Technology
The temptations and risks of free Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi is everywhere and incredibly convenient, but is it safe to use? Keep reading to explore the risks of using public Wi-Fi and how a VPN can help protect your privacy while browsing on the go.
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Illustration of Wi-Fi icon (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Risks of using public Wi-Fi
Hackers sometimes try to trick you into connecting to a network labeled “FREE Wi-Fi.” Here’s what you need to know about the potential dangers of public Wi-Fi.
Unencrypted networks
Many public Wi-Fi networks are unencrypted, meaning the data transmitted over them is not secured. This makes it easy for cybercriminals with the right tools to intercept your online activities, including sensitive information like login details, banking data and personal messages.
Malware threats
Connecting to public Wi-Fi can expose you to malware attacks. Malicious actors on the same network can take advantage of security flaws on your device to install harmful software. Some examples are spyware that steals your personal information or ransomware that locks your system or turns your device into a bot for a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Man-in-the-middle attacks
A man-in-the-middle attack occurs when an attacker secretly intercepts communication between two parties, like a user and an app. This allows them to listen in on or alter conversations. On unsecured public Wi-Fi networks, attackers can more easily capture data packets. This potentially gives them access to sensitive information like login credentials, credit card details or private messages. In some cases, they may even modify the data, leading to fraud or data breaches.
JUICE JACKING: FBI ISSUES ALERT ABOUT HIDDEN DANGERS AT PHONE CHARGING STATIONS
Signs of an unsafe network
Hackers often take advantage of public Wi-Fi, but some may go a step further and create fake hot spots under their control. To help you steer clear of these traps, here are some common signs of a rogue Wi-Fi network.
- The network name resembles a trusted one: Hackers sometimes set up fraudulent networks that mimic legitimate ones. For example, you might see duplicate network names or be connected to a “home network” when you’re far from home.
- “HTTPS” sites appear as “HTTP”: If you’re trying to access a secure website and notice it’s loading as an “HTTP” site instead of “HTTPS,” you may be connected to a fake Wi-Fi hot spot.
- The name is generic: Rogue networks often appear in busy areas with vague names like “Free Wi-Fi” to attract unsuspecting users. Legitimate public networks, like those in cafés, usually have more specific names tied to the business.
- Unusual behavior: If you experience strange pop-ups, ads, frequent Wi-Fi disconnections or slow speeds, the network you’re connected to could be compromised. To minimize the risk, disconnect immediately and run a malware scan.
Now that you’re aware of the risks and how to recognize an unsafe Wi-Fi network, you can browse more securely.
Illustration of a hacker (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU JUST HAVE TO USE PUBLIC WI-FI
Where to find legitimate free Wi-Fi
If you’re looking for reliable spots to access free Wi-Fi, these are some great options.
WiFi Map
WiFi Map has pinpointed millions of free Wi-Fi locations across more than 200 countries. Their website displays nearby free Wi-Fi locations by city on an interactive map. Clicking on a spot will reveal the address, the Wi-Fi hot spot name and any required passwords. There’s also a mobile app available, which is especially handy for accessing passwords. Plus, the app offers an offline map feature, so you can search for hot spots without needing a connection.
Your local library
Many libraries offer free Wi-Fi in addition to computer access. Bring your own device to enjoy internet access at no cost. Check your local library’s website or give them a call to confirm if they provide free Wi-Fi and learn about any connection requirements. While some libraries offer open access, others may ask for a password or require a library card number.
Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory
The Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory helps you locate free Wi-Fi hot spots in the U.S., Canada, Asia, the Middle East and more. You can search by region, state or country and even narrow your search to specific types of locations, such as hotels, airports, coffee shops or vacation rentals that provide free Wi-Fi.
6 ways to protect your devices for secure public Wi-Fi use
Public Wi-Fi is everywhere, from your favorite coffee shop to the airport. But while it’s convenient, it also comes with some risks, as we mentioned above. Here are six essential tips to help keep your devices and data safe when you’re browsing on public networks.
1) Use a VPN: Accessing the internet in public places, like coffee shops, can put your personal data at risk. A VPN (virtual private network) ensures that your connection is secure and that your information is encrypted. Using a VPN is one of the most effective ways to safeguard your privacy when browsing on public Wi-Fi. It creates a private, encrypted tunnel for your data, protecting you from potential cyber threats. For the best VPN software, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
VPN on an iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
2) Have strong antivirus software: Cybercriminals often exploit the vulnerabilities of public Wi-Fi to distribute malware or intercept sensitive data, making it crucial to protect your devices against such threats. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
3) Use two-factor authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA on your accounts to add an extra layer of security, even if someone manages to intercept your password.
