With such access, they can scan your internet activities for banking and social media log-in information, as well as your general desktop activities.

Those public Wi-Fi connections can also be used to distribute various types of malware.  Hackers can easily spread malicious software and viruses onto your computer, smartphone or tablet by simply using fake Wi-Fi networks.  This can cause very serious damage to your device, privacy and not to mention, personal security, of course.

Why is it unsafe?

The majority of public Wi-Fi networks nowadays use no password or encryption of any sort, and that is extremely dangerous.  If a network is unprotected,  potential attackers can see all the traffic on the network and it does not even require any special hacking skills.  There is plenty of downloadable software floating around the internet that enables spying on unsecured networks with just a few mouse clicks.  Sounds creepy, right?

People assume that public Wi-Fi uses WPA2-PSK (also known as the standard data flow encryption in most modern routers), which is safe.  This could be true if we were talking about our own home network, where we only share passwords with people we trust.

In a public place like a cafe though, if a person connects to the network before you do, s/he can spy on your activity.  It is unofficially called “spying on your handshake” with the network.  In other words, it is the communication that occurs between your device and an access point when you first connect to the hotspot.  From here, the attacker can steal your encryption key and see all of your traffic.

Another important attack type that you should know about are the so-called “Man-in-the-middle-attacks”.  During a man-in-the-middle-attack, a cyber criminal secretly relays, and possibly alters, the communications between two parties who believe they are directly communicating with each other.  Oftentimes, this kind of attacker will set-up some sort of a fake Wi-Fi hotspot that will look like a legitimate one.  If you connect to it, all of your traffic will go through the attackers’ computer and s/he will be able to see whatever you are doing with your device.

How to protect yourself while browsing a public Wi-Fi network:

1. Do not enter sensitive websites.

If you’re on a public Wi-FI network, please think twice before entering your bank account details or logging into any kind of premium service (like Netflix). You can read online magazines or watch Youtube videos, but it is strongly recommended for you to avoid entering such websites like online stores or banks, where you have to enter your password or put in credit card details.  Of course, bank or premium entertainment services have encryption, but it is never guaranteed protection and you should be aware of that.  If you care about your safety, only access sensitive websites at home or on a 100% trusted network. You can also use a VPN service or a mobile hotspot, but we’ll speak about that later.

2. Connect to trusted networks only

Anyone with a simple router can setup his/her own Wi-Fi network and it does not require any advanced knowledge.  When looking for Wi-Fi networks, choose only those that you really recognise in the location where you are.  E.g. if you’re waiting for a flight in Los Angeles airport “LAX Free Wi-Fi”, it is much likely to be safer than “good_wifi321”.

3. Prefer password-protected Wi-Fi networks.

A classic, and the most common example, is a “Starbucks” cafe with a password written on the blackboard.  Although this is just a basic protection and the password will probably be “Starbucks123”, it is still more secure than an actual open network.  Of course, you should still be cautious, as you are sharing the network with the public in that space.

        4. Uncheck “Connect automatically”

By unchecking “connect automatically” in your wireless network settings, you’ll be sure that you use the networks you intend to and won’t get connected automatically to an unsecured Wi-Fi network without your knowledge.

This usually happens when you connect to a network that is protected with a password. Disabling this option simply requires you to uncheck the option, “Connect automatically” in your settings.

5. Turn on the firewall and have it all the time.

 When on any Wi-Fi network (even if you think you are safe at home), you should be sure that your firewall is turned on. You can check this very easily: if you are using Windows, type in “Windows security” in your search box, open the app and select “Firewall & Network protection”. The message you need to receive is “Firewall is on”.

If you are not aware of what firewalls do, it basically examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. Firewalls are necessary to protect confidential information from unauthorised access.

Alternatives

As for the public Wi-FI alternatives, there are other options available: use your phone as a mobile hotspot if you have the opportunity.  You can setup your own password and easily monitor who is connected to your hotspot.  By using your mobile data, you control the network and who is on it.  If you don’t have any mobile data but you need an internet access, a good option is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service.  You can setup your own VPN network, but it does require some technical knowledge and basic internet users often choose commercial VPN providers.  VPN client app encrypts all the data you send over Wi-Fi or mobile data.  In other words, it can hide your data from anyone who is connected on the same Wi-Fi network.  Unfortunately, one of the cons is that the best VPN services are paid.  However, just paying that little extra can help to protect all of your devices and it is definitely worth the money.

