# Coffee Shop Armor: safer on public Wi-Fi, and warned about fake networks

> FireAI checks every Wi-Fi network your Mac joins, switches to Coffee shop mode on an open or weakly secured one, and warns you when a network looks like a fake copy of one you know.

FireAI Docs (HisnLabs) · Feature · Available since FireAI 0.1.6
Canonical: https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/coffee-shop-armor

**Where in FireAI:** World map › Trusted Wi-Fi · Settings › Places

Sit down in any café, hotel or airport and let FireAI tighten up for you.

Public Wi-Fi is where your Mac meets strangers: everyone on the same network can see it, and anyone can set up a hotspot with a familiar name. Coffee Shop Armor watches the network you’re on and reacts on its own, so you don’t have to remember to.

## What it does

- Checks how each Wi-Fi network is secured: open (no password), weak (old encryption such as WEP or WPA1), or strong (WPA2 or WPA3).
- On an open or weak network, switches FireAI from Home to [Coffee shop mode](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/security-modes): incoming connections, file and screen sharing to other devices, and unencrypted mail or FTP are blocked.
- Warns you when a network with a name you’ve used before shows up with weaker security than last time. That’s the classic sign of a fake copy (an “evil twin”) set up to catch your traffic.
- Keeps a Trusted Wi-Fi button at the top of the World map that always shows the current network’s status, not only when something looks wrong.

> **Note:** Coffee Shop Armor only ever makes FireAI stricter. If you already picked Paranoid or Under attack, it leaves your choice alone, and it never switches you back down on its own.

## Turn it on or off

1. Open FireAI › Settings.
2. In Places, use “Detect fake Wi-Fi networks” to turn the fake-network warning on or off.
3. Use “Switch to Coffee shop mode on an open or weak network” to choose whether FireAI changes mode by itself.

## Why FireAI asks for Location

macOS only tells an app the name of your Wi-Fi network if that app has Location access; that’s Apple’s rule, not ours. FireAI uses it to recognise networks and never sends your location anywhere. If you said no earlier, the Trusted Wi-Fi button says Location is needed and takes you straight to the right page in System Settings.

> **Warning:** A fake network with a strong password and a copied name looks the same as the real one from the outside. The warning catches the common case (a copy with weaker security), not every possible trick; on unfamiliar networks, Coffee shop mode is still the safe default.

Pair it with [AirDrop Shield](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/airdrop-shield), which warns you if your Mac is visible to everyone on the same network, and see [Who’s online](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/whos-online) for the devices around you.

## Read next

- [Security modes: Home, Coffee shop, Paranoid, Under attack](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/security-modes.md)
- [FireAI Pilot learns each Wi-Fi network and each security mode](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/fireai-pilot-learns-per-network.md)
- [AirDrop Shield: know when strangers can see your Mac](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/airdrop-shield.md)
- [Who’s online: see every device on your network, and get told when one comes or goes](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/whos-online.md)
- [Places: rule profiles that switch with your Wi-Fi network](https://hisnlabs.com/fireai/en/docs/rule-profiles-by-wifi.md)

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