Article 2: Wi-Fi

BBB Advises Internet Surfers to Use Caution When Using Wi-Fi Networks that Aren’t Their Own

The article can be found by clicking the title above.

COMMENT: 

A Wi-Fi is a short form of wireless fidelity. It enabled device such as a PC, video game console, smart phone or MP3 player can connect to the Internet when within range of a wireless network connected to the Internet. A wireless network uses radio waves, just like cell phones, televisions and radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication. A computer's wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna. A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection. The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer's wireless adapter.

The coverage of one or more interconnected access points called a hotspot can comprise an area as small as a single room or as large as many square miles. We usually use Wi-Fi at home, universities and café. Wi-Fi is very useful as we do not need to connect wires to our devices to access the Internet. Free Wi-Fi that is provided by mostly café and restaurants is even greater. It usually attracts people especially students and businessman to spend most of their time there to use the free Wi-Fi in finishing work, study or socialize.

However there are many threats from this facility. People with bad intention can try to trespass people’s connection and steals information and even send viruses. For example, when a person is working at a café, keying in information about his company, other party or people from another organization might try to steal the information to sabotage or to foregone the organization. This can be harmful to the organization as the data or information that the person was working with might be confidential. If the person was working on the planning of some project, the bad people might use the plan and precede before the working person could even start to conduct his plan.

This kind of trespassing is also called hack. Hack will not only be harmful to organization but also to people personally. This is because hackers can even steal people’s personal details. Worst, they can even hack people’s account for internet banking and thus steals money.

Therefore, people are not advisable to use public Wi-Fi to do their job which involves private and confidential data. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.