I'm curious about privacy when using my employer's public WiFi at work. I think they might be able to see which websites I visit, but how can they tell it's me visiting those sites? For instance, if I visit Amazon, they might notice someone went there at a specific time, but how would they link it back to me? I assume it could be related to the IP address, but I'm not sure how they would connect that to my identity. Can someone explain how this works?
3 Answers
They can monitor activity through a combination of factors like MAC addresses and IP addresses. Every device has a MAC address that's unique, and if they log the network activity, they can eventually match your device to that activity. If you’re on the store's WiFi using a personal device, it complicates things a bit, but it is still possible for them to trace it back to you, especially if they know which device belongs to whom.
Exactly! Without that info, it’s much trickier for them to pinpoint your activity.
With tools available today, they can see a lot of what you're up to online. They can get information like your MAC address, the type of device you're using, and even the specific URLs you've visited. Just a heads up, using your personal phone on a public WiFi can be tracked differently, but they can still possibly gather some info on that too.
Does that mean even my mobile data on WiFi could be tracked too?
To be honest, if you just check websites occasionally and keep it appropriate, like you mentioned, it shouldn't be a huge concern. Just remember that frequent visits to inappropriate sites can raise flags and lead to HR having to step in. So cautious browsing is key!
Yeah, I definitely don’t visit anything inappropriate, just curious about the tracking.
So you're saying they need to already know which MAC address belongs to me to connect the dots?