Do you trust public WiFi?

Adam Turner worries about public WiFi security at the Sydney Morning Herald in Do you trust public WiFi?

Free WiFi is almost everywhere, but why risk it when you can stick with mobile broadband?

Turner’s point is it doesn’t make sense to use what might be an insecure WiFi network when most people have plenty of unused mobile data on their phone plans. And even if you don't additional data rarely costs much these days.

I avoid using unknown free WiFi networks, they are too risky. Fake public WiFi access points are common in busy places such as airports or railway stations. Recently I noticed a fake public WiFi access point at the local hospital... the log-on page looked legitimate enough to convince inexperienced users it was safe.

Some people argue that VPNs offer protection against flaky public WiFI scams. They can give you a secure connection from point to point, but leave you vulnerable to a man in the middle attack.