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USA Has More Open Wi-Fi Hotspots Than EU

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the my-password-is-passw0rd dept.

Mark.JUK writes "Some 40% of wireless (Wi-Fi) Internet access hotspots in the USA are unlocked and do not require a security password, which compares with 25% in Europe; according to WeFi based statistics. Across the world, approximately 30% of recorded Wi-Fi access points are unlocked, while some 70% are locked. Nice to see everybody taking security so seriously, then. It should be perfectly possible to 'share' Wi-Fi while using WPA or WPA2 security measures at the same time."

3 of 274 comments (clear)

  1. Re:No wonder by 228e2 · · Score: 1, Informative

    That also applies here in the US as well . .. although some people have been able to argue pure ignorance and get away with it.

    --
    Since when does being a Socialist mean 'someone who has a different opinion than me'?
  2. Re:How secure is secured? by marcansoft · · Score: 3, Informative

    I assure you a WEP network with long key and running a low transmission (for example instant messenger + RSS + WWW surfing, vs video streaming, torrents or online games) can take good many hours to break.

    .

    Good job living under a rock. ARP replay attacks have been able to break into just about any WEP network with any traffic for quite a while now. All you need is a single ARP packet and you win.

  3. Re:No wonder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Europeans tend (on average, not in every case) to have a higher degree of technical know-how than Americans

    [Citation needed]

    None needed - see TFA. More Europeans know how to secure their WiFi routers than Americans do.