There are other steps you can take to keep yourself safe, including turning off file sharing and running your company's VPN when at a hot spot. You can also pay to use a VPN such as HotSpotVPN. For details and many other tips for keeping yourself safe, see "How to protect yourself at wireless hot spots".

In addition, Authentium is working with financial institutions to create a product called VirtualATM, which will help protect you when you connect to a financial institution. It's expected to be released later this year.

Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld.com, and the author of more than 35 books, including How the Internet Works.