Is Hotel Wi-Fi Safe for the Guests?

Hotel Wi-Fi is a courtesy of the hotel to make guests’ stays more convenient and satisfying. But hotels don’t run a background check on their guests. Therefore, that polished gentleman next door may actually be a grade-A black hacker waiting for someone to make a mistake, particularly in business class hotels with VIP guests.

Could that mistake be because of connecting to the hotel Wi-Fi? Yes, unless you keep a lid on what you do on hotel Wi-Fi. In order to stay protected:

1. Use a VPN
2. In case you don’t have access to a VPN, use hotel Wi-Fi for general browsing only.
3. Forget hotel Wi-Fi altogether and use your personal hotspot instead.

Hotel Wi-Fi Security Loopholes

After a long flight or a day of exploring your travel destination, knowing that free and possibly fast Wi-Fi is waiting for you at the hotel makes your heart smile. But the thing is that nothing good is really free. There are threats that make you think twice before connecting to the hotel’s Wi-Fi.

• Data interception: Man in the Middle (MitM) hackers can intercept your traffic and redirect it to untrusted hosts.
• Fake Hotspots: Hotspots with fake names that lure guests into connecting to them and giving them access to your device.
• Local Attacks: Risk of attacks from other users who are connected to the same network (hotel Wi-Fi) as you.

Security Precautions for Using Hotel Wi-Fi

Despite these security loopholes, you can still benefit from the free Wi-Fi by taking the following precautions.

Using a Secure VPN

The best and most convenient way to protect your privacy and security on a hotel Wi-Fi is to use a VPN. A VPN reroutes your traffic (data) to an encrypted channel, and thus, protects your privacy even on hotel Wi-Fis. Choosing a trustworthy VPN is yet another conundrum with so many options available.

HidzoVPN is a recent addition to the Play Store and App Store, and it’s been attracting hundreds of new VPN users daily. The increasing popularity of this VPN app is due to its smart protocol, XTLS Reality, which establishes the fastest possible connection based on the quality of your internet. So, besides security and privacy, you can enjoy the stability in connection.

You can easily download HidzoVPN and go premium with a generous 70% discount on the monthly plan, available just for $2.99 for a limited time.

How a VPN Creates a Secure Shield

When you connect to a VPN, the VPN app encrypts the incoming and outgoing traffic or data. When the data reaches the VPN server in the selected location, it’s decrypted with a key, which is only available on the server. Then, when the server decrypts the data, it sends it to the intended host that has what was asked for.

The same is true when the data wants to get back to you; the server encrypts the data, and the VPN app on your device decrypts it. Basically, a VPN builds an encrypted tunnel between your device and the server.

The Invisibility Cloak

A VPN also hides your real IP address and substitutes it with an IP address obtained from the VPN server in the selected location. It makes the internet recognize you as a user in the VPN location rather than your real location. It’s like wearing very heavy makeup; no one would know it’s you. If you’re a visual learner, “How VPN Protects You Online” can help you better.

🔴Caution:

There are dozens of free VPN apps on the Play Store and App Store that give you access to unrestricted internet at the price of your privacy. Connecting to unsafe and unauthorized VPNs is tantamount to willingly leaking your data and browsing behavior. The least you can do to check the authenticity of a VPN app is check its terms of service on its website.

Using Hotel Wi-Fi Without a VPN

Safety on free hotel Wi-Fi isn’t impossible, but it’s extremely vulnerable. If you don’t have a VPN, you must stick with these safety precautions to minimize risks of privacy leaks.

• Use mobile data or a personal hotspot for activities like sensitive logins.
• Disable file sharing features on your laptop or MacBook.
• Disable auto-connect and forget the network when you disconnect.
• Verify hotel Wi-Fi credentials with the front desk.
• Don’t open suspicious pop-ups.
• Make sure the firewall is enabled and updated on your laptop.

On a related note:

Internet Security for Travelers | 5 Tips to Keep Your Data Safe

Using Mobile Data For Sensitive Activity

Mobile data is a safe way to take care of some sensitive errands like transferring money, checking your emails, and other sensitive logins. Of course, you should check that your SIM card service provider covers roaming service in your destination, and activate it in advance.

The downside, however, is the high cost of the roaming service and the data cap of roaming packages. Also, roaming service is only available in countries where your carrier has roaming partners.

When is Hotel Wi-Fi Secure?

The first sign of a secure Wi-Fi is having a strong password. Wi-Fi password is a big obstacle for hackers who want to snoop around your online activities. But even the strongest password won’t work when it’s publicly available to all guests. So, if the hotel is genuinely concerned about guests’ online privacy, they’d provide each guest with a unique username and password, using WPA3 or Enterprise encryption.

So, unless you have dedicated login info to connect to hotel Wi-Fi, you can’t be sure that the network is safe. However, although with a password-protected Wi-Fi, hacker threats are minimized, the hotel can still creep into your online activities.

If you use a VPN, you can avoid threats from internal (ISP, hotel network administrator) or external sources (hackers).

When to Use Hotel Wi-Fi

With everything said, hotel Wi-Fi is still very useful for hotel guests. With a bit of caution, you can enjoy the free Wi-Fi. The table below summarizes some safe and dangerous activities you can do on a hotel Wi-Fi.