{"id":30128,"date":"2026-05-22T10:36:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/?p=30128"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:56:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:56:34","slug":"tips-for-using-public-wifi-securely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/22\/tips-for-using-public-wifi-securely\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Using Public WiFi Securely"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-600x338.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30129\" style=\"width:686px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-600x338.png 600w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-665x374.png 665w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal.png 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s best to avoid public WiFi and go online using a secure <a href=\"https:\/\/its.umich.edu\/enterprise\/wifi-networks\/wifi\">U-M WiFi option<\/a> or a <a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/protect-yourself\/secure-your-devices\/home-wireless-network\">secure home wireless network<\/a>. If you need to use public WiFi, you can do so more securely by following the tips below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-2cc47efe\"><h2 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/protect-yourself\/be-safe-online\/secure-connection\">Secure Your Internet Connection<\/a> includes best practices for securing your connection and helps you find the appropriate VPN for your campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>MiWorkspace Windows Users:<\/strong> The <a href=\"https:\/\/its.umich.edu\/miworkspace\/how-do-i\/work-remotely\">Cisco management tunnel<\/a> is installed on your computer, and it automatically protects many of your connections to U-M resources for remote work without you needing to do anything. You may still need to use the U-M VPN to connect to some resources, and you should use a VPN to secure work connections from your personal computer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MiWorkspace Mac Users:<\/strong>\u00a0Your MiWorkspace Mac is configured to use the U-M VPN. Learn more about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/documentation.its.umich.edu\/node\/4160\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">connecting to the UMVPN using the built-in macOS<\/a> client. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Devices not managed by MiWorkspace:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/its.umich.edu\/enterprise\/wifi-networks\/vpn\/getting-started\">Getting Started with VPN<\/a> provides more information on configuring VPN.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-a5c732b8\"><h2 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Limit What You Share<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Beware of registering for or signing up to use public WiFi, especially if this requires you to provide personal information. Do not connect if it asks for information you are uncomfortable giving. Don&#8217;t reuse your username or password.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid doing sensitive work or transactions like banking, shopping, or transmitting personal information on public networks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don&#8217;t save a public network for automatic connection later.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>See <a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/protect-yourself\/be-safe-online\/secure-connection\/public-wifi\">Security Tips for Using Public WiFi<\/a> on Safe Computing for more tips and helpful resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s best to avoid public WiFi and go online using a secure U-M WiFi option or a secure home wireless network. If you need to use public WiFi, you can do so more securely by following the tips below. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Secure Your Internet Connection includes best practices for securing your connection and helps\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/22\/tips-for-using-public-wifi-securely\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":30129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_umich_oidc_access":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[488,83],"class_list":["post-30128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safe-computing","tag-cybersecurity","tag-wifi"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal.png",1152,648,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-400x266.png",400,266,true],"medium":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-768x432.png",665,374,true],"large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-600x338.png",600,338,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal.png",1152,648,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal.png",1152,648,false],"excerpt-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-200x140.png",200,140,true],"themonic-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-60x42.png",60,42,true],"ioslider-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-658x300.png",658,300,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-665x374.png",665,374,true],"400x250-crop":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Public-WiFi-Graphic-16x9-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-400x250.png",400,250,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bridget Weise Knyal, ITS Privacy Office","author_link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/author\/bweise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"It&#8217;s best to avoid public WiFi and go online using a secure U-M WiFi option or a secure home wireless network. If you need to use public WiFi, you can do so more securely by following the tips below. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) Secure Your Internet Connection includes best practices for securing your&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30128"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30135,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30128\/revisions\/30135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}