Question Making public wifi as safe as possible

[Desertprep]

I periodically read articles about public wifi making users susceptible to viruses, hacking, etc. My internet search says that the following tools are available: antivirus, anti-malware, vpn and firewalls, all available for android and windows. Is this enough? Are there other tools? Would it be over kill to use a small computer - say a Raspberry Pi - install all of the apps mentioned, connect the rp to the public wifi and then connect my phone, pc or tablet to the rp? Yes, maybe I am a little paranoid and a little ignorant, but I was hacked about 6 months ago and it took more time than I like to think about to get life normal.

 

[USAFRet]

Ultimately, you are on a network owned and managed by someone else.

Your only real protections are:
1. HTTPS. Encryption between the system in your hand, and the remote server. THis is standard.

2. A few functioning brain cells. Don't do or access stupid things.

 

[USAFRet]

but I was hacked about 6 months ago and it took more time than I like to think about to get life normal.

How were you "hacked", and how did you determine this hack?

 

[Desertprep]

How were you "hacked", and how did you determine this hack?

Someone accessed a website and purchased a product using my account - have the debit card remembered in the account. It was done the third day of a trip - I had ordered something from that website on the first day of my travels, and had not access that website in...maybe 5 or 6 months.

 

[USAFRet]

Someone accessed a website and purchased a product using my account - have the debit card remembered in the account. It was done the third day of a trip - I had ordered something from that website on the first day of my travels, and had not access that website in...maybe 5 or 6 months.

But how did they know and access your account at that site?

 

[Desertprep]

But how did they know and access your account at that site?

Good question. I just assumed, because of the timing, that the information was "taken" from my computer while traveling and connecting to wifi at local coffee shops.

 

[USAFRet]

Good question. I just assumed, because of the timing, that the information was "taken" from my computer while traveling and connecting to wifi at local coffee shops.

Possibly.

But again, in a public WiFi, you are on a network controlled and used by someone else.

But HTTPS prevents any man in the middle attack. Your data is encrypted between your laprop and the server at the other end.
There is nothing sniffable.

 

[Cilantro7536]

You can improve your security on public Wi-Fi networks by enabling encryption for DNS queries, such as DNS over HTTPS (DoH) for Windows and private DNS for Android. Otherwise, all your communications are typically encrypted already. Note that some people will tell you that using a VPN in such situations is more secure, but this is only true for unencrypted communications, which your apps and websites most likely aren't using anymore. See this from Proton, a seller of VPN (promoting VPN for privacy, not security):

https://protonvpn.com/blog/vpn-myths

Both Windows and Android come with built-in antivirus software. You can use browser extensions like uBlock Origin to block malicious ads and Malwarebytes Browser Guard to block some malicious sites. uBlock Origin on the Firefox browser also works on Android Firefox. Be careful about links and downloads everywhere.