<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<p>Nuh uh. Open hotspots is one of the great things about the
internet, and from time to time everyone needs one - sometimes in
the middle of the night or during holidays when lobbies with keys
posted aren't available. Open hotspots are also a good way to
maintain anonymity for dissidents, whistle-blowers, LGBT who are
not "out", etc. When I have my own routers, I often run them open
for all these reasons, and I always will.</p>
<p>I sometimes educate family and friends about PGP, and one of
these days I will run a Tor node as well, with all the
censor-circumvention tools available. The more that censors and
anti-anonymity Orwellianists don't like it, the more everybody
should do it.</p>
<p>I don't give .001% of a damn whether actual criminals use
hotspots or anything else, in exactly the same ways I don't give
.001% of a damn if they use guns, cars, roads, kitchen knives - or
anything else.<br>
</p>
<p>Instead of desiring safety over the animating quest for freedom,
why don't you suggest educating people to use https? As it is, the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.eff.org">www.eff.org</a>) recently reported
that https use is up to 40%, IIRC.</p>
<p>- Vara<br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 3/20/2017 12:29 PM, Victor Odhner
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:AA486CE0-3A26-46B3-8508-061DE6590AD6@cox.net"
type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
I’m really annoyed that so many companies offer open WIFI when it
would be so easy to secure those hot spots.
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">Restaurants, hotels, and the waiting rooms of auto
dealerships are almost 100% open.</div>
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">I am not one to say “there ought to be a law”
because we have too many doggone laws, and I’m not that into a
lot of demonstrating and yelling. But I would love to help
educate companies on why they should secure their routers.
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">If I were a progressive type, I’d suggest
putting stickers on those venues saying:</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""> We don’t have passwords on our WIFI</div>
<div class=""> because OUR WIFI (and YOUR passwords)</div>
</div>
<div class=""> should be available to everybody</div>
<div class=""> with no effort!</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">But being more right-wing, I’d much rather
recognize that they’d be happy to do the right thing if we
could explain it to the right people. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">I’ve repeatedly thanked the mechanic shop I use
(C&R Tire on Tatum) because they have a key posted and I
can feel sort of safe going online while I wait for an oil
change. But all the places that have open routers are
corporate owned so it does no good to gripe to the folks
behind the desk.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Any ideas on this?</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Thanks,</div>
<div class="">Victor </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class=""> </div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre wrap="">---------------------------------------------------
PLUG-discuss mailing list - <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org">PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org</a>
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss">http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss</a></pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
</body>
</html>