Wi-Fi Hotspots

[Cassis]

I've just stumbled across this while looking for something else but I thought it looked interesting.  It's a page on the Orange site which claims to locate Wi-Fi hotspots where you can connect to the Internet.

I've checked the nearest to me and it gives the name of a Bureau Informatique that I have never heard of in the neighbouring village.

Has anyone ever tried this location service, have a view on it etc.?

I wonder how Orange put it together - and how they know the 'Hotspots' aren't protected against just anyone using them?  I'm assuming they are all Orange business customers and they are willing for any passing stranger to use their resource?  Orange does not stipulate this, as far as I can see.

[Pierre ZFP]

Yeah these are pay to use hotspots, not feeding off some unsuspecting souls bandwidth with an insecure  wifi in the front room, although I could do that almost anywhere!  Actually I use these hotspots a lot with a wifi PDA as I get 250 free minutes a month with my UK BT broadband - I have no idea why, i never asked for it, they just sent me an email one day and there it was - I expect they're wanting me to use more than the 250 and start charging hugely - I never do go over though

[Martin963]

Having only just managed (or rather a friend did most of it) to set up a wireless network at home,  I'm no expert on this.

But sadly I think there is a "catch",  ie it isn't turn up and use it free

http://www.orange-wifi.com/offre_wifi_pass.htm

seems to suggest you need a code

But I could be wrong!

Pierre zfp beat me to it and knows a lot more about it than I do!

[Cassis]

Thank you for clarifying it's a subscription service - they seem to have a range of offers starting at 10€, if it's of interest to anyone:

Offers

I've no more to say on it. [:)]

[BJSLIV]

But thats a chrgeable service for using your laptop out and about. I thought you were looking to use one of ADSL connections within your own property. That won't cost anything above your existing sub.

[Cassis]

BJ - I've got Wi-Fi in house and it's working very nicely from day one, thanks! [;-)]

This was not connected to that other thread.

It's just that I've seen several questions in the past about 'how can I get internet access when I'm over on holiday' or whatever, that I was wondering if this could be any use to anyone. [:)]

[Quillan]

We have WiFi and we use that fact in our B&B publicity. It's amazing how many people we get who want to use this service or book because we have it. I wonder why people take their mobile phones, pagers and laptops on holiday? I have had people sitting at breakfast reading emails from work and they are on holiday! Still at the end of the day it costs me nothing and they are in my B&B and not somewhere else.

[Pads]

We use a cafe in Carcassonne where its free to use as long as your buying a coffee or beer ect, these are at normal cafe prices, Plus the chap that works there is friendy and very helpful. There must be lots of places like this in different areas, could we not put together a list to help others who are visiting our areas? Maybe on the local area threds [:)]

[Will]

There is also another variation, which seems as far as I can tell to be called wifimax but often seems to be referred to as just wifi, and that's where you get your broadband via wireless rather than via the phone line. It seems to be employed in rural areas, we are just out of range of one scheme so I don't know much about it, such as whether any wireless laptop etc can connect or not (it looked, when I investigated, as if you may need a special antenna and receiver). From what I have heard it is also expensive and unreliable, but that might be just that particular operator.

Still, I see our exchange is supposed to get real broadband in April, I'll believe it when it comes as we had previously been promised officially that the whole département would have ADSL by the end of 2006. And we know all about official promises.

[Pierre ZFP]

I had another look at the Orange site and realised that there were very many hot spots missed off - presumably because they're not Orange.  Almost every McDonalds is a hotspot (if you can bare their products) and so is Starbucks (ditto) plus many, many others.  Seems that our environment is saturated with radio waves, perhaps the next thing will be chips implanted directly in our heads!  If so, I'm not having one - I'm a professional software tester, I know what can go wrong!!

[Cassis]

I don't know about having chips implanted in our heads but I'm often found in the company of chips.

Interesting to see what Quillan says about Wi-Fi being a must for some people before they book their B&B.  We did not have it last year and I think we had only a couple of people ask about it, so I've never regarded it as a pulling point.  However, we've got it this year and I've stuck that info on our website. 

I've protected our WiFi access with WPA as Free recommended that we should do this - does anyone else bother with protection?  Are passers-by using our resource really likely to be a problem?  I just can't see passers-by in a quiet village like ours gathering to use our WiFi access or hack into us or whatever and I was wondering if maybe I should remove the protection, as it would save having to give visitors a password.

What does anyone esle think?

[Quillan]

I don't protect the WiFi network from people usng it because it is just a link to the internet. What I protect is the rest of my network from being 'got at' by people using the the WiFi link. I don't exactly have a standard setup because I have my own webserver and a Novel 6.5 network so as O said it's not the norm.

