Hot take: My coffee shop Wi-Fi gave me a wake up call about public networks.

I was at a busy Starbucks in Austin last Tuesday sipping a latte and using their free Wi-Fi to log into my bank account (dumb move, I know). Then a guy at the next table got a notification that his login credentials were being used from a different device, and he started yelling at the staff. How do you all handle banking or sensitive stuff when you're stuck working from a public spot?

2 comments

2 Comments

rodriguez.cora18d ago

Oh man, that's the kind of thing that makes you want to toss your laptop out the window... I've been there, logging into my checking account at a coffee shop like it's no big deal. What I started doing is using my phone's hotspot for anything sensitive, even if it costs me a bit of data. That way I'm not sharing the network with a dozen strangers who might be up to no good. Also, turning off automatic Wi-Fi connections on your devices can save you from accidentally hopping onto a sketchy network without thinking.

lilyfisher18d agoMost Upvoted

Try a VPN with a kill switch too, just in case.