The majority of restaurants offer a free wifi that appears directly on the smartphone or multimedia device of the customer among the available networks. It is enough to connect in order to be able to have access to the Internet during one’s meal or during a break in a pleasant place.
An easier access without password
The choice of allowing to connect directly has been thought to offer a service usable according to one’s wishes without needing to systematically ask the password to the employees of the restaurant. Without any waiting, the use of this network is free, which represents a real advantage. It is in fact wifi hotspots that are available for each person who wishes to use the Internet for free, without having recourse to an identification and a password. Even if this network is private because it belongs to the restaurant, it has been put in free access for the pleasure of all.
The multiplication of wifi hotspots in restaurants is a real advance, at a time when connected objects are going to make their appearance. They allow indeed to always have access to one’s accounts during one’s travels. The restaurants questioned on the securing of this type of service retort that the protection must be done mainly at the level of access to the different user accounts by choosing a sophisticated system. It is evident that if no measure has been taken to block access to one’s contents, the restaurant cannot be held as responsible for the attacks and the hacking of the different contents.
Offer customers a completely secured space
Some establishments prefer to control the entry on their wifi network by asking each new user to identify himself thanks to codes that will be handed over. This precaution would allow to avoid that all the connected people find themselves prey to hacking that can multiply on an unsecured space. By asking to fill in information before connecting, the restaurant will add an additional obstacle for the hackers who would want to go on this network to recover information on each of the connected people. It is nevertheless necessary that this chosen password be sufficiently powerful to perfectly fulfill its role.
If this vision of the wifi available in restaurants is interesting, it removes a part of freedom by forcing the customers to create a specific account per restaurant or to ask for the login identifiers at each desire. If the staff is not immediately available at this precise moment, it will be necessary to wait long minutes before being able to use this wifi network. This kind of difficulties to access the Internet will discourage a certain number of customers, even if each one understands the interest of securing one’s online navigation to fight against a particularly massive hacking. The decision must therefore be taken in the interest of the users by finding an interesting compromise between unlimited access at any moment while allowing a use in complete security.
Photo illustration credits: Flickr / https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/18350881305/