Virgin Media warns all UK customers over Wi-Fi dangers - what to look out for

This is usually pretty easy but there are hidden dangers to connecting to open Wi-Fi networks, but these connections can prove dangerous. In August alone, Virgin Media says it helped to stop its customers from accessing more than seven million harmful websites, in turn blocking 50,000 viruses from getting through to their devices. The firm’s Advanced Security service also kept more than 300,000 connections to online banking and shopping safe.

New research from Virgin shows that 79 percent of Brits abroad logged into unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks, with 49 percent unaware of the inherent risks of doing so.

Although hotel Wi-Fi is normally a safe route, it’s not advisable to find open networks in town squares, cafes or pubs, as hackers can easily lurk nearby and try to access your personal private information and apps over the unsecure connections.

“Although it’s tempting when in need of a quick WiFi connection, apply caution and avoid joining unfamiliar networks,” said Gareth Lister, Director of Connectivity at Virgin Media O2.

“Just as you would with personal interactions, apply the principle of ‘stranger danger’ when thinking about who and what you connect your phone to. Connecting to unfamiliar networks can leave users vulnerable to cyberattacks.”

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), to give the company its full name, also owns the O2 mobiel network. Lister pointed out O2 offers up to 25GB roaming data at no extra cost within the EU, so you may not even need to find Wi-Fi if your plan has enough included data. This is much more secure.

If you really need to sign into Wi-Fi though, you might find yourself getting new emails from the network provider with links to connect. VMO2 says to look out for:

• “Lookalike” characters from non-Latin character sets, for example virginmediạ.com
• Typos that evade a quick glance, i.e. Sales.virgenmedia.com
• Links with lots of extra info at the end such as Virginmedia.com.brlb.ru
• Different top level domain “.xyz” is NOT the same as “.com” i.e. virginmedia.xyz”

The firm is offering its Advanced Security service for free for three months if you want to test it out. After that it’s £30 for 12 months or £3 per month. Benefits include remote device disruption that stops your devices being accessed remotely over dodgy networks, banking and shopping protection, virus removal, parental controls for your kids’ devices, and security smarts no matter what mobile network you use.