The availability of Wi-Fi hotspots in major cities in the world has made laptops and even Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones and PDAs truly mobile computers.

People who are always on the go such as business travellers benefit from this because they can access their e-mail and other information from any place where these hotspots are available.

However, in spite of the convenience that Wi-Fi brings, there is also a risk involved in using it.

Most Wi-Fi hotspots are unsecure. Because of this, data that are sent through these wireless networks can be read by anyone on the network who has the right tools.

Packet sniffers are a good example of such a tool. Unsecure networks are also called ?poisoned hotspots? because of the penchant of hackers and identity thieves for stealing other people?s sensitive information.

The good thing is that there are several ways that users can do to protect themselves. One security measure is by turning off file sharing in the computer before connecting to a hotspot.

This prevents other users to see what is in your shared folder and mess with it. Another measure is by turning on their computer?s personal firewall. They basically help restrict traffic to and from their computers.

This is an important tool that people shouldn?t go without. There are a number of good free firewalls out there which why there?s no reason for users to not protect themselves.

Finally, if one is in a hotspot but he/she doesn?t want to connect to the network, it would be good to disable their wireless adapter. This helps prevent people from unwittingly sending out data that others may sniff.

There are other ways that people can do to protect themselves in Wi-Fi hotspots along with the ones mentioned above. Check them out and have a more secure hotspot experience.