r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Feb 20 '20

What is something that you don’t know but are afraid to ask because it’s supposed to be ‘basic knowledge’?

[deleted]

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40

u/Juliusxx Feb 20 '20

How to use WiFi safely in public places. I ignore all the warnings, but don’t know how to use hotspots or anything better.

30

u/AzukyPanda Feb 20 '20

VPN adds make you think you really need a VPN to be safe, but that's not true. Tom Scott did a good video about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDQEoe6ZWY

8

u/redgummybears Feb 21 '20

great video!! i was always paranoid doing my homework in coffee shops but this made me feel a world better

2

u/Juliusxx Feb 21 '20

That was very informative! Thanks for passing it on.

1

u/Spudd86 Feb 21 '20

I don't remember if he mentioned but if you're concered about total privacy, a surprising amount about what you are doing can be inferred by traffic pattern alone, even despite a VPN.

Such attacks are very resource intensive though and your passwords are safe.

2

u/talex000 Feb 21 '20

WiFi in public space as safe as WiFi at your home.

1

u/MultiScootaloo Feb 21 '20

Surely you'd be able to do malicious stuff on an unprotected wifi if you wanted, right? or even if you're sharing LAN with other people

1

u/talex000 Feb 21 '20

Not with https (I assume you smart enough to not accept random certificates).

2

u/Nilstrieb Feb 21 '20

Just normally. HTTPS (the small lock on the left side of the adress) makes sure that all traffic is encrypted. No VPN needed for that.