Unbreakable VPN Connection Focused on Public WiFi Security: Combine Wi-Fi and 4G / 5G Cellular with Speedify
To stay secure on public hotspots, encrypt your traffic with a VPN before you log in to anything. Public hotspots often run outdated router software, keep the default admin password, and never check whether the network has been broken into already. Your security is not their job.
Speedify is an app that combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite internet connections into one faster, more reliable connection, and encrypts your traffic like a VPN. On a public hotspot, Speedify can use the Wi-Fi and your phone’s 4G/5G cellular at once, so your connection does not drop when the hotspot weakens. The speed and failover gains need two or more internet connections; on the hotspot alone, Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and can be a little slower.
Speedify makes any hotspot private and keeps it working
This public Wi-Fi security guide covers how risky those hotspots really are and what to look for in a VPN, and it lands on using Speedify for private traffic and an internet connection that holds.
How to Stay Secure on Public Hotspots with Speedify
- Download Speedify on your phone or laptop before you join the hotspot (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux).
- Open Speedify and create a free account (the free tier includes 5 GB per month; Linux needs a paid plan), or sign in.
- On a phone, tap Allow (iPhone) or OK (Android) when your phone asks to add a VPN connection.
- Join the public Wi-Fi. If the network has a sign-in page, Speedify shows a notification; open it and sign in without disconnecting Speedify.
- Keep 4G/5G cellular turned on too. Speedify connects to a Speedify server automatically, encrypts your traffic, and moves it to cellular if the Wi-Fi drops (this counts against your cellular data plan).
Public Wi-Fi Security: Why Public Hotspots Are Easy Targets
Businesses and public places offer free Wi-Fi to attract customers and to provide a public service. The businesses that offer public Wi-Fi are not IT or cybersecurity professionals, so security is rarely their focus, and these free Wi-Fi hotspots often skip standard security practices such as:
- Securing Wi-Fi access, either with a password to join the hotspot or with a login or registration page before you reach the Internet
- Having up-to-date firmware on their routers and other networking equipment
- Having security compliant or at least hard to guess admin usernames and passwords
- Doing periodic routine checks to see if the networks have been compromised
If you run a public hotspot, those four practices are where securing it starts. If you only connect to public hotspots, assume each one is missing at least some of them.
Public Wi-Fi networks are attractive targets for hackers because they are usually easy to compromise and so many different people use them that they never run out of new targets.
Unfortunately, public Wi-Fi networks are not just convenient for you; they are also convenient for cyber criminals, who can snoop on traffic that is not encrypted and capture social media logins, credit card numbers and email passwords.
Public Wi-Fi Security Tip: A VPN Encrypts Traffic So Others on the Network Cannot Read It
The real world solution to public Wi-Fi security issues is to use a VPN to protect your online data. When you are traveling to work or on vacation, it is almost impossible to avoid public Wi-Fi networks, since airports, hotels and cafés all rely on them.
The privacy software that protects you best on public Wi-Fi is a VPN app, because it encrypts the traffic of every app on your device, not only the browser. Turn it on before you log in to anything. Your own phone’s hotspot, with a password only you share, is also safer than an open network, because strangers cannot join it.
Public Wi-Fi Security Tip: Choose a VPN That Uses Two Internet Connections
One problem with standard VPNs on public Wi-Fi is speed: all your traffic is encrypted and sent through the VPN server over one internet connection, which can slow down your web traffic, most of all on a crowded hotspot.
Most VPN solutions also remain inactive after your internet connection drops, for example while you roam between Wi-Fi hotspots, until the VPN reconnects.
Choose a VPN that combines internet connections, such as Wi-Fi and 4G/5G cellular, to keep your connection fast and stable.
How Speedify Handles Public Wi-Fi Security
Speedify handles both security and speed concerns: it encrypts your traffic, and it can combine all available Internet connections simultaneously, such as hotel Wi-Fi and your phone’s 4G/5G cellular.
Speedify also works on Wi-Fi networks that run captive portals, the sign-in pages of hotels, cafés and airports. Speedify detects the sign-in page and shows a notification, so you can sign in without disconnecting from Speedify and being left unprotected. If the sign-in page does not appear, open an http:// (not https) website to bring it up. Speedify also keeps your browsing away from the prying eyes of hackers, internet providers and the hosts of the network.
Speedify runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Linux, and the free tier includes 5 GB per month with a free account (Linux needs a paid plan). Put public Wi-Fi security worries to rest with Speedify.
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Speedify combines Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite into one faster, more reliable internet connection. Free to try: 5 GB a month with a free account. No credit card required.
🚀 Speed
Faster uploads and downloads, because Speedify uses all your internet connections at once.
📶 Stability
If one internet connection drops, Speedify moves your traffic to the others in milliseconds.
🔒 Security
AES-256 encryption on every internet connection, on any network you join.
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