Over the last few years, increasing number of people have started using Wi-Fi to make their presence felt over the net. However, this Wi-Fi phenomenon is yet to envelop the entire planet. It is available at few places or stores, outside which high speed internet still remains a farfetched fantasy. But, if we know where to look, we would find ourselves living quite comfortably under the shade of this new phenomenon. 10 such useful tips mentioned below, would help you find free Wi-Fi in your vicinity.
Try Hotels and Commercial Places
A lot of hotels and restaurant chains offer free Wi-Fi to their customers. The list includes places like McDonalds and Starbucks as well.
Know the Hotspots
If you do not stay somewhere close to such outlets, you may search for a Wi-Fi hotspot nearby, by accessing applications such as WeFi (available over iOS and Android). These are kind of search engines which tell you of the nearby hotspots from where you can access free Wi-Fi.
Looking through Networks
Even if you are not close to any proper Wi-Fi hotspot, you may still access Wi-Fi. But, for this you would have to be smart enough to sniff out any hidden Wi-Fi connection. There are a number of applications available over the net which can actually help you detect such hidden Wi-Fi connection even in places like Airport premium lounge.
Browsing Smart
Most of the people do not know but, few Wi-Fi networks allow you to access certain sites, if not the entire net. This would not allow you to check your mail or access the social networking sites, but is good enough for others who use net for generic purposes.
Opting for Loyalty Programs
There are many websites and businesses which allow you to access free Wi-Fi if you enroll yourself to a certain kind of loyalty program with them. Most of the times, these loyalty programs are free and hence, there is no harm getting yourself enrolled just in order to avail the Wi-Fi connection.
Need for Coupon Codes
There are websites which dish out coupon codes which you may later redeem to access free Wi-Fi at select locations.
Cable Wi-Fi
Most people are not aware of the fact that once you avail the services of any cable operator, you get to enjoy the free Wi-Fi services of the same at all the hotspots across the place.
MAC Spoofing
If you are clever enough then you may even opt for this. There are many Wi-Fi networks which allow you to access net for a limited time period and hence if you do not wish to relocate to another Wi-Fi hotspot, you may simply go for MAC spoofing (impersonating someone else’s MAC address) to surf the net a little longer.
Tethering Smartphone’s
There are quite a few tethering options for Android and iOS devices and hence, if you wish to surf net free, it’s better if you tether your Smartphone to your device. However, do note that iPhone users would have to jailbreak their phone and Android users would have to root the same.
Hacking into Networks
If you are desperate enough and have the expertise, you may try hacking into the system and get yourself a free Wi-Fi network to work with. However, I seriously doubt if people would consider this as a viable option.
I understand that some of these techniques are not everyone’s cup of tea but, most of these can be tried to avail free Wi-Fi.