Starbucks is now offering free Wi-Fi for everyone for all customers in its company-owned stores in the United States and Canada as a part of an ongoing commitment to enhancing customer service. No Starbucks card required, no username or password needed, no time limits, and unlimited usage. Starbucks is working with AT&T in the U.S. and Bell in Canada as its Wi-Fi providers.
Starbucks was one of the first chains to offer Wi-Fi, using T-Mobile some years ago. Customers were allowed 2 hours of free Wi-Fi access provided with use with a Starbucks Card to login.
So much daily business is done currently within the walls of a Starbucks with a coffee in hand and to have free Wi-Fi seems fantastic. However, is it safe?
As with other public Wi-Fi networks, there are risks involved with connecting to public hotspots. To minimize your exposure you should be aware of several basic items. Following all of these items does not mean you are entirely protected against malicious attempts and personal exposure.
When you are on a public network you should turn off your file sharing and public folder sharing. In Windows it is located in the Control Panel and then Network and Sharing options. For Mac it is located under System Preferences and Sharing.
As for web surfing it isn’t a big deal (to me) to surf the web, in a general sense. However, be cautious to entering in usernames, passwords, credit card info, etc. to websites that are not encrypted. As a general “rule of thumb” you can tell by looking at the website address and if it starts with an “https” instead of “http.” However, there are sites where you enter login information on a website starting with “http” that submits securely to “https” and that is fine as well. As always, make sure you have your anti-virus and malware software up to date.
Great news! Thanks for “sharing”.
Hehe… My pleasure, Randy!
Hope you have a great 4th!
Do you think I can let go of my Sprint Air Card? I find that I’m not using it very much any more and of course would like to cut the expense.
Hi Lorne – Between Starbucks and other public places that offer wi-fi it is seems as if it is almost readily available. However, I don’t know about you but for me I know that when I do travel, there always never seems to be enough wi-fi available and my Verizon card is a life saver.
It’s hard to say but if you aren’t using it and don’t have the need to get onto the Internet while you are out and about, then yes, I would cancel it. Before canceling, I would recommend getting out and checking where wi-fi hotspots are so you always know where you can go in a pinch.
Yes about time Starbucks…never could figure out why they try so hard to get you to come to the store but then charge you for Wi-Fi???? This does help out and makes my business even more mobile.