The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
IÕve spent the last few days working in Winnipeg. Being a true geek, I always make sure that the hotel that I am staying in has Internet service in the rooms. Over the last few years that has pretty much become a given thing. Most places have service in the rooms and most places are also getting good wireless networks. Amazingly, there seems to be a relationship between hotels and Internet service that is not a good one. It always seems that the more expensive the hotel is, the more likely they are to charge for the service and the more likely that the service is not necessarily good. IÕve stayed a few places down in the U.S. over the last year or two that have charged up to $12 or $15 each day for Internet service while other perfectly good hotels have included the service just as part of the room. It amazes me that most hotels and even cities are not getting to the point of simply providing Internet service as they would power or water. In our time in history, when so much information and innovation depends on good, reliable high-speed Internet service, I think this is something that makes sense in most communities. As most places are not doing that, you are left doing the next best thing Ð hunting for wireless signals. I was in a Gondola Pizza having supper one night and, having some work to finish, I took my laptop with me. It amazed me when I turned it on to find about a half dozen wireless signals in reach of this tiny restaurant. Even more amazing was the fact that all of them but one were open, unlocked and ready for use by anyone who wandered by. There are two ideas behind this. The first is that people should leave their wireless signal open basically as a public service. Actually, not a bad idea. There is even a company called Fon that is trying to blanket the world with free and open wifi. Basically, you purchase a router from them at cost and then leave it open for other Fon people to use. An open community, you make a portion of your net service available for others and this in return gives you access to the thousands of other people who have Fon routers in their place. Very popular in South America and Europe, Fon is slowly growing across North America and their website hosts maps showcasing thousands of hotspots. The other thought about wireless is completely the opposite. Home routers need to be locked down and strictly password-protected. This too isnÕt a bad idea and itÕs the one that most people work with. All wireless routers allow you to set a password on them you just need to be able to access the software in the router by using your computer and set the password. The advantage of setting a password on your wireless point is that no one else can use it. It is locked down and your bandwidth is saved for you. This is always the issue. If you leave your router unlocked and someone else is using it when you are trying to, our speeds may be slower. In the U.S., the RIAA has tried to sue a few people who left their wireless access points unlocked, accusing them of assisting piracy because people who download music illegally were able to use their Internet service to do so. The lawsuits failed as the judges ruled that the people had no responsibility. More worrisome is the fact that when your are transferring data over a wireless account that is unlocked, anyone with the right tools can access it. Software can easily be located online that lets people watch as you surf the web. This means that anything you might be doing online, such as sending e-mail, doing your banking, or anything else for that matter, can be watched by someone who is watching your wireless. This loss of privacy and potential loss of secret information such as your passwords is to me the largest danger. Wireless connections are everywhere and the arguments are strong for both leaving them unlocked and for locking them down. Whatever you choose, make sure you make an informed decision. ([email protected]) Tech Notes runs Mondays.
