Risks and Benefits Associated with Public WiFi - Essay Example

Wireless Hotspots: The Benefits and Risks with using Public WiFi There are many reasons to believe that public WiFi is both a good opportunity to experience and at some point is something that one must also get rid of due to a certain level of danger linked to using it. While people around the world enjoy employing their mobile communication gadgets that can readily have access to a WiFi zone, many of them also proceed with caution upon using this new advanced technology. Many of them have substantial experiences concerning the use of public WiFi, both good and bad. Unfortunately, for some, the bad results exceed the good ones, but for others too, it is the other way around. Their respective responses to this technology therefore may depend on the kind of opportunities or advantages over the risks that they might have experienced in the advent of a public WiFi technology. It is therefore sound to provide some actual cases or trends that are going on around the use of a public WiFi. The work at hand particularly investigates this idea and provides substantial information that will determine the significant benefits and risks with using public WiFi. It is undeniably hard to contest the fact that public WiFi is almost around everywhere today. This technology might be present even in the public utility vehicles where there is available free WiFi connection that might be unlimited, as part of an added service to the passengers. In various coffee shops and other related places, public WiFi is available too, which entices people especially those who might have personal business transactions that will have to be initiated regularly. In various hotels or generally in the entire hospitability industry, it has become a reality that people might now be in the middle of a wireless network. In either of the above scenarios, one purpose that is clear for having public WiFi is to allow people to have access directly to the online world. However, the use of public WiFi might not only be employed for this purpose alone. This therefore will lead to the point that public WiFi has become a relevant consideration due to the scope of its function or utility value. Other than this, many people are also weighing its potential hazards most especially that there are also some major drawbacks linked to this technology. Nevertheless, it is still important to begin with the good points associated with public WiFi. The world, without question is becoming advanced and there are many things that must require instant replies, feedbacks and other related responses or requirements. These include the need to be connected in a fast-pace communication through the aid of advanced mobile gadgets like smartphones and other related technologies. Linked to these technologies are programs that will allow people to have convenient access to the internet. This triggered the birth of the free public internet access via the installation of a public WiFi zone. Within the range of a public WiFi hotspot, people can connect to the online world and do their personal activities on the Web. There are many people trying to initiate their personal business online. Some of them transact banking activities online. Others are enjoying the opportunity to be connected to their online social networks, which might be free of charge, at some point. What is most important is the thought that there are many things that can be done through the online world today. People can place their orders online or establish their social networks and initiate their businesses, for instance. One important case of this is the use of the online world to perform online banking activities. For instance, through the internet, various users are able to successfully transfer money from a certain account to their other banking accounts online. This makes the transaction moves at a fast pace, without incurring any further delays, as for business persons there is always time value for money. Money is a very important resource for them. This only means that the internet can provide the opportunity to save time and ensure the initiation of a certain business transaction at a fast pace. This is even clear in the use of online shopping sites, like Amazon, e-Bay and other related sites on the Web that offer products and services. There are eventually instances that a person might require to conduct either or all of these activities or their equivalence. For sure, they need go online first and one of the most convenient ways and even the fastest way to do so is to find for a public WiFi zone and get connected to it. What is most enticing about this is the existence of free WiFi open for public consumption. This is quite advantageous to those who might have fully maximized the web for their advantage. For instance, there is a difference between a person who uses the internet only for the sole purpose of just going in there and explore, than an individual who establishes a personal goal on how to use the Web to make that goal a reality. This individual might happen to be a business person and who is trying to maximize the potential of the internet for the advantage of his business or achievement of his interest. A person who has this point of view might find the availability of the public WiFi as a great opportunity for them to conduct their business anywhere or perform their major personal activities online. However, aside from this, the public WiFi is generally a good way for everyone to get connected to the online world wherever they might be. For example, employees in the international or big corporations can eventually do their reporting or interaction online, by using the social networks or established corporate account online as a venue for dynamic interaction for decision-making process and management purposes. A manager who is away might be able to conduct online conference via a social networking site in order to facilitate management-related activities. In fact, the internet has become the most essential tool at present to manage the human resource and ensure the flow of business at a fast pace with all efficiency (Marler and Fisher 18; Stone & Lukaszewski 134). To cite an instance, the use of Skype has proven to be a remarkable opportunity for this purpose. In the event like this, many people will find it convenient to connect to public WiFi and put into action their main goal. The point so far presented in the work at hand reveals that in most cases, the online world has become the relevant extension of the major activities in life in contemporary time. This means that the presence of public WiFi cannot be overlooked in the whole scenario, because this technology has made it possible for people to get connected to the online world where major activities in life in there have now become extension of the actual world. This therefore implies that the public WiFi, at some point, is an extension of life in the actual world. This is just one remarkable benefit of the public WiFi, and that is its ability to connect the people’s lives to the virtual world and add up more convenience to whoever might find it necessary to use its features and its other relevant benefits. However, if there are benefits linked to the use of public WiFi, there are also associated disadvantages that are integrated with its reputation. This issue