Another Day With My PC

Unless you’re living in Tibet, it’s very obvious that the society we’re living in is highly commercialized. Just look around and you’ll see that almost every square inch of space in your town is littered with advertisements. Don’t be surprised if one day your mailbox might already be sponsored by Marlboro or McDonald’s.

Surprisingly though, there are more freebies today than there were several decades ago. However, costless products or services always have a catch. The drawbacks are sometimes negligible, but they should be a cause for concern just the same.

Dangerously Free

I’m sure you’re all aware by now of the efforts by businesses and governments in providing free wireless Internet access to citizens, patrons, or any person who might sojourn in their area. This costly (and costless) advertisement is a hit among those who treat their laptop as their office. Many coffee shops that banner “free wi-fi” signs on their doors are always full to the brim. It would thus seem that it’s a win-win situation for both the shop owner and the customer. But is it?

The cost of maintaining or providing free wireless Internet access is not cheap. Business establishments spend a lot in subscribing for the service, as well as for the maintenance of the transmitters in their area. Naturally, they would do whatever it takes to bring the operating costs down. Guess what’s the first one on their list that they’ll cross out in order to keep subscription and maintenance expenses down?

Not Secured

When network analysts first exposed the vulnerable condition of wireless networks as far as security is concerned, many weren’t that surprised anymore. It’s already common knowledge that adding and maintaining security features on networks cost money. Hence, it could be fairly expected that free Wi-Fi access is not bulletproof. If stringent measures would be provided to keep the network safe from hackers, then offering the access for free may not be feasible anymore.

It’s Not Only About the Money

Don’t think that Starbucks is that hesitant in shelling out a few hundred or thousands of bucks just so that you’ll be able to check your e-mail without ending up exposing it to someone who shouldn’t be looking at or reading it in the first place. I’m sure business establishments have the means or extra resources in order to enhance the security of their wireless Internet access system. However, doing so might actually turn off customers than entice them to have a cup while enjoying the free service.

Setting up a secured network would mean putting up too many checkpoints for the user. Barbed-wired Internet access systems require users to submit to numerous verification procedures. By the time they’re through with the process, they’re coffee might already need some reheating.

Free Wi-Fi access is great. However, as with all things that are free, there are certainly some hitches. A security lapse is certainly not a negligible trade off. However, this shouldn’t deter you from enjoying the free offer. Just make sure that you have a fairly good security suite and system tools installed in your PC, such as a registry cleaner. Avoid processing sensitive data while connected on an unsecured network, too. By undertaking these precautionary measures, there’s no reason why you should not be able to enjoy your cup of coffee while opening your e-mail or browsing through the latest NBA or NFL scores on the Internet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 at 1:09 am and is filed under General . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.