Free wifi connection

Having access to the internet is fast becoming a priority for the vast users of computer, however before now internet was seen as a high tech luxury privilege for advance users of computers because of the cost associated with having internet connection and the know-how.

 Free Wi-Fi connection is available in most hotels, airport facilities, libraries, Resorts, coffee shops and around the environment of some offices. A simple site survey will reveal which connection has good wifi network. In other to gain access to the network one may need to undergo some connection process depending on the configuration of the wifi network.

 If you are new to wireless internet usage, then take time to familiarize yourself with the connection procedure outlined in this paragraph or else go to the next point. In order to track the available free wifi connection location, right-click on the network icon on the system tray and select view available network if you are using Windows XP, or connect to network if your operating system is Vista; this will then open a screen showing you the list of all network within range. Choose the required network and select connect. Sometimes one may be required to supply some information to enable complete connection. Basically the procedure to hook up to a free wifi connection is as follows:  1. Set wireless properties TCP/IP properties to -Obtain an IP address automatically- Which is simply enabling DHCP, 2. Disable dial up connection, 3. Select the SSID of the free wifi connection network, 4. Turn off any form of encryption-whether WPA or WEP, and select open before clicking connect.

Now that you have access to the wifi network, what remains is what you wish to do with this connection and how secure the data you send over the network. One thing you must not do using a free wifi connection is performing any form of transaction online without any form of security. This could be done by using SSL for emails or Sending data through HTTPS// rather than just HTTP://  for all forms of financial transaction.

Most free Wi-Fi connection(s) don’t use encryption to scramble the data being sent to and from your computer and the wifi network. This means anyone within hundreds of feet, with the right tools, can potentially intercept the raw data packets of your connection. At the smallest amount, without encryption, they could see precisely what Websites you visit. Moreover, if the Website connection isn’t encrypted with Secure Socket Layer (SSL), (indicated by a padlock icon in your browser) then they could peruse the contents and traffic relating to that particular Website. This could contain the username and password of Websites you log in to, if they aren’t using SSL. The same risk applies to other services, such as FTP or e-mail, that aren’t secured.