Portable/Travel Routers: Portable WiFi solution?

[Artemisveras]

Greetings,

I'm researching what's the best way to have a safe wifi connection on the go, both for mobile and laptop devices (specifically in libraries/coffee shops while I'm at college). So far I've found that portable wifi routers are the ideal solution. The best part is that you can connect to an existing public wifi network and establish your private network on top of the public wifi. Though how secure is that? Ultimately your private network is still routed though the public network to reach the modem. So... is it safe?

Your help would be immensely appreciated!

If you have any suggestions/thoughts about portable routers/wifi please share

Thank you,

-Artyom

 

[boosted1g]

Using the router will make it much harder for someone to hack into your device from a public hotspot because of the NAT firewall that the router provides.

Your data on the other hand (that is not https) will be completely in the clear with no protection once it leaves your router to go onto the open network.

If you want to encrypt all data being sent out you will need to configure a VPN tunnel to either your home network or a VPN service provider.

 

[kanewolf]

A VPN to a trusted host is the most secure way to have public access. Your traffic is encrypted all the way to the distant end. Even with a VPN, at some point your traffic will be unencrypted, websites that don't support HTTPs, e-mail servers that don't support encrypted connections, etc. You have to decide what you are trying to protect against. WIFI packet sniffers? Small business networks with taps on them? AT&T sending all your data to the NSA? Each of those is a different problem and requires a different solution.