Wi-Fi Access Procedure

I see more and more Wi-Fi capabilities in places like Starbucks and
truck stops. How does one make use of these facilities? Do you just
sit down with your cup of coffee and connect to the network? Or do
you have to pay first for the usage, etc? How about security? Are
you exposing yourself to security problems from others connected to
the network?

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Dick
<LeadWinger> says...
> I see more and more Wi-Fi capabilities in places like Starbucks and
> truck stops. How does one make use of these facilities? Do you just
> sit down with your cup of coffee and connect to the network? Or do
> you have to pay first for the usage, etc? How about security? Are
> you exposing yourself to security problems from others connected to
> the network?
>
For places like Starbuck's you have to sign up with T-Mobile... it's
about $20.00 a month.
--

Ben E. Brady
http://www.clariondeveloper.com/wepgen
FREE! Effectively manage your Wi-Fi network.
Change your WEP keys often!

http://www.clariondeveloper.com/webcloak
FREE! Encrypt email addresses on your web site!
Keep spam bots from sending you spam!

http://www.firewallreporting.com
Personal firewall log analysis tools for
ZoneAlarm, BlackICE, WinRoute Pro and Windows XP
Take stock of your firewall settings and take action against intruders.

http://www.videoprofessorscam.com
Don't get stung by this scam!

Taking a moment's reflection, Dick mused:
|
| I see more and more Wi-Fi capabilities in places like Starbucks and
| truck stops. How does one make use of these facilities? Do you just
| sit down with your cup of coffee and connect to the network? Or do
| you have to pay first for the usage, etc?

As an attendant at the facility in question.

| How about security? Are
| you exposing yourself to security problems from others connected to
| the network?

If you are not using encryption, or SSL connection over HTTP, then you
are exposing yourself. So, watch what you do, and running a personal
firewall on your laptop in such cases is probably not a bad idea as everyone
else who is connected is on the same LAN as you ... and can see access your
computer shares.

Their web sites quotes $29.99 as the monthly rate. You can also get a daily
rate of $10, or an hourly rate of $6.00. You can usually sign up for the
monthly, by-day, or by-hour options through the Starbuck's splash page.
Corporate accounts are probably cheaper.

IMHO, this is outrageously overpriced. I don't think they offer home ISP
services, so if you go for the monthly rate, it's in addition to whatever
you pay for your home connection. It would be less painful if you could also
user T-Mobile at home, although then it would be a semi-monopolistic
Microsoftish practice that would force home users to flock to T-Mobile
because they are addicted to their Starbuck's hotspots.



"Ben E. Brady" <y2kbrady-no-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ews.com...
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, Dick
> <LeadWinger> says...
> > I see more and more Wi-Fi capabilities in places like Starbucks and
> > truck stops. How does one make use of these facilities? Do you just
> > sit down with your cup of coffee and connect to the network? Or do
> > you have to pay first for the usage, etc? How about security? Are
> > you exposing yourself to security problems from others connected to
> > the network?
> >
> For places like Starbuck's you have to sign up with T-Mobile... it's
> about $20.00 a month.
> --
>
> Ben E. Brady
> http://www.clariondeveloper.com/wepgen
> FREE! Effectively manage your Wi-Fi network.
> Change your WEP keys often!
>
> http://www.clariondeveloper.com/webcloak
> FREE! Encrypt email addresses on your web site!
> Keep spam bots from sending you spam!
>
> http://www.firewallreporting.com
> Personal firewall log analysis tools for
> ZoneAlarm, BlackICE, WinRoute Pro and Windows XP
> Take stock of your firewall settings and take action against intruders.
>
> http://www.videoprofessorscam.com
> Don't get stung by this scam!
>
>
>

gary wrote:

> Their web sites quotes $29.99 as the monthly rate. You can also get a
> daily rate of $10, or an hourly rate of $6.00. You can usually sign up for
> the monthly, by-day, or by-hour options through the Starbuck's splash
> page. Corporate accounts are probably cheaper.
>
> IMHO, this is outrageously overpriced. I don't think they offer home ISP
> services, so if you go for the monthly rate, it's in addition to whatever
> you pay for your home connection. It would be less painful if you could
> also user T-Mobile at home, although then it would be a semi-monopolistic
> Microsoftish practice that would force home users to flock to T-Mobile
> because they are addicted to their Starbuck's hotspots.

FWIW, the wireless companies in Canada have agreed to allow roaming between
them, so if you sign up with one, you can access via all.

--

Fundamentalism is fundamentally wrong.

