When I am on Wi-Fi, I am Fearless: Privacy Concerns & Practices in Everyday Wi-Fi Use

Increasingly, users access online services such as email, ecommerce, and social networking sites via 802.11-based wireless networks. As they do so, they expose a range of personal information such as their names, email addresses, and ZIP codes to anyone within broadcast range of the network. This paper presents results from an exploratory study that examined how users from the general public understand Wi-Fi, what their concerns are related to Wi-Fi use, and which practices they follow to counter perceived threats. The authors' results reveal that while users understand the practical details of Wi-Fi use reasonably well, they lack understanding of important privacy risks.