There are an increasing number of ways to get legitimate free wireless internet access while you are out and about. There has been an increasing amount of publicity about so called “piggybacking” which is where you effectively steal a person’s broadband by connecting to their unsecured wireless router. It is illegal to use someone’s broadband connection with-out their permission.
A place where you can access the internet in public is often called a Wi-Fi hotspot.
If you are already a BT Broadband customer you can get free Wi-Fi all over the country. By registering on www.btfon.com and agreeing to share a separate portion of your own broadband Wi-Fi, you can in turn use more than 3 million hotspots provided by other BT customers in the same scheme.
If you aren’t using BT then visit www.wefi.com/maps to view a searchable Google Map to help you find free hotspots in pubs and restaurants.
Many fast-food chains, restaurants, coffee shops and pubs now offer free internet access if you make a purchase. You need to register your details, but once you have done this then you can browse away. Interestingly in many location the service is provided by the same company www.thecloud.net so once you have registered your details you can access lots of hotspots with- out the rigmarole of having to register every time.
One word of caution! Beware of fake free hotspots. These are set up by criminals in the same location as genuine hotspots and give hackers a way to steal your passwords and private data. Always double check with the staff in the hotspot location if you aren’t sure which hotspot to connect onto especially if there are two with similar names. Or you can download hotspot shield from www.hotspotshield.com which will encrypt your personal information making it harder for hackers to steal your information. I would also be cautious of access your online banking in a public hotspot.
Happy surfing
