Using WiFi hot spots with your iPad


Use your iPad in public Wi-Fi hot spots

Your iPad isn't confined to connecting via your home network. It may jump onto any other Wi-Fi pipeline within range: the wireless network at your office or on campus, free public wireless networks in city parks, or other place the iPad accumulates the sweet scent of 802.11. When it finds networks in the area and you are not currently connected to one, it lists the accessible networks you can tap and join. Most public-access networks don't even require passwords.

Together with free networks, you can find commercial hot spots out there for the joining, however, you need a little something extra with one of those: money - as in your credit-card number. You usually find these types of networks in airports, large megabookstore chains, hotel rooms, and other places that dispense Wi-Fi access for an hourly or daily fee.

To join one of these pay networks, tap its name in the list presented by your hot spot-sniffing iPad. Next, tap open Safari. The network will be there, squatting on your browser's home page with a request for your plastic digits before you can engage in any Web activity.

If you do a lot of traveling and do not have the Wi-Fi + 3G iPad, you might want to consider signing up for a service plan with a commercial hot-spot provider like T-Mobile, Gogo Inflight, or Boingo. AT&T includes a side gig in the hot spot business as wel and 3G users get to visit for free, thanks to their monthly cope with the company.

Stay secure: Wi-Fi network safety tips

The term "wireless" brings with it a sense of freedom: no wires, no cords, no strings attached. However with all that freedom comes the potential for danger, because your personal information isn't humming along in a Ethernet cable from Point A to Point B - it's floating in the air.

Most of the time, this is not a problem. That is, if you don't have someone evil lurking nearby who knows how to snatch data out of the air. Then you could be at risk of identity theft or other ills if, say, someone gets your hands on the creditcard number you just typed in to buy a set of shoes. To make things as safe as you possibly can, keep these few basic tips in mind whenever you ride the airwaves:

Make sure your home network is protected by a password. Yes, it may be an extra step when you set up your wireless home network, also it may make the connection a tad slower overall. But it keeps intruders and squatters off your network where, at the very least, they hog your bandwidth and, at worst, they infiltrate all your connected computers and devices and steal personal information.

Don't do any financial business on public wireless networks. Because you didn't set up this Wi-Fi network yourself, you don't truly know how secure it is - or who else is lurking onto it. So save the online banking or stock-trading chores for home. Make use of the iPad to check the score on the Saints game or catch up on the headlines while you sip your mocha latte.

Use a VPN for business on the road. If you do have to take care of company business on your iPad while traveling, get the people in your corporate systems department to set you up with virtual private network (VPN) access so you can safely surf the Web using your company's secure network as your portal to the Web. Remember, the Internet is an excellent, glorious, scary, intense, and often dark place. Be careful out there.

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This article was sent to us by: Jonathan Reynolds at 02252011

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