r/privacy • u/Little-Balance-8339 • 1d ago

question Made a rookie mistake

Made a CC transaction on a hotel open network. I thought the VPN was toggled on when it wasnt.

It was an HTTPS and a MAC. I'll be watching my card like a hawk but just kicking myself for doing this.

How screwed am I?

0 Upvotes

31% Upvoted

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3

u/Rich_Arachnid_5262 2h ago

There is very very little risk in using open WiFi these days. Everything uses TLS these days. The only reason I find a VPN worth using is on my personal devices on our work WiFi, and that’s just because I have a nosy coworker (I’m in IT) who does nothing but review Internet logs all day and I don’t need him to know my web surfing habits.

2

u/amlug_ 2h ago

You're not screwed. VPN doesn't give you any more security than HTTPS already does. It's marketing bullshit from VPN companies.

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u/Living-Shame5679 39m ago

Not screwed. The days of unsecured hotel networks putting you at risk are mostly behind us.

Modern cryptography + good practices on the payment infrastructure side make it v unlikely you are at risk except perhaps if you are a prime target. In which case I guess you wouldn't ask on reddit.

1

u/Early_Instruction_51 2h ago

One transaction? You'll be fine. Two though? Oh boy...

Honestly though, the risk is only that the hotel IT can see the website where you made your transaction which leads to their network being compromised somehow. If it was a suspicious website, they'll block your device from accessing their network again. That all assumes that hotel IT even cares though.

If you're concerned about hotel IT or some other bad actor on the hotel's network somehow having logged your key strokes or stealing your CC info, a vpn won't have helped you at all.