Minecraft is what is known as a ‘sandbox’ or ‘open world’ video game in which players roam and create within a virtual world.  Players walk around, jump, dig and punch things with their hand as they build, mine or farm resources.  By allowing users to build and explore as they choose, Minecraft can be used as an immersive learning platform to extend and enrich the curriculum.  For most educators the use of Minecraft might seem like an intimidating idea, especially since many students are experts with this platform!  Nevertheless, the skills and knowledge that students can bring to Minecraft should be seen as benefit.

In all the lessons that I have taught using Minecraft for example, students are very engaged and work collaboratively on the tasks set.  However, no matter what their skill level might be, it’s important to communicate some ground rules beforehand related to digital citizenship, i.e. about behaving appropriately in a digital space.  Just as students would follow rules about how to behave in the real world, they should understand that similar rules apply in their Minecraft world.  They should not, for instance, damage one another’s building efforts, nor should they communicate online (using Minecraft’s chat function) in a way that is inappropriate.

Fortunately, since 2011, MinecraftEdu has been developed specifically for use in the classroom context.  The MinecraftEdu platform retains the key elements of the original Minecraft while including additional features that facilitate its use in the classroom.  Key additional features allow the teacher to control what students are doing in the Minecraft world.  Students can be muted or frozen, for example.  In so doing, MinecraftEdu platform can be used to teach a range of skills and subjects from maths to humanities and social sciences.

Below, I have attached a PDF of the lesson plans that can be used to teach students about building an environmentally friendly city, which we used for our IPC unit on Climate Control.  These lesson plans can easily be adapted for literacy, to help spark students’ imagination.  For example, following Mr P’s lesson ideas, we also got our students designing Kensuke’s Kingdom using Minecraft.  Once students had completed their collaborative virtual kingdom, they were asked to take screenshots and upload these screenshots to their digital portfolios.  This is particularly useful for promoting students’ creative writing skills, as they can then be asked to write a description of the world they have created.

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Following on from last year’s Safer internet Day, I just wanted to share these assembly scripts I wrote in collaboration with our on-site educational psychologist, Carolina.  We carefully differentiated these Digital Citizenship & E-Safety assemblies this year according to the different age groups, and they can easily be adapted for your school.  For the youngest students, our intention was simply to highlight the importance of limiting screentime.  With the older students, our focus was more about how to use digital technologues safely and responsibly.  In addition to the assemblies, all the students received several weeks of Digital Citizenship and E-Safety lessons during their ICT time.  Please feel free to download and use this material for your own students, and if you’d like any of the other resources (e.g. Internet survey templates, quizzes or accompanying lesson plans), just get in touch.

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Traditionally, the general consensus has been to get as much formal education as you can early in life, and then reap the rewards for the rest of your career. However, this is no longer enough.  With the great number of university graduates today, and the fact that working lives are now longer than ever before, it is necessary for people to be able to acquire new skills throughout their careers.

In recent years, thanks to the Internet, the market has become more flexible for workers looking to learn new skills.  Course providers such as Coursera, General Assembly, Pluralsight and Udacity all offer online training provided by industry experts to cover technology skills that matter most to employers.  Likewise, massive open online courses (MOOCs) are increasingly offering courses, which help to make their students more employable.

Clearly, technology has a huge role to play in today’s labour market in terms of the creation of new jobs, and the market has adapted by providing a vast array of technology courses.  After compulsory education is finished though, it is the responsibility of workers themselves to take up these courses; they should be lifelong learners if they want to compete in today’s job market.  Lifelong learning though, is a habit that begins at school.  In order to nurture this habit, compulsory education should focus on metacognition – that is, the skill of learning how to learn.  For the most part, I see education around the world moving in this direction – developing self-directed learners who are inspired to learn.  Although this is important, it’s not the whole story.

We also need to teach our students digital citizenship in order to use technology appropriately and responsibly.  This is not as simple as it may sound.  We live in a world today of information obesity, where fragmented attention is the norm.  Social media in particular, is responsible for a great number of smartphone addicts!  Dr Cal Newport’s Ted Talk, “Quit Social Media” sums this up well:

Concluding thoughts:

It is all well and good having a vast array of online courses available, but these courses need to occupy the student’s focus if they are to be successful.  Engagement is the name of the game, and this is increasingly difficult on digital platforms.  As part of any digital citizenship curriculum therefore, we need to look at how we can help students to focus on what really matters.  This is now crucial for most people, as they will be required to acquire new skills throughout their careers.