Thanks to Tom Bazan for the heads up on this Los Angeles Times story that details a problem with public wi-fi — a lack of privacy:
Public Wi-Fi is very handy for perusing the Internet away from the office or home. Just remember that you may have company while surfing.
[snip]
On home Wi-Fi setups, password protection can be implemented on the modem, which offers a lot of security — although some hackers say they can break through the most basic protection regimen, known as WEP.
Public Wi-Fi setups, whether paid or free, don’t have the luxury of using passwords. That would defeat the purpose of allowing a great many people to use them.
T-Mobile, which charges about $10 a day for HotSpot use, is working to get more people to use them. Last month, the company finished installing a system at Los Angeles International Airport that covers 3.8 million square feet of space, making it one of the largest Wi-Fi deployments in the world.
Also, free Wi-Fi hot spots are being added to more outdoor areas by cities. Fullerton and Long Beach already have them, and there are plans to install a system at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles.
So, enjoy the freedom of Wi-Fi. But maybe you shouldn’t surf to sites you wouldn’t want people to know you’re visiting.
“If you watch where people go, one site after another,” Cheung said, “it’s almost like you can read their minds.”
So be careful when surfing the web while lounging at Discovery Green!