4) Set strong passwords: Use complex, unique passwords for each of your online accounts. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.
5) Keep software updated: Ensure your operating system, applications and security software are up to date to patch known vulnerabilities.
6) Avoid sensitive transactions: Refrain from accessing sensitive information or making financial transactions while on public Wi-Fi.
AVOID PUBLIC WI-FI BY USING YOUR IPHONE AS A HOT SPOT
Kurt’s key takeaways
Finding free Wi-Fi is easy, but it’s important to watch out for security risks. Services like WiFi Map, local libraries and Wi-Fi-FreeSpot can help you find safe hot spots. To protect your data, always use a VPN on public networks and be careful of suspicious networks or activity.
Have you ever fallen victim to a public Wi-Fi scam? What happened? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Alert: Malware steals bank cards and passwords from millions of devices.
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Technology
Honda’s hybrid future starts with new Accord and RDX prototypes
Honda revealed prototypes of two new hybrid models, an Accord sedan and the Acura RDX SUV, during its annual business briefing this week, built on a platform that it says will begin launching next year. The RDX was announced earlier this year as Honda’s first SUV to feature the next-gen version of its two-motor hybrid system.
In March, Honda announced it would take a writedown of up to 2.5 trillion yen ($15.7 billion) on its EV investments. Now Honda says its EV-related losses will be “resolved” by 2029, and that it will reevaluate its EV plans in 2030.
Technology
New cancer tech sends chemo straight to tumors
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Chemotherapy can save lives, but anyone who has watched a loved one go through it knows how hard it can be. The nausea. The exhaustion. The infections. The days when even getting off the couch feels like too much.
That happens because standard chemotherapy travels through the bloodstream. It attacks cancer cells but can also harm healthy cells along the way. For some pancreatic cancer patients, that approach may be changing.
A targeted drug-delivery system from RenovoRx is designed to send chemotherapy directly near the tumor instead of through the entire body. The system, called Trans-Arterial Micro-Perfusion, or TAMP, is being studied in a Phase III clinical trial for locally advanced pancreatic cancer.
For 83-year-old Hernando Salcedo, who had been left weak, nauseous and overwhelmed by standard chemotherapy, the trial offered something he desperately needed: a reason to hope. He enrolled at Miami Cancer Institute and soon began to feel the shift in his own body. His appetite started coming back. His energy improved. He felt more like himself. “The difference was tremendous,” Hernando said. “I completed eight sessions, one every 15 days, and I felt dramatically better than I did with the original chemotherapy.”
HIDDEN FACTOR IN CANCER TREATMENT TIMING MAY AFFECT SURVIVAL, RESEARCHERS SAY
Cancer patient Hernando Salcedo attended a family wedding after RenovoRx’s Trans-Arterial Micro-Perfusion system delivered chemotherapy directly near his tumor, helping him feel stronger during treatment. (Hernando Salcedo)
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How the RenovoRx drug-delivery device works
RenovoRx’s platform uses the FDA-cleared RenovoCath device to deliver chemotherapy through a catheter placed in an artery near the tumor. A physician guides the catheter into position using X-ray imaging.
Shaun Bagai, CEO of RenovoRx, said the platform is designed to localize chemotherapy delivery near the tumor instead of relying on the drug to travel through the whole body.
“Once in position, two small balloons on the catheter are inflated, and the system is adjusted to isolate a targeted segment of artery adjacent to a tumor,” Bagai said. “The chemotherapy drug is then infused between the balloons, creating pressure to push the drug across the vessel wall and near the tumor, directly bathing the target tumor.”
That setup allows doctors to focus treatment in a specific area rather than exposing more of the body to chemotherapy. “The procedure itself is minimally invasive and is typically performed in an outpatient setting without the need for patients to be put under general anesthesia,” Bagai said.
For patients already dealing with pain, fatigue and fear, that outpatient approach may feel less overwhelming than a major hospital procedure.
How targeted chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer works
To understand why this approach matters, it helps to start with the problem doctors are trying to solve. Dr. Ripal Gandhi, a vascular interventional radiologist and interventional oncologist at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute and Miami Cancer Institute, explained why standard chemotherapy can be so hard on the body.
“With IV chemotherapy, the drug travels through the bloodstream, affecting both cancerous and healthy cells, which can lead to side effects,” Dr. Gandhi said. TAMP takes a more targeted route. A doctor places a catheter in an artery near the tumor, then delivers chemotherapy into that area instead of relying on the drug to circulate throughout the body.
