Free wifi traps and the padlock
Big idea: a free network isn’t always what it says it is.
The story in short
At the Silverline Heights mela, Bunny joined the first free wifi he saw. Riya noticed two near-identical names, “Mela_Free_WiFi” and “FREE-MELA-WIFI-FAST”, and Bunny had joined the fake one. Soon he got a “new sign-in from an unrecognised device” alert on his email, and Happy’s game showed an odd-looking login page. Nilu chachu explained evil twin networks and HTTPS. They disconnected, changed the email password on mobile data, and reported the fake network at the help desk.
The idea
- Evil twin: a fake hotspot named almost like a real one, to catch people who don’t check.
- Encryption: scrambling data so only the right destination can read it.
- HTTPS and the padlock: the padlock before a website address means the connection is encrypted.
- Fake login page: a page that looks almost like the real one, built to steal your password.
- Mobile data for sensitive things: use your own data, not public wifi, for payments and passwords.
In real life
Fake wifi hotspots appear at railway stations, airports, malls and events. A free charging cable or kiosk can also be risky. Use mobile data for UPI payments and banking, and check the exact network name with staff.
Remember: Check carefully before you connect, and save anything sensitive for a connection you actually trust.
Check yourself
At a station you see "Station_WiFi" and "Station-WiFi-FREE-FAST". What should you do?
What does the padlock before a website address mean?
You need to pay a bill by UPI at a mall. What's safest?
You think you joined a fake wifi and typed a password. What first?
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