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USA Has More Open Wi-Fi Hotspots Than EU
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."
I wonder if this accounts for networks locked down to MAC addresses. I've never encountered an "open" wifi that was truly open (in UK), despite a lot of them appearing to be open, I just wonder how thoroughly they checked.
because, at least in Germany, you are then liable for everything that is transfered over that hotspot. If someone downloads CP or warez you are fucked.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
I got one of these netgear ones recently and it works great.
I can set up different access through it...and even click to allow guests, etc.
I have some old computers that just can't get anything stronger than WEP to run on them (an old iBook for instance), so I set up a WEP connection for them, which the router blocks off from direct interaction with any other computer on my system...everything else is WPA2.
There are wireless routers out there that do some neat things, but you gotta be willing to spend more than $20.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
DD-WRT can do this. I use it on an old Linksys WRT-54G. I've configured two separate private subnets, one for secure connections via WPA, the other for open access I share with my neighbors. All of my PCs, including those with wired connections, exist on the secure subnet. Wireless guests get insecure access. I also have a few wired ports on the insecure subnet. Comes in handy when I want to work on an infected PC, or when I want to give a visitor wired access without them seeing my network.
This isn't the sig you're looking for... Move along.
I moved to France last year and was pleasantly surprised at the ISPs attitudes towards sharing wifi.
My provider, Free.fr, by default enables guest access on my router. However, it's not completely open.
In order to access the connect, you must enter your account details (login and password), and then you are given access to a limited connection.
Should you not want to share your connection with other people, you can easily disable this feature; but doing so also disables your account from being able to access roaming wifi.
I really love that the community sharing feature is enabled by default.
As long as I'm willing to share my connection with other subscribers, then I get access to their bandwidth when I'm away from home. And, as one of the larger providers in the area, this means I have access from just about anywhere I go.
User from Denmark ( EU) here.
I admire the amout of (deliberately) open wifi hotspots in USA. A couple of friends traveled around the States last year and found free wifi services everywhere - except Las Vegas.
This seem to be an interesting phenomenon. At first it might seem reasonable: wherever you are expected to pay for services you are also expected to pay for Internet access.
However, this leads to some curious cases. I have experienced hotels in Denmark, England and Spain that charge for internet access. But on the other hand it is not uncommon for hostels (that are cheaper and where one would expect a lesser degree of service) to have free wifi.
The economic background is interesting. The cost of putting up a hotspot is pretty low, especially at simple hostels that probably already have internet access and wifi for the employees. But the expenses of putting up a payment solution and handling support is high.
This leads to an interesting paradox: It is the payment solution that might not be feasible at "cheap" places such as hostels; not the Internet connection by itself. The result is that since it is not worthwhile putting up a payment solution the Internet access is simply free!
In some places this leads to even more interesting results:
The suburban railway service in Copenhagen has free wifi on the the trains. These trips are usually short, hence the payment process might itself take too long to be convenient.
However the inter-city trains where travel times are usually about 1½-4 hours there is a wifi payment solution. At first it might make sense but as it is charged per minute any delays underway would lead to a larger travel time and therefore a higher total cost.
Free Internet access could partially make up for a bad travel experience with delays (one would be able to still work online, pass time by casual surf, chat and so on or update successive travel arrangements). Instead passengers are simply punished further economically when the travel is delayed underway.
- Peter Brodersen; professional nerd