Dr. Gandhi compared it to “a drip irrigation system for individual plants instead of watering an entire lawn.” For patients, that means doctors are trying to focus more of the treatment near the cancer while reducing how much chemotherapy reaches the rest of the body.
Why pancreatic cancer is so difficult to treat
Pancreatic cancer has a reputation for being one of the hardest cancers to fight, partly because the tumor itself can block treatment from working the way doctors want it to.
Dr. Gandhi said that creates a major challenge for standard IV chemotherapy. “Studies have shown that less than 10% of chemotherapy administered intravenously actually reaches tumor cells due to the few blood vessels in the tumor as well as dense fibrous stroma, which serves as a physical barrier in the tumor microenvironment,” Dr. Gandhi said.
That helps explain why targeted delivery could play an important role. TAMP sends the drug closer to the tumor rather than depending on the bloodstream to do all the work.
“This targeted approach via TAMP does not rely on chemotherapy circulating through the body to carry the drug to the tumor via tumor feeder vessels,” Dr. Gandhi said. “Trans-arterial micro-perfusion is a drug-delivery platform that delivers chemotherapy directly near the target tumor where it is needed most.”
NEW CANCER THERAPY HUNTS AND DESTROYS DEADLY TUMORS IN MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH STUDY
Chase McCann, associate director of the cell therapy lab core, demonstrates how cancerous T-cells from a child are used to develop an autoimmune treatment to fight cancer at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 26, 2025. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Patient says targeted chemotherapy gave him hope
Hernando’s cancer journey began after he went to the doctor with a swollen stomach and hip pain. Doctors diagnosed him with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. When he started standard chemotherapy in August 2025, the side effects hit hard. “My body was going through an incredible amount of stress,” Hernando said. “My stomach was inflamed, I had persistent pain in my head, and I had almost no energy.”
He was also receiving chemotherapy and radiation at the same time. “It was a very difficult period, both physically and emotionally,” he said. “I remember feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and unsure of what the future would look like.”
When doctors presented the targeted treatment option, Hernando saw it as more than another medical procedure. “To me, it felt like a new opportunity to live,” he said. “It gave me hope at a time when my family and I really needed it.”
He credits Dr. Gandhi and the team at Miami Cancer Institute with helping him through it all. “From the beginning, he was honest, supportive and clear with my wife, my family and me,” Hernando said. “That meant everything.”
Fewer chemotherapy side effects changed daily life
“Before, I was losing weight, had no appetite and felt drained,” Hernando said. “After switching treatments, things began to change. I stopped losing weight, my appetite came back, my color improved and I had more energy.”
Cancer treatment can sometimes take over everyday life. When side effects ease, patients can get pieces of their normal life back. “After about eight weeks, we could see real progress,” Hernando said. “I was eating more, moving more and feeling excited about life again.”
One moment still stands out. Hernando was able to attend a family wedding and dance the entire night. “That moment meant everything to me,” he said. “After everything I had been through, being able to celebrate with my family in that way felt like a gift.” For Hernando, it was a chance to feel like himself again. “That night at the wedding, I was not thinking only about cancer or treatment,” Hernando said. “I was living.”
Early trial results show survival and quality-of-life signals
The early data from RenovoRx’s Phase III TIGeR-PaC trial suggest the targeted approach may offer both survival and tolerability benefits for some patients.
Dr. Gandhi said completed clinical studies with TAMP in pancreatic cancer showed “a potential for better outcomes and less side effects for patients.”
“In the initial interim analysis of the TIGeR-PaC clinical trial, there was a trend towards improved overall survival by 6 months and improvement in the progression free survival by 8.1 months with 65% fewer adverse events in the TAMP arm of the study,” Dr. Gandhi said.
Who may benefit from targeted chemotherapy delivery?
This approach isn’t for every pancreatic cancer patient. Doctors still need to look at the cancer stage, tumor location, treatment history and whether the cancer has spread.
Dr. Gandhi said Hernando was the kind of patient who could be a strong fit. “He is precisely the type of patient who would benefit best from this approach because he has a tumor which is too far advanced to be treated surgically, but it has not spread to other organs,” Dr. Gandhi said.
He also pointed to clinical trials as an important option for pancreatic cancer patients.”I discussed with him that the recommendation of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network is that the best management for pancreatic cancer patients is participation in a clinical trial whenever possible and he was an ideal candidate,” Dr. Gandhi said.
He went on to say that TAMP may be an option for patients who are not candidates for surgery, patients who have failed chemotherapy or patients who no longer want to continue IV chemotherapy because of side effects.
“TAMP can be used at any point within the treatment landscape, before, during or after other treatment modalities such as IV chemotherapy or radiation,” he said.
