How To Find Free WiFi Hotspots Near You
There are approximately 350 million public wi-fi hotspots available globally.
This number includes restaurants with free wifi, shops, cafes and hotels. In fact, recently, there has been an increase in the number of parks, bus/train stations and airports offering free wifi as well which is why it has become easier to stay connected wherever you go.
A Free WiFi Hotspot open to the public is usually unsafe. You can start protecting your online privacy by getting a 7-day trial with PureVPN.
Top 10 places offering the Best Free WiFi
There are plenty places like restaurants, coffee shops and hotels offering a free internet connection to customers. The following are some popular places offering the best and fastest free WiFi connections:
Starbucks Coffee Company
Your most favorite coffee house has partnered with Google Fiber to provide free and unlimited Wi-Fi access to its customers at approximately 15,000 stores in the US alone.
Finding a Starbucks near you isn’t much of a challenge because it is available everywhere. You only need to visit the café, order their cheapest coffee, and use the free Wi-Fi hotspot for not more than $2. Here is how you can access Starbucks' WiFi Network.
McDonald’s
McDonald’s offers free Wi-Fi access to all its 11,500+ franchises. The download speeds at McDonald’s are also twice as fast as most other national chains.
The food may not be good, but you can try out their coffee or soda while you’re using their free Wi-Fi hotspot. Check their website and restaurant locator to see if there’s a location with free Wi-Fi available near you.
Dunkin’ Donuts
Dunkin Donuts WiFi is incredibly popular across the globe. However, you may not be aware of the fact that it also offers free wi-fi at thousands of its locations.
Burger King
The Scrumptious Big King XXL Meal and mouthwatering Whooper Sandwich aren’t the only specialties of Burger King. Luckily, you can also enjoy high-speed internet connectivity at Burger King, while munching your favorite meal.
Walmart
Numerous Walmart outlets have been offering free WiFi services for over a decade now. The retail giant realizes that it could take 2-3 hours for a family to shop around once they visit a Walmart store. Hence, the company provides its customers with a free WiFi facility during their visit.
When you’re visiting a Walmart outlet, be sure to check if they’re offering free WiFi and carry on with your shopping while staying connected digitally.
Target
Target’s free WiFi service will keep you entertained while you’re shopping at the retail store. While you probably won’t be able to use their internet service to browse the web for an extended period, you can certainly save a lot of your mobile data.
That’s not it, several Target locations now come with Target cafes, and so if a store near you happens to have the café attached to the building, you can connect to the internet.
Best Buy
When you’re visiting a Best Buy store, it’s easy to get distracted with so much tech around you, and a simple 15 min stop can turn into an hour-long shopping spree. Fortunately, Best Buy offers free WiFi service for you to browse the web, send an urgent email, or do a price compare online.
Best Buy is known for providing exceptional download speeds. You can head inside, connect your phone, and download whatever you want while using the latest gadgets without paying a dime.
Marriott Hotels
Marriott offers free WiFi service for anyone who’s visiting the hotel. Guests and visitors can connect to the hotels’ WiFi and enjoy browsing the web and stream their favorite TV shows and movies.
Having a free WiFi facility keeps you connected to your office, family, and friends while enjoying your stay at the hotel.
Hilton Hotels
Hilton hotel offers free WiFi in the lobby, so anyone who’s coming to the hotel or near the hotel’s premises can connect to the hotel WiFi and use the internet.
While the internet speed might not be the best, it’ll be enough for you to carry on with your internet activities with slight interruptions. This is because several people are using hotel WiFi.
Local Library
A nearby library can gain you access to free internet. Public libraries offer free Wi-Fi access such as the New York Public Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, LA County Library and Brooklyn Public Library.
It’s recommended that you visit the official website of your local library to see if they offer free WiFi.
Other Free WiFi Options
Since the Corona-virus pandemic, many restaurants have been shut down. In the case that you do not have access to these food chains, you may resort to the alternatives to find free internet.
You can find the nearest public library to get access to free internet. Public libraries that have free Wi-Fi access include the New York Public Library, Free Library of Philadelphia, LA County Library and Brooklyn Public Library. You may visit the official website of your local library to see if they offer free WiFi.
Furthermore, you can use a WiFi Directory to find the nearest wifi spot in your neighborhood. A WiFi directory will show you hotels, airports, RV parks, and gyms, hospitals etc.
Vulnerabilities in Free WiFi Hotspots
It is important to understand that public WiFi, as the name suggests, is open to anyone who wants to connect to the Internet. The user could be anyone, even those harboring the evil intention of compromising your private information for personal gains.
Here’s how they do it:
Unsecure Network: Yes. Even though Wi-Fis come with standard encryption protocols, you can never be sure if those protocols are 100% secure or not. Take for instance the KRACK Wi-Fi vulnerability, which could allow hackers to monitor or pry on your private information.
MITM Attack: KRACK or other types of vulnerabilities in the Wi-Fi networks can also lead to Man-in-the-Middle (MTIM) attacks. A MITM attack gives hackers the ability to listen in on the data transmission between a user’s machine and the server.
Hacking Kits: There are hacking kits available that let cybercriminals compromise free WiFi hotspots. By using such kits, they can see what web pages you are viewing and even what credentials you are using to access your online accounts.
Fake Hotspot: Remember that hackers continuously come up with unique ways to steal your online data, and using a fake WiFi hotspot is one way to do it. A hacker near you may lure you into his trap by creating a malicious hotspot through which he can easily infect your device with malware or a key logger. As a result, the attacker can easily take control of your device and your private information.
Follow the Security Checklist before Connecting to a Free WiFi Hotspot
Now that you know the dangers of free WiFi hotspots, learn how you can use public WiFi securely:
Always Confirm Wi-Fi Authenticity
Since you know now that hackers can pry into your online data through malicious hotspots, it would be wise to verify the connection before joining it. The best way to ensure that the open Wi-Fi you want to connect to is genuine or not is by asking the employee of the establishment.
Whether you are using the Wi-Fi in an airport, café or a restaurant, you can ask an employee if they host the Wi-Fi or not.
Don’t Toggle On File Sharing
Never keep your device’s file sharing turned on, especially when you are connected to an open Wi-Fi. Unsuspecting users usually allow auto-sharing when they need to share documents, images or any other type of data with other devices. If the option is turned on, hackers can easily gain access to sensitive data.
Therefore, always make sure that file sharing is turned off before joining a Wi-Fi.
Avoid Checking Private Data
Public spots are not the places to conduct personal activities, for instance, to check private emails or conduct online transactions. When you make online transactions on open Wi-Fis, you expose your sensitive data to cybercriminals.
It is best to not use such networks for checking sensitive data unless it is essential.