Free Hotspots Need Free Security

Wi-Fi security is getting more attention these days, but most of the solutions are focused on the enterprise or paid-hotspot market. Now one group is trying to tackle the problem for free hotspots as well. With all the press coverage concerning Wi-Fi security issues, some users are becoming more careful about how they connect to any old access point. Most efforts to deal with this, however, are aimed at securing enterprise Wi-Fi or fee-based hotspots. Companies like Boingo, for instance, offer VPN access if you're on one of their hotspots. However, its become quite obvious recently that the trend in Wi-Fi hotspots is free access, and many of the open Wi-Fi offerings aren't set up to let outside users log in while still remaining secure.

Linksys recently took a step in that direction with their partnership with Wireless Security Corporation to easily enable 802.11X security on a standard Linksys WAP54G wireless router. Still, that security offering is a service provided by WSC, and costs a few dollars a month -- something many free hotspot providers may not be all that enthusiastic about. If the users of their network aren't making an issue about security, they may not feel it's necessary to pay the extra fees to just set it up.

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