How does hotel wi-fi work,and why does it need a browser to log in?

how does hotel wi-fi work,and why does it need a browser to log in?

It's strange--just like the title says, hotel Wi-fi and a lot of private business wi-fi needs a browser to activate your internet connection, with a password, but when you flush the cache and close the browser, when you reopen the browser it often still works to give you internet. Somehow there's a hidden cookie that is not erased.

Anybody know how hotel or private wifi works? Some sort of a program that's become popular seems to me, as I don't recall this from years ago.

RL

On 10/04/2012 3:35 PM, RayLopez99 wrote:
how does hotel wi-fi work,and why does it need a browser to log in?

It's strange--just like the title says, hotel Wi-fi and a lot of private business wi-fi needs a browser to activate your internet connection, with a password, but when you flush the cache and close the browser, when you reopen the browser it often still works to give you internet. Somehow there's a hidden cookie that is not erased.

Anybody know how hotel or private wifi works? Some sort of a program that's become popular seems to me, as I don't recall this from years ago.

It's called a "hotspot" usually. The connection to the Wi-Fi itself is
free and open, but in order to get the Internet, they take to an
internal website that asks you for some identifying info. Once you
provide that, it then allows you to use their gateway to the Internet.
It does maintain a cookie, but the cookie is not on your computer but on
their computer, which identifies you by your computer's MAC address.

Yousuf Khan

"Yousuf Khan" wrote in message ...
On 10/04/2012 3:35 PM, RayLopez99 wrote:
how does hotel wi-fi work,and why does it need a browser to log in?

It's strange--just like the title says, hotel Wi-fi and a lot of private business wi-fi needs a browser to activate
your internet connection, with a password, but when you flush the cache and close the browser, when you reopen the
browser it often still works to give you internet. Somehow there's a hidden cookie that is not erased.

Anybody know how hotel or private wifi works? Some sort of a program that's become popular seems to me, as I don't
recall this from years ago.

It's called a "hotspot" usually. The connection to the Wi-Fi itself is free and open, but in order to get the
Internet, they take to an internal website that asks you for some identifying info. Once you provide that, it then
allows you to use their gateway to the Internet. It does maintain a cookie, but the cookie is not on your computer but
on their computer, which identifies you by your computer's MAC address.

Yousuf Khan

And it also expires (at least at the Hampton Inn's I've stayed in) after one or two hours of inactivity.
As an added wall of protection, I bring a wireless router that I hook to their network. In the end, I'm still using
their WAN to get to the internet, but I basically have my own private LAN piggy-backing on them.
--
SC Tom

"RayLopez99" wrote in message
news:23132923.262.1334086556374.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@pbky1...

how does hotel wi-fi work,and why does it need a browser to log in?

All PCs require a browser to connect to the internet (whether
via telephone, coax cable or wirelessly.)

Anybody know how hotel or private wifi works? Some sort of a program
that's become popular seems to me, as I don't recall this from years ago.

WiFi is not just "some sort of a program:" it is an electronic pool of
radiation created by an electrical device with antenna (and run by its
own program.) The hardware varies according to whether users
are charged by time (like cable TV) or by the byte (like cell phones.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

My brother stayed in a hotel in downtown Atlanta and they charged him a
fixed price for wi-fi access for the duration of his stay. When he took his
laptop to business meetings in the hotel conference room, he had no wi-fi.
The hotel told him that wi-fi in a conference room is $100 a day.

Others used an iphone for their i-net access (net - iphone - laptop, I
think), so, my brother switched to the iphone when he got home.

--g

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012 3:40:44 AM UTC+8, Yousuf Khan wrote:


It's called a "hotspot" usually. The connection to the Wi-Fi itself is
free and open, but in order to get the Internet, they take to an
internal website that asks you for some identifying info. Once you
provide that, it then allows you to use their gateway to the Internet.
It does maintain a cookie, but the cookie is not on your computer but on
their computer, which identifies you by your computer's MAC address.

Yousuf Khan


Yes, thanks, here is another reference to this, also called a "captive portal": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_portal

RL

"geoff" wrote in message m...
My brother stayed in a hotel in downtown Atlanta and they charged him a
fixed price for wi-fi access for the duration of his stay. When he took his
laptop to business meetings in the hotel conference room, he had no wi-fi.
The hotel told him that wi-fi in a conference room is $100 a day.

Others used an iphone for their i-net access (net - iphone - laptop, I
think), so, my brother switched to the iphone when he got home.

That would certainly be a lot cheaper, if he travels a lot. What a rip-off!
--
SC Tom

On 4/10/2012 1:45 PM PT, SC Tom typed:

As an added wall of protection, I bring a wireless router that I hook to
their network. In the end, I'm still using their WAN to get to the
internet, but I basically have my own private LAN piggy-backing on them.

Which wirless router do you use? Hopefully, it is tiny and light to
carry!
--
"Busy as ants hurrying orcs were digging, digging lines of deep trenches
in a huge ring, just out of bowshot from the walls;" --The Return of the
King (book)
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

Ant" wrote in message ...
On 4/10/2012 1:45 PM PT, SC Tom typed:

As an added wall of protection, I bring a wireless router that I hook to
their network. In the end, I'm still using their WAN to get to the
internet, but I basically have my own private LAN piggy-backing on them.

Which wirless router do you use? Hopefully, it is tiny and light to
carry!

It's a Netgear WGR614V9. Very light and compact.
--
SC Tom

On Tue, 10 Apr 2012, Don Phillipson wrote:

"RayLopez99" wrote in message
news:23132923.262.1334086556374.JavaMail.geo-discussion-forums@pbky1...

how does hotel wi-fi work,and why does it need a browser to log in?

All PCs require a browser to connect to the internet (whether
via telephone, coax cable or wirelessly.)

That's not true.

The login is separate. In the days of dialup with a terminal, their
server would ask for username and password, with PPP access such
information was usually buried in a file, though I suppose there are some
PPP programs that ask for the information.

But a browser has nothing to do with it. One doesn't need a browser for
newsgroups for ftp or IRC or chat, and you don't need one for logging in.

Michael