As Windows continues its innovation to create its latest version, Windows 10, the updated operating system also makes some changes and tweaks some of its features to improve the user experience. One of these new settings changes is the addition of Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10.
Introduction to Wi-Fi Sense
Wi-Fi Sense is a built-in feature of Windows 10 that can automatically connect you to suggested Wi-Fi access points and Wi-Fi networks your contacts have shared with you. While connecting, you may see a Wi-Fi Sense message box requesting to sign in to your Facebook account. Meanwhile, it also works with Skype and Outlook.com contacts.
Wi-Fi Sense was primarily a Windows 8.1 feature that made a leap like Windows 10 for desktops, laptops, and tablets. It works in the background of the operating system which automatically shares selected Wi-Fi networks and downloads the Wi-Fi network information shared by your contacts. The idea is to automatically access the Wi-Fi network of your contacts (who have shared with you) via Windows 10 when you are present in your location.
Sharing saved Wi-Fi settings with friends and family can be an exciting idea, as it's so much easier to connect with everyone at the same time, but even that convenience comes with a cost as well as security risks. To avoid putting your privacy at risk, make sure you DO NOT manually share your login information, but rather share it via W-Fi sense.
However, according to Microsoft, there are a few things to keep in mind before continuing;
(i) Windows 10 is the only operating system that supports Wi-Fi Sense and no other version of Windows supports it,
(ii) The availability of Wi-Fi Sense is limited to some countries and regions and not to all,
(iii) Wi-Fi Sense requires you to sign in to your Microsoft account.
Today in this article we will show you how Wi-Fi Sense works and how you can set it up in Windows 10. So let's go.
Using Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10
When it comes to alerting users, there are many things that Microsoft seems to have compromised with many of its important features in Windows 10, including sharing the download file or its keylogger. However, they recognized this loophole and provided some security actions for the Wi-Fi Sense concept.
We have listed some of the security actions listed below:
Shared network credentials only work on Wi-Fi-enabled Windows 10 for anyone who wants to use them;
Also works via Skype, Outlook, Hotmail, Facebook and Outlook.com;
Never reveal the Wi-Fi password to any user;
Grants access to Windows 10 administrators to disable the feature.
Learn to use Wi-Fi Sense
- To enable Wi-Fi Sense on your Windows 10 device, click Open the “Settings” tab or type Wi-Fi Settings in the search box to search for it.
Alternatively, you can also press key Windows + i to open the settings. Click on Network and internet and then click Wi-Fi in the sidebar.
- Now go directly to the bottom of the Wi-Fi settings window and click on Open the option called “Manage Wi-Fi Settings”.
- You will now see two options:
1.-Connect to the suggested open access points e
2. - Connect to the network shared by my contacts. - These options will give you the option to put "ON" Connect to the suggested open hotspots. To use the Wi-Fi sense, turn it on.
- The second setting option specifically mentions below that you can allow others to use your network connection with your Wi-Fi settings without allowing them to view or share your password. You can simply connect to Wi-Fi networks shared by your contacts and they can connect to your sharing network.
- With this, you have finally enabled Wi-Fi Sense on your personal computer, allowing you to instantly connect to Wi-Fi networks shared by other Wi-Fi Sense enabled Windows 10 computers.
Once activated, you can now manage the networks shared by your contacts in the “Manage known network” option. - In case you don't want to share known networks with Windows 10 users, select the network and click on it to forget it.
- If necessary, you can also disable Wi-Fi Sense completely from here or select whether you want Wi-Fi Sense to automatically connect to networks shared by your contacts.
- You also have the option to choose the type of contacts you want to share the connection details with, with the help of Wi-Fi Sense, i.e. with Skype, Outlook.com or Facebook.
How do you share Wi-Fi networks with your contacts?
Windows 10 lets you control sharing the Wi-Fi network connection of your choice. To do this, you need to connect to a Wi-Fi network in Windows 10 where you will see a checkbox titled “Share network with my contacts”. Clicking the checkbox will automatically share your login credentials with your known contacts via any device that supports Windows 10. Therefore, as long as you are close to a shared network, the Wi-Fi Sense feature will automatically detect and connect. It will also allow you to share your home Wi-Fi network with your friends, as long as they are using a Windows 10 device.
Microsoft Facebook connection
Like any other Microsoft application, Wi-Fi Sense can collect your contacts from Facebook. If you allow Wi-Fi Sense to log into Facebook, your Facebook friends can see all of your shared networks. In addition, the shared networks of your Facebook contacts who share with you will also be automatically downloaded and stored.
How Microsoft accesses Skype and Outlook.com is a breeze as you don't need a separate permission to access them as both applications are owned by Microsoft and therefore connected to your Microsoft account.
How to disable sharing of Wi-Fi network passphrase?
If you are using the Wi-Fi detection feature, your Facebook friends will automatically have access to the details of your Wi-Fi network and you won't even be able to choose who to share it with! Also, anyone using a Windows 10 device connects to the shared network; They can also go ahead and share their Wi-Fi network credentials with their contacts using Windows 10.
So in all these cases, while using the Wi-Fi detection feature, you don't have the option to block your passphrase, unless you choose not to use it. It means you can't leave it idle, but choose not to share Wi-F Sense by changing the SSID to end with _optout, ie if your network name is "XYZ", you need to change the SSID to " XYZ_optout ”to disable, OR you can change the name of your wireless network.
Is it really safe to use Wifi sense?
With Microsoft taking precautionary measures such as, not allowing sharing of Wi-Fi network credentials by creating built-in security features and allowing users to disable the feature entirely if needed, it seems safe to use it with people for now. maybe. And it's a dynamic way for a group to connect on a single platform as long as you're using Windows 10.
