Are Mobile Hotspots Secure? (Are They Safer Than Public Wi-Fi?)

Mobile hotspots, just like your home network, are only as secure as you make them. They’re generally safer than public wifi since you have full control over password strength and encryption settings. If you’d like to learn how to protect yourself and use mobile hotspots safely, you’re in the right place. I’ll explain how to properly secure your portable wifi hotspot and answer common questions about the safety of public networks.

Are mobile hotspots safer than public wifi networks?

Portable hotspots can be a safer alternative to relying on public networks, but only if you choose to prioritize privacy. An inherent problem with public hotspots is that the owner has full control over the network. As such, they can restrict access to certain sites, monitor which domains you visit, and redirect you at will. Your mobile hotspot prevents this by putting control back into your hands, though for maximum protection, you should also:

1. Change your network name. Your hotspot’s default network name (sometimes called its SSID) may reveal its model or manufacturer. If a vulnerability is discovered, this lets hackers know, at a glance, who their potential targets are.
2. Choose a secure password. Leaving your network unprotected lets strangers use up your data, plus you may be liable if they do anything illegal. That’s why it’s vital to create a strong password. Make sure it’s unique and don’t rely on the default password since these are often very easy to find online.
3. Use WPA3-Personal encryption. This is the strongest encryption currently available on most consumer hotspots. It encrypts data traveling between your device and the hotspot. Without it, anyone could use a technique called packet sniffing to intercept DNS queries and potentially HTTP requests.
4. Consider using a VPN. Virtual Private Networks not only bypass ISP throttling, but their encryption also stops your service provider from tracking your online activities. Just make sure the kill switch is enabled so a sudden disconnection doesn’t leave you exposed.

How to make your mobile hotspot more secure

Create a strong password

You may have heard that it’s important to include a mixture of capital letters, numbers, and symbols. This makes your password harder to guess but comes with a couple of major downsides. First, complicated passwords are difficult to remember. Second, people often do the bare minimum to meet complexity requirements, for instance, changing “password” to “Password1!”. This gives the illusion of security when really, it hardly provides any extra protection against password-cracking attempts.

Luckily, there is an easier way. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a password’s length matters more than its complexity. Aim for at least 15 characters, and avoid any of the most-common passwords like “minecraft”, “123456”, or “admin”. You can also chain words together – “pineapplekayaksunflower” is complex enough that it’d take years of constant brute forcing to crack. Any words that aren’t in the dictionary increase complexity too!

When you’re ready, follow these steps to change your mobile hotspot’s password:

• Android: Settings > Network and Internet > Hotspot and tethering > Wi-Fi hotspot > Hotspot password
  
• iOS: Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot > Wi-Fi password
• Physical hotspot: Connect to the hotspot, type its IP address into the URL bar, and log into the dashboard. From here, find the change password option.

Protect your network with WPA3 encryption

Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3 for short) is the newest security protocol for wireless networks. This was released in 2018, shortly after WPA2 was cracked, but did far more than simply patch vulnerabilities. There are two versions: WPA3-Enterprise (for businesses) and WPA3-Personal (for individuals). Unless you need enterprise levels of security, choose Personal.

WPA3 uses optional Opportunistic Wireless Encryption to shield all traffic between your device and the hotspot, even if the network isn’t password-protected. Not only that, it prevents offline brute-force attacks and uses forward secrecy to ensure cracked session keys can’t be used to decrypt old traffic.

Now, while most modern devices should support WPA3, older hardware may not work. If you really need to connect legacy devices, use the WPA2/WPA3-Personal mode instead. This isn’t as secure (since you’re still using an older version of WPA), but it’s fine in the short term.

Here’s how to change your portable hotspot’s encryption type:

• Android: Settings > Network and Internet > Hotspot and tethering > Wi-Fi hotspot > Security
  
• iOS: Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot > Maximize Compatibility. Note: iOS defaults to WPA2/WPA3-Personal, and toggling Maximize Compatibility switches to WPA2 Personal.
• Physical hotspot: Log into the hotspot’s management panel and look for an option marked “Security” or something similar.

Connect to a VPN

Using a properly secured mobile hotspot instead of public wifi significantly increases your privacy. However, your online activities still aren’t anonymous – your cell carrier can see what you get up to. That’s where VPNs come in – these services encrypt all of your traffic, rendering it unreadable to anyone, even your ISP.

There are other benefits too. For example, VPNs can help you spoof your location and access sites that aren’t normally available where you are. What’s more, because your ISP can’t see what you’re doing, they’re less likely to automatically throttle your speeds.

I’ve been testing consumer VPNs for years. Here are my tips for finding a service that’s truly capable of keeping your online activities private:

• Avoid free VPNs. These often have monthly data caps and may inject ads or sell details of your browsing habits to advertisers.
• Look for evidence of past audits. Sometimes less-reputable providers lie, obfuscate, or hide the extent of the logs they keep. That’s why independent audits verifying the VPN follows a no-logs policy are the gold standard.
• Make sure it has a kill switch. If your connection to the VPN drops, a kill switch kicks in and stops you from browsing until you’re reconnected. This prevents situations where you think your traffic is secured when it actually isn’t.
• Check for leak protection. Without IPv6 or DNS leak protection, your real IP address and location may be visible even with the VPN connected.

Are public networks actually dangerous?

Public networks aren’t always dangerous, but they certainly can be. Even assuming the hotspot owner does the minimum logging required, there’s always a chance someone else is monitoring you. For instance, they could perform a Man-in-the-Middle attack, trick you into connecting to a fake network (a so-called “Evil Twin”). There are low-tech options like shoulder surfing too – it’s perfectly possible to steal login credentials by watching what someone types.

The main thing to remember is that an improperly secured private hotspot is equally dangerous. Unknown devices in the connections list, slower-than-usual speeds, and failed login notifications are all red flags. The risks are too high to ignore: unsecured hotspots allow strangers to use your connection for nefarious purposes and incur steep data usage charges.

Wrapping up

Whether you’re hoping to tether your laptop while working remotely or just keep the kids occupied on a long drive, a properly secured Wi-Fi hotspot is extremely helpful. If you’ve followed the steps in this guide, you should be able to browse safely from just about anywhere. It’s important to know how to use public wifi safely too, in case you unexpectedly run out of data.