Introduction
Where there is talk of the internet, the mention of hotspots will also come because millions of people connect to the internet using public hotspots every day and today, hotspots have become an essential part of public infrastructure and our internet experience.
You too keep sharing data with your friends and family members through hotspots, don’t you? But if you don’t do that, or if you don’t know what a hotspot is and how it works, are there different types of hotspots?
So, there will be many such questions about hotspots in your mind, which you will all answers in this article. We are going to give you all the important information related to hotspots.
Table of Contents
What is a Hotspot?
So, let’s start and first of all let’s know what is a hotspot? A hotspot is a specific location that provides internet access through a wireless local area network and through this, users can connect their smartphones and tablets to the internet without wires. That is Hotspot, uses Wi-Fi to provide internet to wireless devices. Hotspot can also be done in private locations and in public locations, such as airports, coffee shops, hotels, hospitals, libraries, and supermarkets.
Difference between Hotspot and Wi-Fi
Sometimes we don’t understand the difference between Hotspot and Wi-Fi, so today we will also learn about it. Wi-Fi is a technology that allows your smartphone or computer to access the Internet through wireless connection. It uses radio signals to send and receive data between your enabled device and WAP, i.e. wireless access point. Wi-Fi is a wireless communication technology that is used for LAN, i.e. local area networks, while Hotspot provides the Internet to wireless devices using Wi-Fi.
Mobile Hotspot
Okay, that’s fine, but what is this mobile hotspot? So mobile hotspot is also called portable hotspot and you can make a mobile hotspot by using your smartphone’s data connection to connect your laptop to the internet. This process is called tethering.
These devices are connected to cellular networks such as 4G or 5G, and those devices that cannot be connected to cellular networks can be connected to mobile hotspots using Wi-Fi. Mobile hotspots work as a bridge between your devices and your cellular network.
Types of Hotspots
Let’s go ahead and know the two types of hotspots in the video. The first is free Wi-Fi hotspots. The second is commercial hotspots. So free Wi-Fi hotspots allow all users to use the internet from the same network. And commercial hotspots have to pay for wireless coverage. And when connected to commercial hotspots, the user is redirected to the login information or payment details request screen.
But if you want a hotspot that is available at every location, then you can use a portable Wi-Fi hotspot for this. This device has a mobile router and without downloading any additional software in the device, it can be used to connect many devices at once.
Security of Hotspots
The question is, are hotspots secure? The answer is yes and no. Because if it is used without ensuring the security of the hotspot, hackers and your identity can also be stolen. It is very easy for hackers to distribute malware through an unsecured Wi-Fi connection, so it is very important to avoid it.
Therefore, while using the public Wi-Fi hotspot, connect your smartphone or laptop only with reputable providers. And while using public Wi-Fi, you must take care of all these things:
- Turn off your device’s Bluetooth before entering the public network.
- Switch off file sharing on your device.
- Enable firewall on your device.
- Keep anti-malware software on your device, which also has anti-snipping protection.
- Turn off Wi-Fi auto connect settings.
If you take care of these things, you can get a secure hotspot facility. And if you have security concerns about public Wi-Fi hotspots, you should create a VPN or virtual private network, in which you can use the internet through an encrypted connection. This will reduce the risk of hackers, but the speed of internet access will definitely slow down. Because your transmitted data will need processing power to encrypt and descript. As the speed will slow down, think about the speed issue before using VPN.
Why Free Hotspots?
By the way, when anything is available for free, you should definitely think about what is the reason for it. And the same applies to some free hotspots as well, why is this free facility given? Let’s tell you.
- More customers start getting more customers by offering this free Wi-Fi or public Wi-Fi and sales also increase.
- And by offering free Wi-Fi, the government gets the profit that the city in which free Wi-Fi is provided, the chances of economic development, job creation and revenue generation increase in that city increase.
- And the profit that citizens get is that citizens working from remote locations can easily complete their work. It is possible to do online learning for students with low-income family background. And the number of tourists coming to such places also increases a lot.
So if we talk about the disadvantage of this public Wi-Fi that gives so many benefits, then there is no reliability in it, which is a major security issue. There is low speed and there are also maintenance issues. Hotspot providers know that their clients need quick service and they can sacrifice security for it. That’s why, while using public Wi-Fi, do not open any sites that you want to keep secure, such as banking sites. Use multiple passwords and usernames so that your confidential information remains secure.
Similarly, security can be issued on portable hotspots due to freeloaders, so secure portable devices should be used, including data encryption.
Conclusion
Hotspots are places where you can connect to the internet without using wires, like in cafes or airports. They’re convenient, but be careful with public ones because they can be risky for your personal info.
Free hotspots might seem great, but they can be slow and unreliable. It’s important to stay safe by using security measures like VPNs. While hotspots make it easier to go online, it’s smart to be cautious about where and how you use them. This way you can keep your data secure and use the hotspot correctly.