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

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: 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.

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.

Pair it with AirDrop Shield, which warns you if your Mac is visible to everyone on the same network, and see Who’s online for the devices around you.