primarily concerns the online risks of each individual when connected to a public WiFi hotspot. Online breach of security has become undeniably one of the major concerns with regards to the employment of public WiFi (Williams 13). Pubic WiFi is an opportunity for each individual to be part of the online network, but this has substantial risk, because when gadgets are connected to a network, the chance of acquiring malwares is not that slim, but high, especially for Homeland Security (Seo, Gupta, Sallam, Bertino & Yim 43; Khokhar 6). There are different malwares and there are some of those that can steal passwords and other security pins and codes, and this boils down to the point that connecting to a network via a public WiFi cannot guarantee total online security. This therefore leads to the point that one important consideration that is a common issue regarding the use of a public WiFi is its safety. WiFi has a remarkable issue that links it to security challenges (Leroy et al. 1614). This point is based on various experiences of people who happened to have received negative results upon using public WiFi. There are many thieves online and they are good at it. Hackers for sure are one of them. These people are good at doing programs and other strategies that will put one’s security to danger. Initially, the main targets of these groups are people who open up themselves in public networks like that exactly the same in the actual set up of WiFi. There are many cases when an active user’s account that requires log in information like password was hacked. Smartphones nowadays can easily get through public WiFi zone. However, these gadgets have become easy targets of mobile malwares (Seo, Gupta, Sallam, Bertino & Yim 43). This has alarming implication to one’s security, as it can be now easy for hackers to initiate remote executions of things that will put every user of public WiFi in danger of the online threat like thief of passwords resulting to disclosure of bank accounts and eventually illegal online money transactions way beyond the knowing of the account holder. Aside from this, knowing that public WiFi can also be the best place to acquire malwares and other related programs, gadgets used in this place are therefore vulnerable to get infected by anomalous programs that may lead to security breach. Once gadgets incur viruses and malwares, aside from the threat relevant to security is possible on the part of their users, the efficiency of the technology infected by malwares is also a great concern. For instance, once a smartphone acquires malwares online via its direct connection to a public WiFi, there will be a great tendency for this machine to hang most of the time, because malwares will also consume speed and memory simultaneously with other good programs that the users uses and acknowledges as genuine and important. For instance, the worst case that a smartphone can undergo will be the ultimate destruction of its hardware. These are just some of the implications when mobile gadgets for instance will have to be connected to the public WiFi. Specifically, connecting to the public WiFi will open up the possibility of sharing one’s other files to the network. Considering that a WiFi itself is a place for wireless internet and online network, the chance that the other parties may be able to view confidential matters is high. After all, the concept of secure WiFi sharing would have not existed if WiFi is guaranteed to be 100 percent safe in the first place. Public WiFi cannot be a totally safe wireless internet network provided that gadgets like smartphones and programs connected to them have continued to become subjects to bugs and constant improvement (James 5). After all, the internet is a system and each system must have substantial weaknesses. Through these weaknesses, others may be able to take advantage at the expense of the other parties. In other words, public WiFi cannot be totally guaranteed safe, and for this reason it is its remarkable risk. The risk relevant to this is not just about security breach in general, but the associated implication of it. For example, hacked passwords will not only end up stealing of other relevant properties, but the result of this is even a complex problem. It does not only mean losing properties, but involvement of human’s complex emotion is even too much expensive to bear. In other words, public WiFi and connecting to it cannot give a 100 percent assurance that each one is guaranteed safe especially in terms of protecting that something that might be valuable to lose. For as long as public WiFi remains a system, the chance that there is a linked weakness to it cannot just be simply overlooked. People using public WiFi should always proceed with caution, because this is a place where everyone can have time to associate for good and the other way around. If it is the other way around, then the risks that are said to be associated with WiFi are completely justified. In one way or another, people should have to bear in mind that public WiFi cannot be fully trusted, even if it promises other important things, at some point. In a nutshell, the work at hand just presented the relevant points depicting the risks and benefits associated with public WiFi. Illustrations are provided in order to specifically justify the point that public WiFi can be beneficial, but on the other side it could also speak risks. Wireless hotspots, without question, have remarkable benefits, but there are risks involved too. However, considering that a public WiFi is a system and even though systems have weaknesses, there are also ways in order to improve the system and free it from potential drawbacks. This is the reason why public WiFi is still gaining popularity aside from the fact that there are corresponding threats that are linked to using it. After all, minimizing these threats can lead to the optimization of benefits for everybody’s advantage. The work at hand just covered the important points to consider in looking at public WiFi based on its benefits and risks. The discussion reveals that the benefits are remarkably good, but the risks involved cannot be overlooked, because they are capable of bringing potential hazards. Works Cited James, Gareth. “Malicious threats to Smartphones.” Network Security 2004.8 (2004): 5-7. Print. Khokhar, Rafael. “Smartphones – a call for better safety on the move.” Network Security 2006.4 (2006): 6-7. Print. Leroy, Damien, Gregory Detal, Julien Cathalo, Mark Manulis, Fracois Koeune and Olivier Bonaventure. “SWISH: Secure WiFi sharing.” Computer Networks 55.7 (2011): 1614-1630. Print. Marler, Janet H., and Sandra L. Fisher. “An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management.” Human Resource Management Review 23.1 (2013): 18-36. Print. Seo, Seung-Hyun, Aditi Gupta, Asmaa Mohamed Sallam, Elisa Bertino, and Kangbin Yim. “Detecting mobile malware threats to homeland security through static analysis.” Journal of Network and Computer Applications 38 (2014): 43-53. Print. Stone, Dianna L., and Kimberly M. Lukaszewski. “An expanded model of the factors affecting the acceptance and effectiveness of electronic human resource management systems.” Human Resource Management 19.2 (2009): 134-143. Print. Williams, Paul. “Cappuccino, muffin, WiFi – but what about the security?” Network Security 2006.10 (2006): 13-17. Print. Read More