How can I find or create a free, open wifi network?

You'd be surprised how often I have seen this question or a slight variation. Often it's people who have a Sony PSP (I have tons of Sony PSP help on this site) but in general as we've seen more and more devices that can be always-on the Internet, access to the Internet has become more and more important. Makes sense, really.

The problem is, there isn't really any free Internet access. Somewhere, somehow, someone has to be paying the bill to Comcast, Qwest, PacBell, Southwestern Bell, or any of a million other Internet Service Providers. The Internet acronym that best describes this is TANSTAAFL (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch) and it definitely applies to what you're asking me.

A typical wireless Internet "base unit" has a range of about 75-150 feet, and often less, depending on walls and intervening devices that can cause interference. This means that when you're at home you are only going to see wireless networks that are within 2-3 houses of your own house, either behind you, on either side, or across the street. Your friend with a powerful signal a 1/4-mile away? You're out of luck.

This means that theoretically you and two or three of your neighbors should be able to pool a network connection, split the bill, and get Internet access for just a few dollars/month (typical connections run $20-30/month total). Problem is, the ISPs don't want you to do that and almost all of them have explicit terms of service that prohibit you from sharing your connection. Of course, you can ignore that and I'm pretty darn sure you'll be fine, but if it's your name on the bill and your neighbor is trying to hack the Pentagon and gets caught, well, not good.

Further, there's some buzz that it's illegal to tap someone else's public wifi network without permission, though the number of times that's been prosecuted versus the number of times people do it makes it the least likely crime on Earth to cause you worry.

Now, on to your question. In terms of finding free wifi that's open and accessible, not password secured, that involves a bit of luck. If you're at home, try different sides of your house, or even your deck or front porch. Sometimes you can see a signal on one side of the house but not the other. If not, well, then your neighbors are too darn savvy. :-)

If you can't find one, then you might need to go somewhere that has network access. Coffee shops are a good bet, as is your public library. Ask around, there might be other places, including restaurants and book shops, where you can park at a corner table with a cup of tea and surf for an hour with no additional charge.

A Linksys Wireless 802.11g Access Point

To create your own open wireless wifi network, you need Internet service, either cable or DSL, and what's called a wireless base station or wifi access point. At their cheapest, you can grab a low-end unit for $25 and a good unit that supports the various wireless protocols (known as 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n, each faster than the previous) runs about $125-$150 or so.

Your Internet connection includes a modem or other device into which you plug your computer: instead, unplug your computer and plug in the wi-fi access point. With many of these base stations, you can then plug your computer directly into it if you want, but you can also just go completely wireless at that point.

That's what I have at my house and it's great to have highspeed wireless Internet throughout my house, yard and deck. Very helpful!

So those are your options: poke around and try to find a spot in your house that can "see" an open network, or move yourself to another place to find access at a café or library or similar. For bonus points, spend some money on computer hardware and you can turn your current Internet connection into a wireless network of your own too.

Good luck and we'll see you online!