Wifi Safety Question

I have my own internet and use it on my main dell xps computer. My building also has wifi as well that ppl in the building can use, its basically shared thoughout the building and most ppl use this as they are here short term. I had my own internet installed a while back.



Now on my chromebook which i use to stream things online or go to sites where im not sure if its safe or not, i do it on the chromebook and use the building's internet. I also sometimes use the free vpn that is in google chrome that is downloaded form the play store etc. I also used turbovpn the free app as well sometimes if the google vpn has an issue.



Now what i want to know is... if i connect my chromebook to my own internet... is there any risk of anything happening to my internet connection? I know chromebook is safe when web browsing and that is what i do with it... particularly streaming and downloading... but i won't do that on my my regular dell xps computer of course. But is there any risk if i use my own internet while using the chromebook? Does it make difference if i turn on my free vpn on or not or it doesn't really make a difference? I use chromebook for safety issues as visiting sites or streaming sites where im not sure if those sites are safe/can give you virus etc. But using my internet connection would never pose a risk to my own internet right? Like when i use my dell xps and do my regular thing on my own internet, should be zero problem?

Hi. Yes i have my own internet/modem/router. I use it for my main windows ten dell laptop when i do my things. But when i want to do entertainment stuff like stream or go on forums where its possible those sites have malware/viruses, i do it on my chromebook etc. But i also use my buildings internet on the chromebook. Note almost everyone in the building uses the buildings wifi.. im one of the few who have their own internet. But is there any risk though of visiting sites on my chromebook and using my own internet though where it could somehow harm my own internet?


I use free vpn but i only use it on my chromebook. I rarely if ever use public wifi. But i wouldnt mind using my chromebook on public wifi because i dont have sensitive information on it. But say if you download files or even torrents or things like on a chromebook ... if you use your own internet...a hacker/malware can't hack your internet right? Where using your main windows ten laptop would not be safe? That is possible or not?

An unfortunate reality with the internet is; as soon as you plug that router in and the ethernet cable reaches your computer, or you enable wireless and connect to the router - you are vulnerable. This is just a fact. Whether you're connecting from a super advanced bunker in a secret government facility or you're simply at Starbucks makes very little difference. The backbone of the internet is something which stretches back to the sixties when ARPANET was devised as a project to enable government to remain in communication with each other in the event of a nuclear attack. By the seventies the framework we now call the modern internet was established and we are still using that framework today. Things may have evolved in many areas but the foundations are built on visions from a very long time ago (think 1950s and 60s) in a time when there was uncertainty as to whether nuclear war would happen and technologies existing in order to help thwart to possibility of devastation of unimaginable proportions.

Actually much of our backbones for communication are based on old technologies whether you're talking specifically about how computers talk to one another or how your cell network provider directs your phone calls, SMS etc. Technologies that are in some cases older than most people who use the devices themselves to connect to networks which allow them to do the things they do.

What does that mean? Well, the philosophy of these technologies was not to be battled hardened against any potential threat because these technologies were created for nuanced reasons in a time where most of the threats were unheard of. Computer viruses? Malware? What are those? That's what you would be asking when the drafts for these concepts were first produced. People had know idea that we would have a world that would be plagued by advanced threats to the very networks and computers we use on a daily basis. Whether that's your desktop computer or your computer at work, an ATM, airport traffic control systems, radars, college intranets etc. Just run a Windows 95 or 98 virtual disk image in VirtualBox or VMWare and you'll see for yourself how primitive things were, especially when using the internet.

Have things changed? Yeah, big time. But it's changes that are being added to the original framework itself! So that's like building a condo on top of a sand castle. It doesn't matter how lavish and well built your condo is, it's still completely reliant on the sand castle underneath to hold it's weight. That's pretty much the current situation we are in in terms of the backbone of the technologies we use on a daily basis. And so our safety is relative to the building blocks upon which everything is built. And when it comes down to this there isn't much you can ultimately do to remain completely safe and secure...

...except from pull the plug, remove all internet connectivity and anything that might connect out. That's your only choice if you want to be free from the risks. And even then all it takes is for someone to obtain physical access to your computer and/or internal network and you're back where you started from.

All you can do is accept this and do your best to make things better.
And that's where you can fall back on things like antivirus, antimalware, firewall, setting really good passwords, keeping regular backups, encrypting your hard drives and/or stuff inside them, reguarly updating all your software, using privacy and security focused software, keeping your sensitive information private and protected, using a VPN wherever possible, setting access control on your home router, disabling features that are known to make your router vulnerable like WPS, hardening your OS or maybe using a more secure OS. None of these will guarantee anything. But that's just the world we live in.

As for your personal situation...
You shouldn't use public wifi unless it's a high priority and you should use VPN at all times to encrypt your traffic as public wifi by default is not encrypted hence why there's no password. If you use home internet, work internet, space internet - it's all vulnerable. Like mentioned above, EVERYTHING that connects to a network that is internet facing is vulnerable.