Hotspot (Wi-Fi)

Hotspots are locations with public wireless access points where you can connect your mobile computers (such as a laptop or a PDA) to the Internet, using standard WLAN (Wi-Fi) technology. Most new laptops come with adaptors built in, and on some hotspot locations it is even possible to borrow a PCMCIA adaptor.

Hotspots are often found near restaurants, train stations, airports, cafés, libraries and other public places.

A commercial hotspot may feature:

A captive portal where users are redirected to for authentication and payment
A payment option using credit card, Paypal, iPass etc.
A walled garden feature that allows free access to certain sites

However, many hotspots are open and free for use, either set up by the public or by a commercial enterprise hoping to use it to attract customers.

ZoneCD is a GNU/Linux LiveCD to easily set up hotspots.

A "poisoned hotspot" refers to a free public hotspot set up by identity thieves or other malicious individuals for the purpose of "sniffing" the information being sent by the user.

Today many universities and schools have wireless networks in their campus.

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See also