I understand that you may not want to give your SSN out to everyone, but have you considered the relative insecurity of using public WiFi? I would rather give my SSN out to AT&T than broadcast all of personal info over public WiFi.

The Internet is public as it is -- any site that you give personal info to should be SSL-protected.

I've done the satellite dish thing for up to a 1/4 mile.

Expect to spend some time tuning it, and spend $20 on any old cheap USB wifi adapter that can take an external antenna+external antenna cable.

Once it's setup though you're good to go.

I doubt the library will mind if he isn't using up gobs of data, plus he's already a member there. Jeez guys it's open networks we're talking about here. If he abuses it and runs netflix all day they will boot him off the network.

If you don't pay for OTA channels, is it stealing to get them on your rabbit ears?

There are pay OTA channels? :confused:

Exactly. If you're beaming a service and not requiring anyone to pay for access, then it's free.

Incidentally -- you get better quality of OTA channel with an antenna than over cable. Cable companies frequently compress their OTA rebroadcast signals in a way that significantly degrades them.

I would think so, unless they have something in place to block it on their end. The library might be an issue if you need to sign in to use their network though.

Comcast Xfinity is adding wifi hotspots to all of their new gateways. See if you have a friend or family member that is willing to set up an account email and password for you, maybe even for a small nominal donation. If I'm not mistaken, you can login to any Xfinity hotspot for free that way.

Would all of you Wi-Fi freebie enthusiasts mind posting your home addresses? I want to look into the feasibility of tapping into your residential electrical and water systems - for free, of course! :D

Anyone who's halfway smart will turn that "ish" off.

I wouldn't try that in a castle doctrine state :P

I don't know too many people with water/power hookups that are available without trespassing or tampering though....

The hotspots that providers establish are really mostly for show, they are difficult to locate in the real world. TWC had them in Hawaii and Cox has them in PHX, but finding them, even with a map, is a challenge.

They are pretty widespread out here in MA. I've found them available in the most surprising of places, and you can use them for free twice a month, which is generally enough for me.

I'm finding them all over the Pittsburgh area. I don't know if the customer can turn off the hotspot or not.

Nope. just another reason to spend $150-$200 on a nice modem & router. Plus, the ROI is short-you'll save $10/month at least for the modem rental fee from your provider.