An interesting WiFi service recently came to my attention. It’s called FON, and it’s being offered worldwide. Both the technology and the business model are interesting, since the company is effectively building their WiFi network in partnership with their customers.

The service works like this: you buy their “La Fonera” WiFi router and connect it to your existing broadband connection. This provides you with immediate local WiFi on your own private network via the FON service. It also starts broadcasting a public signal that can be accessed and used by any other FON subscriber (known as “Foneros”). This is where the business model gets interesting.

According to the FON website, the company “will pay you 50% of the net revenue that we get every time a visitor purchases a FON Access Pass through your FON Spot.” They claim this is presently about 3.02 Euros (not dollars) per month at present, with a claimed network of 300,000 active FON Spots worldwide. Other Foneros can access the public WiFi spot at any time, but you don’t make any money from them. Users are only paid when non-subscribers pay for temporary access.

Users who want to make a bit more cash can buy a “Fontenna,” or WiFi extender, that boosts the signal much further than would normally be possible with standard WiFi (I suspect this is just a commercial strength antenna, as used by many corporations).

The concept is very interesting, and obviously is growing. The current map shows FON Spots all over the planet, and you can look them up by postal code or address on FON’s mapping site which uses Google Maps under the covers. At a current price of $39.95 for the La Fonera+ (2-connection, one of which is wired) it’s apparently an easy and cheap way to get WiFi access while possibly earning some extra cash on the side.

Obviously providing public access is not going to earn any money for someone living in a rural area with few locations for day-users to connect. But for urban dwellers, it might just be a handy way to pay for your WiFi habit. Plus, as a member you get free FON WiFi access worldwide, so it may be a great option for frequent travelers as well.

Although they look like fine devices, I’ve never managed to convince myself to invest in a PDA. I’ve tried a few, have read articles comparing their features and user interfaces, and have spoken with colleagues who say they couldn’t live without theirs. But my handwriting is so abysmal that no PDA has ever had a chance of learning it to any significant degree, so I can’t use one for note taking. Now, it appears the whole concept may be heading into the dustbin of history as PDA functionality is overtaken by “converged” devices like the BlackBerry, iPhone, and tiny laptops. According to the above article, only about 730,000 units were sold in the 3rd quarter of 2007, meaning that overall shipments “fell 39.3 percent year-over-year.”

A lot of the problem is that PDAs only do one thing well, whereas “converged” devices are multi-taskers. Who wants to have a PDA, cell phone, pager, camera, and other items hanging on a “Bat utility belt” around their waist when a single item like an iPhone can encapsulate most popular functions in a much smaller package? Even my MotoRazr phone can surf the Web, play music, and take notes! This said, the main disadvantage with a multi-tasking device is that it’s a single point of failure - if your BlackBerry or iPhone dies, or you leave it in the back seat of a taxi, you’ve lost everything (phone, PDA, camera, etc.).

I suspect the convergence trend will continue, as device sizes shrink while capabilities grow exponentially. I recall some years ago watching a colleague have a conversation on his infrared-equipped dual-channel cell phone while simultaneously opening a connection to a corporate network via his similarly equipped PDA. He was able to access files on a company UNIX system and make changes to them while talking with a co-worker. That was pretty cool in the year 2000, but today he could perform the same task using a single device. The speed and interface would probably be much better as well.

It’s only a matter of time before we all have access to universal devices that perform and look (well, maybe not…) like Star Trek “Tricorder” units - they’ll be capable of recording audio & video, transmitting and receiving it via a universally accessible high speed network, as well as providing us with real-time information about our environment based on GPS data and selected preferences. They’ll be able to access information on our home computing systems, and will probably be able to talk to our Internet-enabled home appliances as well. They’ll be set up with a personal phone number that we’ll retain for life (no more changing numbers when we move), so we’ll be accessible anywhere we go as long as there’s a signal.

Since the iPhone can already do most of these things, I predict we’ll see the full package before the year 2010. Now if we could only add the ability to detect alien life forms…

More and more users are taking advantage of free or paid Internet access via WiFi access points in coffee shops, restaurants, and book stores. They may also be exposing themselves to a cleverly disgused threat, as discussed today on a Yahoo news article. The idea is similar to Pharming and other attacks involving misdirection of user requests, but in this case it involves setting up a small, unobtrusive WiFi access point in a public location, mimicking a real service. This access point could even provide legitimate network access, allowing users to visit normal Web sites and conduct business as usual.

