Free Wi-Fi: How to find free WiFi hotspots

Whether you are constantly on the road or just want more often times to the fresh air, a care always travels with: WLAN. To be constantly online – whether for professional or private reasons – is now just as important as a door key and wallet. However, if you do not want to exhaust expensive data volume on a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet after just a few days, you have to be inventive. The good news: Free wireless is more often than you think. We’ll show you where to find open hotspots and how to use them quickly and safely.


Wireless Access Points: Open Hotspots


Which measures to take depends, of course, on where you are and how urgently the Internet connection is needed. In many American cities the residents enjoy free hotspots, but mostly only in the inner city. Chains like McDonald's, Burger King or Starbucks lure with free Internet access to keep customers loyal longer. Hotel rooms with at least three stars are, of course, included WLAN.


Digital dogs: find free hotspots by app


If you want to narrow down your search, you can use w-lan-hotels.de as a search engine. But even in the lobbies of some hotels you can log in for free: e.g. A & O, Accor (Ibis, Mercure), Radisson Blu or Motel One. And those who live near an airport can expect more and more often in the waiting areas a free network. There are also occasional opportunities to log in to small shops, such as restaurants, restaurants and petrol stations. Wintersportfreunde may be happy that more and more free WLANs are operated on ski slopes.


Important: Exclude dangers from WLAN


To find all these sites on the road, you need a mobile data connection via smartphone or tablet. The following apps are a good place to start: FreeZone (Android) searches not only the hotspots in the vicinity, but also measures the signal strength and indicates whether the network requires a login or not. Wifi Finder (Android / iOS) has the same functionality, but also displays paid hotspots and is also available in offline mode, provided you keep the app up to date. WeFi Pro (Android / iOS), on the other hand, maintains their own free hotspots around the world and only shows their own in the map. However, it can not hurt to install multiple of these apps to get a higher search result.


Avoiding Time Locks: The trick with the MAC address


If you prefer not to send location data via app, you can also search for WLAN sites with the following search engines:


Again, none of these lists claim to be complete, so look for more pages if you do not find it right away.


Before you join, however, take a look at maps.skycure.com for comparison. This map shows in the United States and worldwide as unsafe or maliciously registered free networks. An additional protection on Android devices is Droidguard Sheep. The app runs in the background and scans the network. When an attack occurs, Droidguard Sheep automatically turns off the connection to the WLAN and issues a warning. This protects you from other users on the same network who are trying to run a so-called "Man in the Middle" applet.


Many of the sites you find on the hotspot lists will be public wireless networks provided by the respective city. Basic IT is the key word in local politics, but there is still no nationwide regulation for this. This leads to different regulations from city to city.


In Munich and Pforzheim, for example, the municipalities or a grouping of regional companies are behind the public WLAN networks and so the use is unlimited. However, other cities, where network operators like Telekom or Kabel Deutschland fill the gaps, implement a time limit of 30 minutes per session.


Only customers of the respective provider may continue to surf on the other side. However, if you do not want to look for a new hotspot at the end of time, you can avoid this hurdle. You'll need to change your MAC address (spooofen).


The media access control address is the hardware ID number of the network card, which tells the network which device is currently connected. If you change the address, you can juggle a new device and extend the access time. First, you should note the original MAC address so that it can be reset later.


If you are on a laptop, type ipconfig / all in the input prompt. Under Physical address you will find the MAC address. Then just unpack the program MAC Makeup (Download). There, run MacMakeup.exe, click generate random, select one of the submenus, and then click generate.


An Android device requires a little extra effort: First, you must have root privileges. Rooten works differently with every manufacturer, but should be easy for most devices. The best thing to do is search a search engine for the name of your device with the keyword root guide. Once you have root access, search your current MAC address and write it down. To do so, connect the device to the Internet, access the settings and tap on the phone / tablet status at the bottom of the menu and write down the address.


Protection in public WLANs: Stay on the safe side


Finally, change the address using an app like MAC Spoofer (Android). In the text field of the app under Insert new MAC Address, simply enter a twelfth, random code from hexadecimal numbers (0-9 and A-F), then tap Spoof my MAC. After rebooting the device, you should have a new MAC address and be able to continue browsing the public WLAN after the time has elapsed.


When using free WLANs, you should always be aware of one thing: You are in a strange network and must provide for your own security. Thus the connection is in most cases unencrypted. Make sure you prefer to use https: // web pages, or install HTTPS Everywhere directly. The browser add-on ensures that even pages without automatic forwarding are always displayed in the HTTPS version. Install the addon for Chrome, Firefox or the corresponding Android browser variant


Encrypted: Best security with VPN


Similarly, back up when you add the Firefox Addon Force TLS to your browser. TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a security protocol that ensures encrypted data transfer between browser and web page. The addon ensures that the log is used as soon as the opportunity arises.


If you want to log into Facebook and Co., a password manager like LastPass is recommended. A master password is sufficient to log in. The rest of the access data is automatically entered by the program without leaving any data in the browser.


However, if you are not going to send sensitive data about public WLANs, you should not take a risk and connect through a Virtual Private Network (VPN).


Your own hotspot: Last hope without WLAN


VPNs automatically create encrypted connections between different networks. Even if your data are intercepted, they are unreadable to the misdead. For occasional use of the notebook, use the free version of CyberGhost.


To do this, install the program, select a simulated IP address and a simulated country in the lower right corner of the window and press the start button in the center. As a free customer, you have a smaller selection of IP addresses and servers, and the user load is of course higher, but the offer is still attractive. All the same applies to the Android app of CyberGhost, which has the same user interface.


But what if you are stranded, without WLAN far and wide? As long as you are connected to your Android device, you can operate tethering. This turns your smartphone or tablet into a private WLAN hotspot that you can control with other devices. This will of course affect your data volume.


Most modern smartphones are equipped with this function. The free App PdaNet + (Android) is not only recommended for old devices. It also enables tethering via Bluetooth DUN (dial-up networking). This means you can also use other devices such as digital cameras or printers to control the hotspot as long as they are bluetooth-enabled.


Now you are equipped for all eventualities and are hardly restricted in your mobility. Who wants to be offline again?