🎯 What you will learn
- By the end of this lesson you'll know the risks of public Wi-Fi networks.
- You'll be able to recognise fake hotspots (“evil twins”).
- You'll understand what HTTPS protects and what it doesn't.
- You'll know what a VPN is and when it's useful.
- You'll know the basic steps for securing your home router.
How Wi-Fi works, in a nutshell
When you connect to Wi-Fi, your device talks by radio waves to a router, which then connects you to the internet. Everything you send – web pages, messages, passwords – passes through this router. That's why it matters who the router belongs to and whether the connection is encrypted.
- Password-protected network (WPA2/WPA3) – the radio signals between you and the router are encrypted.
- Open network with no password – there's no encryption at the Wi-Fi level, so other people nearby can more easily see any unprotected traffic.
- Even on a password-protected network, the network's owner (or anyone who has taken control of the router) can see which websites you connect to.
The risks of public Wi-Fi
You'll find public Wi-Fi in cafés, shopping centres, buses, hotels and airports. The main risks are:
- Evil twins – an attacker sets up a network with a similar name, e.g. Kafe_Qendra_FREE next to Kafe_Qendra. When you connect, all your traffic passes through their device.
- Fake login pages (captive portals) – a page asking you to sign in with your Google or Facebook account, or with card details, “to use the internet”.
- Eavesdropping on traffic that isn't encrypted.
- Other devices on the same network trying to connect to your device, if file sharing is switched on.
HTTPS: what it protects and what it doesn't
HTTPS (the padlock 🔒 in your browser) means that the connection between your browser and the website is encrypted. Even if someone is snooping on the Wi-Fi, they can't read the content.
| HTTPS protects you from… | HTTPS does NOT protect you from… |
|---|---|
| Someone reading your password and messages on the way | A fake phishing website that also has HTTPS |
| The page being altered on the way | Malware on your device |
| People snooping on the content over public Wi-Fi | The network owner seeing the name of the website you visit |
- If your browser shows the warning “Your connection is not private” on public Wi-Fi, don't carry on – it could be an attack.
- Turn on the “Always use secure connections” / HTTPS-Only option in your browser.
VPNs: what they are and when you need one
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates an encrypted “tunnel” from your device to the VPN provider's server. The local network (e.g. the café's Wi-Fi) can only see that you're connected to a VPN, not what you're doing.
- Useful: on public or unfamiliar Wi-Fi, when you're travelling, or when your school/university gives you a VPN to access its services.
- It doesn't make you anonymous: the VPN provider sees your traffic instead of the local network. That's why choosing the right provider matters.
- Beware of unknown “free” VPNs: some collect and sell your data, show adverts or even contain malware.
- A VPN doesn't protect you from phishing, from malware or from posting personal details.
- Using a VPN to get round school rules, parental controls or age limits isn't a good solution – talk about it instead.
Rules for public Wi-Fi
- Ask the staff for the exact name of the network and the password.
- Avoid logging in to banking, payments and very sensitive accounts on public Wi-Fi; use mobile data instead.
- Don't enter passwords or card details on the Wi-Fi login page.
- Turn off auto-connect to open networks and turn off file sharing (AirDrop set to Contacts Only, Nearby Share restricted).
- On Windows, choose the “Public network” profile for networks you don't know.
- When you've finished, tap “Forget network” so that your phone doesn't connect to it automatically next time.
Your home router: security basics
The home router is the whole family's doorway to the internet. With a parent's help, check the following:
- Change the router's admin password (not just the Wi-Fi password). Many routers come with default passwords that can be found online.
- Use WPA3 encryption if it's supported, or at least WPA2 (AES). Never use WEP or an open network.
- Set a long Wi-Fi password (a passphrase of 15+ characters).
- Update the router's firmware or turn on automatic updates; very old routers that no longer get updates should be replaced.
- Turn off WPS and remote management if you don't use them.
- Create a guest network for visitors and “smart” devices (TVs, cameras, light bulbs).
- Check the list of connected devices every now and then – do you recognise them all?
📖 A real-life story
Gresa, 16, from Prizren, was waiting at the bus station for the bus to Prishtina when she saw two networks: Stacioni_WiFi and Stacioni_WiFi_Free. She connected to the second one, which opened a page asking her to sign in with her Google account “to activate the internet”.
Gresa noticed that the page's address wasn't Google's and that the station's real network didn't ask anyone to sign in with an account. She disconnected straight away, “forgot” the network and used her mobile data instead. When she got home, she told her dad, and together they checked their home router: they changed the admin password, which was still “admin”, and switched to WPA3.
✅ Do / Don't
✅ Do this
- Ask the staff for the exact name of the public network.
- Use mobile data for banking, payments and sensitive accounts.
- Turn on HTTPS-Only in your browser.
- Use a trustworthy VPN (e.g. your school's, or one from a well-known provider) on networks you don't know.
- Turn off auto-connect and file sharing in public places.
- “Forget” public networks after you've used them.
- Change the admin password on your router at home.
- Use WPA3 or WPA2 and keep your router updated.
❌ Don't do this
- Don't connect to networks with suspicious names like “FREE_WiFi_Fast”.
- Don't sign in with your Google/Facebook account on a Wi-Fi login page.
- Don't ignore the “Your connection is not private” warning.
- Don't use unknown “free” VPNs you've seen in adverts.
- Don't leave your router with its factory password.
- Don't use WEP or a home network without a password.
- Don't give your main Wi-Fi password to every visitor – use a guest network.
👨👩👧 For parents and teachers
Routers are often installed by the internet provider and then forgotten about for years. A 15-minute check can make your family a lot safer.
- Log in to the router's control panel (the address is usually printed on the label underneath it) and change the admin password.
- Check the encryption (WPA3/WPA2), update the firmware and set up a guest network.
- Many routers and internet providers offer parental controls and content filters – you can use them as an extra layer of protection, as long as you explain them to your child.
- If you're not sure, ask your internet provider for help.
- Teach your child to use mobile data rather than public Wi-Fi for anything sensitive.
- In class, teachers can compare open Wi-Fi to a “postcard” and HTTPS to a “letter in a sealed envelope”.
🧠 Mini-quiz
Answer 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson is marked as completed in your passport.