How to unlock a hotspot near you

Kevin Beaver Profile: Kevin Beaver

Here’s an interesting wireless startup: KeyWifi. The company’s slogan and apparent mission is “Unlocking hotspots near you”. It’s actually a neat idea. It puts accessible and underutilized hotspots to good use and helps the world by creating “positive fiscal, social and environmental results”. The premise of their business model is join their system and supply hotspot access and/or join their system and rent hotspot access … all for a fee. If you’re a supplier and can get a few users on board your system, suddenly it’s paying for your Internet access. With users, it offers a way to get online without having to pay full price for broadband. Pretty cool.

I won’t be a supplier or a user because I know the bad things that certain – often “trusted” – people can do when using your Internet connection or examining your wireless network traffic. But for those who live more “openly” or are absolutely certain that their computers and communication sessions are locked down, I could see KeyWiFi working – especially where there’s not a Starbuck’s or McDonald’s around offering free Wi-Fi.

Certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Kevin Beaver is an independent information security consultant, keynote speaker, and expert witness with Principle Logic, LLC and a contributor to the IT Watch Blog.

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