To reply to this message, replace everything to the left of "@" with
james.knott.

mhicaoidh wrote:
|| Taking a moment's reflection, Dick mused:
|||
||| I see more and more Wi-Fi capabilities in places like Starbucks and
||| truck stops. How does one make use of these facilities? Do you
||| just sit down with your cup of coffee and connect to the network?
||| Or do you have to pay first for the usage, etc?
||
|| As an attendant at the facility in question.
||
||| How about security? Are
||| you exposing yourself to security problems from others connected to
||| the network?
||
|| If you are not using encryption, or SSL connection over HTTP,
|| then you are exposing yourself. So, watch what you do, and running
|| a personal firewall on your laptop in such cases is probably not a
|| bad idea as everyone else who is connected is on the same LAN as you
|| ... and can see access your computer shares.

Not necessarily true. Not all AP will allow traffic to flow amoungs clients
connected to itself. But to run a firewall on the laptop is definatly a
must.

On Wed, 05 May 2004 16:27:29 GMT, "mhicaoidh"
<®êmõvé_mhic_aoidh@hotÑîXmailŠPäM.com> wrote:

>Taking a moment's reflection, Dick mused:
>|
>| I see more and more Wi-Fi capabilities in places like Starbucks and
>| truck stops. How does one make use of these facilities? Do you just
>| sit down with your cup of coffee and connect to the network? Or do
>| you have to pay first for the usage, etc?
>
> As an attendant at the facility in question.
>
>| How about security? Are
>| you exposing yourself to security problems from others connected to
>| the network?
>
> If you are not using encryption, or SSL connection over HTTP, then you
>are exposing yourself. So, watch what you do, and running a personal
>firewall on your laptop in such cases is probably not a bad idea as everyone
>else who is connected is on the same LAN as you ... and can see access your
>computer shares.
>

I have enough trouble setting up WEP encryption in a home network.
Having to set it up in every place I would visit (airports, coffee
shops, etc.) seems like an insurmountable problem. I would always
have ZoneAlarm Pro running.

Dick

Taking a moment's reflection, Dick mused:
|
| I have enough trouble setting up WEP encryption in a home network.
| Having to set it up in every place I would visit (airports, coffee
| shops, etc.) seems like an insurmountable problem. I would always
| have ZoneAlarm Pro running.

It should be as simple as having the right Passphrase and Bit rate.
Each place you go, that you have legitimate access, should provide you that
information. The problems I have had with getting encryption running have
mainly been due to poor driver support. I am running the WPA Client instead
of Linksys' utility for the WPC54G card because I cannot get a consistent
association with Linksys' ... with WPA, it is "first time, every time."

I'm a bit confused about the talk of WEP in the context of free hotspots.
AFAIK, the vast majority of public hotspots (commercial or free) do not
offer WEP or WPA as an option. They operate completely open nets.

Use of WEP or preshared-key WPA at a public hotspot would require
distribution of a shared private key, which would remain private for about 5
seconds, thus defeating the purpose. Also, any public hotspot operator who
offers encryption acquires extra liability, whether they like it or not. If
they offer encryption, they imply a level of security they cannot guarantee.
If the encryption is cracked, and someone suffers damage as a result, the
hotspot operator could be the target of a nasty lawsuit. Rather than pay
damages and legal costs, most operator agree that making no security claims
at all is safest.

End-to-end encryption via VPN is always a possibility for users connecting
to a VPN-served endpoint. Secure http is more than adequate for online
banking and other transactions (although your laptop screen is visible to
the guy at the next table). Pop server userid/passsword are a sore point,
since some major ISPs do not appear to support secure authentication, so the
userid and password are transmitted in the clear. Having your email account
hijacked is not good - could be used for spam or malicious attacks via email
attachments.

As someone else pointed out, always run a wifi firewall, and disable your
shared resources (files, printers, etc.). Except for the POP server issue, I
never worry about running at a public hotspot.

"mhicaoidh" <®êmõvé_mhic_aoidh@hotÑîXmailSPäM.com> wrote in message
news:5ismc.31558$TD4.5058644@attbi_s01...
> Taking a moment's reflection, Dick mused:
> |
> | I have enough trouble setting up WEP encryption in a home network.
> | Having to set it up in every place I would visit (airports, coffee
> | shops, etc.) seems like an insurmountable problem. I would always
> | have ZoneAlarm Pro running.
>
> It should be as simple as having the right Passphrase and Bit rate.
> Each place you go, that you have legitimate access, should provide you
that
> information. The problems I have had with getting encryption running have
> mainly been due to poor driver support. I am running the WPA Client
instead
> of Linksys' utility for the WPC54G card because I cannot get a consistent
> association with Linksys' ... with WPA, it is "first time, every time."
>
>

Good point. I hadn't thought about turning off shared resources.

Dick

On Thu, 06 May 2004 15:48:35 GMT, "gary" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:


>As someone else pointed out, always run a wifi firewall, and disable your
>shared resources (files, printers, etc.). Except for the POP server issue, I
>never worry about running at a public hotspot.