Payphone being used as wifi hotspot

Danielx64

Danielx64

Well-Known Member
Credits
500
Here in Australia we have a thing called Telstra Air. They are hot spot where if you are a Telstra member you can connect to one of those hot spot and use the internet for free.

I like the idea of this because it means that I can surf the internet without using my data and sometime I do large downloads as well.

Do you have anything like this where you live?
 
I like the idea as well of using Payphones as wifi hot spots. But, I feel the Wi-Fi router needs to be place higher off the ground to avoid people from stealing or vandalizing them without a ladder.

In some countries like Japan, public wi-fi routers maybe less likely to get stolen or vandalize when place close to the ground where you can reach them with your arm.

But, in American cities, there are a lot of people who steal and vandalize stuff. Many pay phones, vending machines, and computers at the school or library get stolen and vandalize in big cities.
 
froggyboy604 said:
I like the idea as well of using Payphones as wifi hot spots. But, I feel the Wi-Fi router needs to be place higher off the ground to avoid people from stealing or vandalizing them without a ladder.
Click to expand...
I haven't really seen that much of an issue to be honest. The router is on top of the phone box and yes you do need a ladder to get to it. Also I would expect the hardware to be custom make so that it can go long distance but hard to get to.
 
usually most business in my area have hot spots that their customers can connect to. I think some cities have public areas near parks and such.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
usually most business in my area have hot spots that their customers can connect to. I think some cities have public areas near parks and such.
Click to expand...

I feel free hot spots may not be worth the risk of using on your own personal mobile devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones because of greater security risks from using free wi-fi if the router and router firewall are using outdated firmware or got hacked by a criminal. The owner of the internet connection maybe untrustworthy, and collect data on its free users to stalk them, or somehow steal their private information like e-mail to send spam to their e-mail, or sell their username and passwords to criminals.

The government who owns and operate the wi-fi connection may come and arrest users who used their connection to post something that the government does not agree with, or think you may commit a crime because you searched for terms like grand theft auto, street fighter, and swords on the internet when connected to their Wi-Fi.

I personally feel it is safer to use a computer at a library, internet cafe, or work for non-important tasks which don't require you to login to an online user account for a website, and allow reading website articles, or video from the front page without the need to sign-in with a username and password.

Users have to be careful when using free wi-fi since there are criminal hackers who make free wi-fi hot spots from their laptops, and their own data plan to steal strangers' data, and install malware and ransomware onto a PC like infecting your computer with a WannaCry-Style Ransomware which uses a Microsoft Windows networking vulnerability to infect a PC.

I think if you use your laptop, smartphone, and tablet for accessing your online bank account, work, or other important tasks, or storing important data, it would not be worth it to use free hot spots, and it would be safer to use the internet at home, or subscribe to a paid cellular internet data plan for your tablet or laptop if you absolutely need to use the internet when not at home or work.
 
Last edited:
Demon_Skeith said:
I don't have much data, so I need wifi/hot spots. Granted I don't do anything important on my phone.
Click to expand...

I think if someone rely on their phone for important calls and texts like users are waiting for calls for job interviews, it maybe a good idea to not use public wi-fi or the internet on your phone. Using an unsafe internet connection can cause your phone's to be infected by a virus if the wi-fi router is owned by a hacker, or hacked by a hacker who wants to infect phones on the network.

Job interviewers sometimes don't give you second chances if your smartphone randomly breaks because of a virus infection, and other reasons.
 
Danielx64 said:
Even missing a call is enough to lose that interview - even if you were in the bathroom.....
Click to expand...

Some job interviewers send an e-mail to arrange a time to have a phone interview while other interviewer just phones you at random times. But, I think not replying to the e-mail quickly may also reduces the chance of getting a phone interview since people who replied quicker may get the interview sooner, and the job interviewer may not have enough time to use a phone to interview all the people he sent an e-mail to.
 
froggyboy604 said:
I think if someone rely on their phone for important calls and texts like users are waiting for calls for job interviews, it maybe a good idea to not use public wi-fi or the internet on your phone. Using an unsafe internet connection can cause your phone's to be infected by a virus if the wi-fi router is owned by a hacker, or hacked by a hacker who wants to infect phones on the network.

Job interviewers sometimes don't give you second chances if your smartphone randomly breaks because of a virus infection, and other reasons.
Click to expand...

that's called having a back up plan.
 
Demon_Skeith said:
that's called having a back up plan.
Click to expand...

I think carrying an extra cell phone and SIM card can be a good idea if you are expecting an important call like job interviews. Cell phones sometimes get stolen, and there is always a chance a cell phone can get hacked, or infected when using the internet on a cell phone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top