Wifi

What is the best way to stay connected to wi-fi? I know I don't want public access wi-fi. If it's a "phone as hotspot,"  is there a preferred provider?

Thank you.

Do you mean your own cellular phone provider ?
If so, just protect it from others with a proper password.

If the cell phone hotspot is the best way to stay connected,  I wanted to know who was best cell service provider (Sprint,  Version,  A T & T).

Sewasmiles said:

If the cell phone hotspot is the best way to stay connected,  I wanted to know who was best cell service provider (Sprint,  Version,  A T & T).

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It depends on your definition of best. Widest coverage, largest bandwidth, or cheapest rates, or best coverage in the area you are going to be in. I use public access all the time and see nothing wrong with it.

I thought public access left you more vulnerable. By best,  I mean best coverage across the U. S. and enough bandwidth to avoid being kicked off every time the dog sneezes.

The best way I've found is tethering my computer  to my Verizon cell phone, however I don't do that unless the campground WiFi is really bad.

The cost is prohibitive if we exceed our 2 gig limit. 

We run coast to coast and almost always have good signal from Verizon. I can't speak about the other providers as I don't use their services.

Sewasmiles said:

I thought public access left you more vulnerable. By best,  I mean best coverage across the U. S. and enough bandwidth to avoid being kicked off every time the dog sneezes.

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I have been using public access without issue for over ten years. I don't see how it could make you more vulnerable.

There are two methods that seem to be very popular,, Phone as a hot spot and Jet-Pack or MI-Fi as it is also called

What is the differnce:  The "Jet pack/My-Fi is a thick credit card size device which provides the exact same internet connectivity, via the same method, as using your cell phone as a hot spot.. ONLY it does not tie up the cell phone.

Some folks also use cellular internet (Wireless) dongles..  Same as a jet-pack/My-fi save they do not offer Wi-Fi multi-device connect.  (That can be fixed though)

Preferred provider.. I am very anti-verizon for reasons I won't bother to go into today but THEY seem to have the best coveragte.. AT&T now shows a coverage map nearly as good.  Sprint is the worst.. MOST providers use one of those 3 (Virgin Mobile whos dongle I have uses Sprint)  T-mobile feeds my phone.

But Verizon is the one most likely to give you a signal.


The other choice is 2-way Sattelite interenet.. There are several competitors but only two that are compatible with the RV life,, I-Direct and the original Hughes net (NOT 4G)  Hughes 4G and Excide are not RV friendly.

I-Direct has a new servcie or else a new reseller, not sure which, which has an automatic dish (roof mount) and which is a 'Buy by the month" type service (pre-pay).. Kind of "Newstand" as apposed to "Subscription"
(You can buy a magaine at the news stand when it has an article that intrests you or you can subscribe and have it delivered even if nothing of interest is in this month's edition)

About the only thing I know about this new service is what is I just typed.

2-Way Satellite tends to be somewhat annoying for most folks though  Lower speed and long ping times  but

The places where it does NOT work tend to be very small (like the size of a single campsite) and very far apart.

SeilerBird said:

I have been using public access without issue for over ten years. I don't see how it could make you more vulnerable.

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It does make you more vulnerable in that you don't know who else is on that network.  For example, a hacker could be sitting next to you (or across the room) and might gain access to your computer.  Also, it is fairly easy for someone to "sniff" your logon info (user name and password) for various websites you might connect to, especially if the logon connection is not a secure connection (https).  Now, the odds of that "someone" being connected to the same WiFi network as you are certainly low.  However, I suspect the odds go up on campground WiFi networks because someone else in the campground could easily get set up with equipment not easily used at a McDonalds.

In my opinion (backed with a few facts)...

Verizon has the broadest geographical coverage in the US
AT&T is a bit faster on data than Verizon, but their coverage is more focused on metropolitan areas
Spring is a little cheaper

We use Verizon for our phones (one smart, one not-so-smart) and a Jetpack (modem & hotspot). Also use public or semi-public (campground, motel, etc) wifi when available and working at reasonable speeds.

Any signal in the air can be captured, whether "public" or not. The real question is whether anybody is going to bother sifting a huge mass of traffic to find an unencrypted password from somebody who has something worth stealing. There are usually much easier ways to get that info than scanning the traffic at a campground or local McDonald's in hopes of getting lucky. A public wifi near Wall St in NYC is probably more of a gamble than one in an East Podunk.
Besides, anything important I do online is encrypted anyway. My banks, amazon, etc use https (encrypted) for all important transactions.

Molaker said:

It does make you more vulnerable in that you don't know who else is on that network.  For example, a hacker could be sitting next to you (or across the room) and might gain access to your computer.  Also, it is fairly easy for someone to "sniff" your logon info (user name and password) for various websites you might connect to, especially if the logon connection is not a secure connection (https).  Now, the odds of that "someone" being connected to the same WiFi network as you are certainly low.  However, I suspect the odds go up on campground WiFi networks because someone else in the campground could easily get set up with equipment not easily used at a McDonalds.

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The security problems with public WiFi can be overcome by the simple expedient of encrypting the WiFi.  The pass phrase doesn't have to be complicated, it could be a simple as 'starbucks' and posted on signs.  Just by using encryption makes the connection between you and the access point secure and ir you're accessing secure web sites (https) then you're safe all the way.  But stores and other places offering free WiFi don't want to be bothered with that simple fix, sadly, so you best alternative is to subscribe to a VPN service and that will give you an encrypted connection safe from the hacker at the next table.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to respond!

One of the problems with public wi-fi even if encrypted is that a really good hacker can sign into say Starbucks router, turn off the wireless, set up his own router with the same SSID and Pass code key and well, there you are.

This however takes a lot of work..  In most campgrounds I would not expect this to happen.. In one I frequent it might.

John From Detroit said:

One of the problems with public wi-fi even if encrypted is that a really good hacker can sign into say Starbucks router, turn off the wireless, set up his own router with the same SSID and Pass code key and well, there you are.

This however takes a lot of work..  In most campgrounds I would not expect this to happen.. In one I frequent it might.

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All he needs to do is create a duplicate SSID, or even an open network named 'Starbucks2' and pass the transactions on to the real Starbucks router.  The equipment to do this is cheap and the software is free.  Because lots of people are uneducated and lazy - they'll select the open network because they don't want to enter a password.  This has been done and documented many times.

The other thing they do is create what looks like a secure network but it's actually going through their laptop, and every keystroke is being captured. 

My advice is to never ever use an open network for anything more than casual web browsing.  Don't do anything that requires a password, or a credit card.

I do not even look at our financial assets unless I'm on a network I own and administer.

Or for good security, use a VPN, as I said earlier.  It gives encryption end to end regardless of what's in the middle.  But that's not for the novice to set up.

It all comes down to common sense and paying attention to what you're doing.

Very few people use VPN for personal security.

Which VPN provider do you use Ned?

I don't, but then I am very careful what I do when on a public WiFi connection.

If you're interested in one, here's a deal on a lifetime subscription to one.