Well then whoever has them is playing the long game. I read the article posted up-thread. All of that assumes somebody is actually going to the trouble of doing it. I accept the risk is there, but how much is this actually happening for real?
Seems one is more at risk when hackers get into some company’s database. Are random people routinely getting hacked on the McD, Starbucks or airport WiFi networks?
This isn’t true.
If the connections are “secure,” the passwords are encrypted, along with the data.
Very difficult to determine, given that a compromised account can go weeks/months/years before being used or detected, and a lot of people will just assume it was a result of a company hack instead of something like an open wifi connection.
You do know that they are providing wi-fi for their customers, and that at most McDonald’s and coffee shops 30 minutes is plenty of time for you to eat, drink, and LEAVE? Staying longer you’ve stopped being a customer and started to be a leech who is hogging a table a paying customer might need.
It’s not really a data issue for me, if I have a 4G connection I’m content to eat up my own data to do what I need to, email hardly a data hog. It’s a nice perk to not use data when wifi is available but not a necessity.
Cell phone reception in my area is often an issue. In MA people are unreasonably anti-tower and cell towers have limitations based on geography. With Verizon I have cell phone reception in most areas, a few have horrible reception but I know when people call and some areas I don’t even get cell reception. There are restaurants I will not eat at because I get no reception at them.
When it comes to data, not nearly enough areas have a good network coverage so I much prefer places that have wifi available, I might not be able to hold a conversation on the phone but at least I can communicate with customers via email.
I have a smart phone and a tablet both are cellular. I can live without wifi but life with it is much better.
Public toilets, yes. Internet, not so much.
In my experience having free wi-fi everywhere is much more the case outside the U.S. More restaurants and coffee shops are going this way but it isn’t as common as when I’ve been traveling. I don’t think many people over 40 and certainly over 50, make decisions about what businesses they patronize based on free public Wi-Fi.
The only reason I go into McD’s is the WiFi. I buy an iced tea and sit with my iPad. Were it not for the WiFi, I wouldn’t go in there at all. If a business were assholish enough to ask me to leave after 30 minutes I’d point out that they would be losing a customer permanently as a result.
Point being, WiFi works as a way of attracting customers like me. Hence, make it work well so we keep coming back.
What makes you think McDonalds would want to keep a customer that buys an ice tea then takes up a table for more then 30 minutes?
I think they’d want to lose such customers, maybe that’s why they limit it to 30 minutes.
Yeah, there isn’t a business on the face of this Earth that wants customers who just buy iced tea and sit for hours at a time to use the wi-fi. If that does ever happen to you, Llama (and I really hope it does), you can safely spare them the righteous indignation.
They need to come up with a different login protocol that does not require the user to log on. Some device recognition where the device itself would seamless connect and exchange any logon credentials along the way. I don’t think the carriers would like this however.
What about unprotected wifi?
At home our wifi isn’t password protected. If you’re close enough to use it, you’re in our home or on our porch, and I trust my guests.
It still requires logging in (connecting) for the first time. I was thinking more of a trusted wifi hot spot and a trusted end use device (such as a smartphone) would just connect automatically. They would workout the details how such a device would be trusted.
Versus never going there and never buying anything? I’m not sure I agree with that.
First of all, I personally never take up a table when it’s crowded. I’m sitting at a table that nobody is using anyway, I’m buying a product that has a huge markup, and I’m doing it a few times a month. I’d say McD’s is winning with people like me, especially when you figure some of them will also buy food (which I do once in a while also, but not often).
The whole point of having WiFi is to attract customers. It’s working.
Starbucks seems a bit more relaxed about the time issue. I had to run to a nearby one to do and submit some homework (home connectivity was down), so I got a drink and a piece of their banana bread (which I really like). I was probably there for 45 minutes, and the staff didn’t seem bothered by that long a stay.
The point of having customers is to make a profit. In your case, the free WiFi seems to be a bad idea.
The 30 minute limit at McDonald’s is more about stopping homeless people from camping out there for hours. If you buy something, and it’s not crowded, then no one will say anything to you if you are there more than 30 minutes.
A bar/restaurant near us has free WiFi. The waitresses all tell customers that, “the password is JohnDeere, no spaces, like the tractor”. Only it is actually JohnDear.
I don’t know if it is a joke or what. I got it right just trying different spellings.
Fast food places have a HUGE profit margin on drinks.
It’s not your device they don’t trust, it’s you.
The log in is so you can click on the part saying you won’t break the rules so if you do they can say it wasn’t our fault, we told him not to do it when the owner of the copyright or site hacked or whatever traces it back to the owner of the WiFi.
A McDonald’s iced tea costs around $1.66.
Even if the profit is 100%, $1.66 for someone who then wants to sit in a restaurant and use the wifi for as long as they like is not a viable business.