Interestingly enough I know a few people in Quillan who have WiFI and I can sit outside their houses with my PDA and use the internet without problem. What I can't do is see the contents of their PC's, well not with a lot of mucking around anyway and to be honest I am not interested.

[Pierre ZFP]

Strangly as my son and I were wandering around a large hypermarket in North France, he noticed we were in a wifi hotspot.  Not only that but the shop's computer was broadcasting an IP address that was completely unprotected.  We had a little dig around and could access all sorts of stuff - unbelieveable really.  We're honest so we didn't change anything but it would not have been difficult, maybe walked out with a trolley full of free shopping - now that's what I call shopping on the net!

[suein56]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]... the shop's computer was broadcasting an IP address that was completely unprotected.  We had a little dig around and could access all sorts of stuff - unbelieveable really.  [/quote]

I am looking into using WiFi, but want to be safe and secure, so how do I protect my computer's IP address?

Sue

[Quillan]

You need a decent WiFi router with a built in DHCP server (it gives out IP address's to your PC(s)). You want it to give out address's starting with 192.168 because the internet cannot see these address's (why is complicated so I won't explain) which is why normally the address of the router is 192.168.0.1 or similar and have a mask or 255.255.0.0. The router effectively isolates and acts as a DMZ between the internet and your computer.

Its also very important to change the password of the setup part of your router to stop people from hacking in to your router.

[Cassis]

I'm sure that's as clear as daylight to anyone who did not know how to do this already, Quillan! [:D]

With the Freebox it's a piece of cake to fence off your PC or network using WPA - just go to router options on your configuration panel and follow the instructions.  I don't know about other routers, I'm afraid.

So what are we saying - you should protect your WiFi access as a home user, or not?

[Quillan]

You don't have to protect your router from being used by others to connect to the internet via broadband because it does not cost you but you should protect your PC's from being accessed via the router which is easy to do. Your Freebox just has easy to use software installed to help you but other, off the shelf, box's may not like Olitec, Netgear for instance.

[Cassis]

Maybe you can help me then, Quillan.  How would I access my desktop PC from my laptop?  My desktop PC is connected to the Freebox router via cable, the laptop connects by WiFi protected by WPA.  I can see no way of accessing my desktop PC files from my laptop but I would very much like to be able to do so wirelessly.  What is the procedure, step by step?

[suein56]

[quote user="Quillan"]

You need a decent WiFi router with a built in DHCP server (it gives out IP address's to your PC(s)). You want it to give out address's starting with 192.168 because the internet cannot see these address's. It's also very important to change the password of the setup part of your router to stop people from hacking in to your router. [/quote]

 

Thanks for that - I intend to buy either a Netgear or a Belkin wifi modem/router - either of these should offer suitable protection built in, I assume?

 

Sue

[Cassis]

Spg - have you not got a router at present from your ISP?  You can do all that Quillan suggests from a Freebox and I doubt if they are exactly ahead of the field.

[suein56]

Well actually - I'll just whisper it 'cos I am embarrassed, but - we have a rented livebox at the moment. Now we have had adsl for 3 months, and I am feeling a little more courageous, I am anxious to ditch the livebox and sort the internet access to avoid using the Orange software; hence my query.

Sue

[Pads]

Boys ? Dont know if im understanding this right[8-)] Are you saying that while im in the living room on my lap top hubby can be on the main computer looking at what im doing on my lap top? reading my emails ect?[:-))] 

[Cassis]

That would seem to be the implication of what Mr Q. says.  Or vice versa.  I have no idea, myself!

[Pads]

If thats so how can I block him ? cheeky bugger[:D]

[Rjpfrancais]

[quote user="Spg"]

Well actually - I'll just whisper it 'cos I am embarrassed, but - we have a rented livebox at the moment. Now we have had adsl for 3 months, and I am feeling a little more courageous, I am anxious to ditch the livebox and sort the internet access to avoid using the Orange software; hence my query.

Sue

[/quote]

Sue, there's nothing actually wrong with the Livebox per se, I know a lot of people have problems with them but then again a lot of people (like myself) use them quite happily (we have 2 PCs directly connected plus a laptop which we connect via Wifi). The main beefs seem to be 1) Why rent when you can buy your own box outright, but on the other hand if your Livebox goes on the blink you can just take it down to your nearest FT shop and they will give you a new one. 2) The Livebox is not exactly at the cutting edge of technology particularly as regards Wifi access. This actually doesn't matter for a lot of people but if you need Wifi access through thick walls, for example, then one of the latest MIMO or draft N models might be a better bet.

You don't need to load the Orange software to use a Livebox. The Orange software isn't loaded on any of our PCs (I particularly dislike those 'Veuillez Patienter' messages.), we just access the Livebox via a standard Windows XP network setup.

Hope that's useful.