This almost sounds like a public service until one realizes that, unless it’s encrypted from one end to the other, all traffic passing through such an access point is fully viewable by the hackers who installed it. Most generic Web and even e-mail traffic traverses networks “in the clear,” or in an unencrypted format that allows anyone with sufficient knowledge to record and play back whole sessions with relative ease. Such attacks are known as “evil twin” or “man in the middle” methods of data theft, since they involve situations where traffic continues normally while being simultaneously monitored by thieves hoping to capture useful information. In real-life terms it’s almost like phone tapping, since the person whose conversations are being recorded may be totally unaware of the situation.

Another hazard of such situations is that the hacker’s control of the access point could allow them to inject additional data (spyware or a virus, perhaps) into the communications stream between the user’s machine and the illicit firewall. Depending on the level of security in place on each PC connected to such a device, the hacker could even gain access to the system as a guest or even a fully privileged user, thus permitting access to at least some portions of the hard disk.

How does one avoid such traps? Probably the most effective defense, aside from a fully up to date security suite and good account/password management on your PC, involves vigilance and deliberate behavior. When you open your WiFi browser to select an access point, make sure it’s being provided by a legitimate service. If the establishment offers T-Mobile and a point’s advertised name is “T-Mobil” (note the missing “e”), or if the establishment doesn’t advertise WiFi access at all, you should be suspicious of any and all available access points you encounter. Check with the management to make sure the site is actually offering wireless access. Ask what the network name is and who’s providing it. With your data and your privacy at stake, you have every right to ask these questions. If you’re not sure, go elsewhere. It’s far better to be inconvenienced than to find your bank account or e-mail account has been compromised.

Every time I hear the term, “hotspotting,” I am reminded of the movie that came out a few years ago about the Scottish drug scene, Trainspotting. If you saw it, you know how disturbing it was. Sometimes trying to get access to the Internet in public places is as difficult as trying to score while going through withdrawl. I am writing today to try to help our readers get some insight into hotspotting and to recommend a few helpful tips.

Wireless hotspots offer a variety of fantastic opportunities, one of which is a change of scenery. I remember I had been working on an article for an international web design publication when I could not move forward on the article. I had writer’s block and I just kept going back to the same mint chocolate chip ice cream in my freezer. When it was all gone, I packed up my Core Duo Macbook and hotfooted it down to the local coffee shop. Voila! A change of view, a cup of joe, and I was finished with that pesky article in about fifteen minutes.

Back in December I was sitting at a Delta Airlines gate in Rochester, New York, when I realized I hadn’t paid an important bill and was bound for a late charge if I didn’t get it handled before 2 p.m. Luckily the wireless service in Rochester was great and I logged into my bank account, paid the bill, and flew with one less worry.

Wireless hotspots have been a feature at most major airports for several years now but many of them charge a subscription or fee to use them. I have noticed that Starbucks now is a T-Mobile hot spot. Several hotel chains also offer paid subscription services through T-Mobile or other providers. I hate the paid subscription service because it is costly and I happen to like the idea that something in life can be free, other than true love, which is often neither free nor true, unfortunately.

I have recently found myself hanging out much longer in airports. Ever since the security upgrades at airports, we are all spending much longer reading bad magazines and avoiding the stares of complete strangers. Here are a few tips that will hopefully make that wait a little more tolerable.

Get one of these handy Wi-fi ‘sniffers. It is the size of a key ring and it costs around ten dollars. These are much better (and more discreet) for hunting down a signal. Think of it, how embarrassing can it be when you are wandering around the gift shop or the gate for a signal, with your laptop waving in the breeze? These items are what I would call a necessary best buy for not only the air traveler, but for anyone who gets online via hotspots on a regular basis.

In an airport, you will probably want to seek out the executive and club lounges. Instead of having to pay for the subscription service, some of these lounges have free Wi-fi access for their patrons. You will benefit when this signal spills out.

Lastly, run your PC on airport power. Main sockets in the departure lounges and at the gate are worth seeking out and even waiting for seats close to the outlets. And it’s an added bonus when these seats are in the range of an open Wi-fi network. In case you didn’t already know, wireless operation sucks a battery dry in around half the time it normally takes.

If you’re flying internationally, check with your airline before you go if they have power sockets in the seats, and which sort they are, so you have the right ones, or purchase one of those universal travel kits.