PANCREATIC CANCER PATIENT SURVIVAL DOUBLED WITH HIGH DOSE OF COMMON VITAMIN, STUDY FINDS
The RenovoCath device uses a catheter-based system to deliver chemotherapy near the tumor instead of through the whole body. (RenovoRx)
What comes next for RenovoRx’s cancer treatment platform
RenovoRx says the RenovoCath catheter is already FDA-cleared for general therapy and chemotherapy delivery. The company is also nearing the end of enrollment in its Phase III TIGeR-PaC trial.
That trial is evaluating intra-arterial gemcitabine (IAG) delivered through RenovoCath for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Bagai said enrollment is expected to be completed in mid-2026, with final results expected in 2027.
“If positive, data generated from this trial could potentially support a new drug application for this combination product to the FDA for IAG,” Bagai said. RenovoRx also sees potential beyond pancreatic cancer. “The challenge we are addressing is not unique to pancreatic cancer,” Bagai said.
He said the platform could apply to other solid tumors with limited blood supply, including bile duct cancer, certain lung cancers and sarcomas. “The platform is designed to work with different types of therapies, not just one drug,” Bagai said. “That opens the door to future combinations and potential partnerships, with the goal of expanding options for patients who have limited treatment choices.”
What this means to you
If you or someone you love has pancreatic cancer, this story is worth paying attention to. Clinical trials can open up options when standard treatment feels too hard to tolerate or stops working.
Drug delivery matters, too. The medicine itself is only part of the story. Where it goes inside the body can affect side effects, energy levels and quality of life. Targeted chemotherapy delivery remains a specialized treatment approach. Some cancer centers may not offer it, and every diagnosis will not be a fit. Your care team can review imaging, staging, prior treatments and overall health to see whether it makes sense.
Start with direct questions. Ask whether a clinical trial makes sense. You can also ask about targeted delivery options or a second opinion from a pancreatic cancer specialist. Hernando’s advice to other patients is simple. “I would tell them not to lose hope and not to wait to ask questions,” he said.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Pancreatic cancer has a way of turning normal life upside down fast. One day, a family is making plans. The next, they are trying to understand scans, treatment choices and side effects that no one feels ready for. That is what makes Hernando’s story so powerful. The part that stays with you isn’t only the technology. It is the fact that he started eating again. He had more energy. He felt more like himself. And he got to dance at a wedding after wondering what the future would look like. The final Phase III trial results will be important. Doctors still need to see how widely this approach could help patients. But the promise is easy to understand. If chemotherapy can get closer to the tumor while taking less of a toll on the rest of the body, patients may get something that matters just as much as treatment itself: more good days.
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If you or someone you loved needed chemo, would targeted delivery change how you think about treatment? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
Use this map to find the data centers in your backyard
When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was gobbling up public land to fuel its data centers in her home state, she didn’t initially know what to believe. “There’s a lot of misinformation about data centers,” she said. “Google has denied taking that land.”
Technically, she explains, The Dalles, a city near the Washington state border, sought to reclaim that land, “and Google is just a big, unnamed power user.” The city had in fact asked for ownership of a 150-acre portion of Mount Hood National Forest, claiming it needs access to Mount Hood’s watershed to meet municipal needs as its population — 16,010 as of the 2020 census — grows. But critics, including environmentalists, say the city is trying to secure more water for Google, which has a sprawling data center campus in The Dalles that already consumes about one-third of the city’s water supply.
This controversy made Reksopuro curious about the backlash to data centers being built in other communities. So Reksopuro, a student at the University of Washington who studies the connections between tech and public policy, decided to map it out. Using information collected by Epoch AI and data scraped from legislation on data centers, she built an interactive map tracking AI policy around the world. She designed it to be simple enough for anyone to use. “I wanted it to be something that my younger sisters could play through and explore to understand what are the data centers in the area and what’s actually being done about it,” Reksopuro said. She hoped to shift their opinions that way, “instead of like, through TikTok.”
Four times a day, the map searches for new sources and checks them against the existing database Reksopuro built out. “Once it does that, it will write a new summary, add it to the news feed, and populate it on the sidebar,” she said. “I wanted it to be self-updating, since I’m also a student.”
Reksopuro isn’t against data centers, but she thinks tech giants benefit from a lack of transparency around data center policies. “Right now, it’s this really opaque thing — and all of a sudden, there’s a facility,” she said. “I think that if people knew about data centers beforehand, it would give them leverage. They would be able to negotiate: ask for job training programs, tax revenue, environmental monitoring, things to improve their community.”
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