I would suggest you always use a vpn. This way you can also stay private and anonymous. On top of that as you mentioned I would also recommend a good anti-virus software.
good idea , yeah using VPN will at least save us from being victims of those abusers and bad people in internet . but about anti virus? not sure if we are just that safe with all the hackers way nowadays.
Using free wifi networks can lead to lots of privacy leaks such as bank account compromising when you log in with your details over such networks, seed phrases and private keys interception
Normal people do not share seed phrases and private keys online, with or without free WiFi. I am currently in a hotel on public WiFi. My private keys are not leaving my laptop.
this is why when saving a private key , i add some characters in the front and the back at least each have 5 letters and numbers combined so the hackers might find it hard to check what is the combination .