What Is Wi-Fi

Wireless technology has become a prominent field in the area of networking. It has many uses. The most important being portability and mobility. With the help of wireless technology people now can send and receive messages, phone calls, faxes, read files, login on remote machines etc. and perform all the above mentioned duties from anywhere on land, sea, or air.

The technology of wifi has stormed the field of wireless networking. There are numerous applications of wifi. Nowadays it is very useful and critical in business world because today's business gives more emphasis on the communication of the information. Wifi also finds usage at home, workplaces, shops, any public places etc. the study of the advantages and the risks involved in the wifi system is necessary in order to exploit the full use of it.

About wireless networks.

The transfer of information from node to another with the help of electromagnetic waves is referred to as wireless communication. Signals are normally broadcast through free space and are available to anyone who has device capable of receiving them. A new technique of wireless data transmission known as wifi (wireless fidelity) has been developed. Wifi uses the radio waves to transmit the data. It uses the frequency of 2.4GHz and uses SSID for addressing purposes. SSID stands for Service Set Identifier. It uses a set of characters or numbers addresses so that the sending access point can be identified. Any access point which wants to receive the signal must have the same set of SSID as that of sender's SSID.

Advantages.

The usage of wifi system has numerous advantages. The most important advantage is the cost factor. Since there are free hotspots or access points, a free connection between two nodes cab be established in the network.
A wireless network also provides the facilities of mobility. Hence it is now possible to have a wireless connection, free of hard wired connections.It is also easy to install and configure wifi network. It is also easy and generally faster, internet connections are possible by wifi networks.

Dangers and risks.

Since wifi is a wireless connection it uses the shared wireless space. Hence it is possible that many signals of similar frequencies can interfere with each other and cause unnecessary distortions. This leads to the loss of data and the received data may get corrupted. Hence wifi does not ensure an error free connection.
Another danger involved is related to security of data. It is possible that users who are new to the wifi network may setup an insecure access point, without setting the various security configurations.
It is also possible that some miscreants may use the same default SSID everywhere to access the secured access points illegally. The best way to counter these dangers is to learn and study the configuration of the secured network and make it a rule to always use a different SSID for access point and never keep the default value.


Friday, June 27, 2008

Free WiFi While Traveling

Staying connected while you are traveling is becoming easier each day. Not only are more businesses making WiFi available to their customers, but internet sites are popping up to let you know where you can connect and how.

It is becoming even more convenient with searches now available through your iPhone to search for free WiFi spots. Every state in the Unites States offers some WiFi hotspots for the eager traveler.

The locations have also expanded. It seems the coffee industry started a trend that everyone is jumping on board. Offer free internet connections to the customers and they will come. Now you can enjoy dinner or a coffee (or even get your oil changed) all while checking your emails or chatting away. The government has even jumped on board. Some city services (library, chamber of commerce, city hall) have free WiFi available to local residents and even just those who are passing through. There are even a few cities that are taking the WiFi services citywide (although it is still unclear how this will work for visitors).

Although WiFi connections are catching on, there is a catch to using them. You must be a customer or authorized user. Most of the connections will ask you if you are authorized to use the service - and you better be if you are going to log on. One man, who had been parking outside a local coffee shop to access its WiFi, was arrested for theft. If the WiFi is truly free then you won't have to verify anything when you log on.

The best thing to do when you are traveling is to do a quick search before you leave. You should be able to find some WiFi connections along the way. Your hotel will most likely be wired, but that doesn't mean it will be free. Many of the hotels I have stayed at required that you connect through a paid service (AT&T for example) and so the connection was available but it wasn't free.

Here are a few places that offer free services to customers at most (if not all) locations:

Staples

Most airports

Many hospitals

Apple retail stores

Krystal restaurants

Many other chains and some local establishments also offer WiFi access to paying customers. Be sure to ask about it when you place your order (or before if WiFi is a necessity).

Cameron Van writes for Low Fares. Find cheap airline tickets to almost any destination in the wo
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