Wherever Wi-Fi hotspots are available, users usually have to choose between two options: either connect to a paid connection or free one.

Free hotspots are more popular because not only do commercial establishments provide this but also users at home who have wireless connections and who wittingly or unwittingly share their connection.

The main attraction in free hotspots is that, well, they are free. What one has to do is simply connect to that network and browse the day away.

Aside from that, there are groups that believe in sharing their bandwidth with others. They say that since they do not maximize their bandwidth anyway, they might as well let others jump into their connection too.

But free hotspots have their share of problems. They are usually unsecure which enables anyone with the right software to sniff the data sent by other people on the network. It can be a breeding ground for hackers and identity thieves.

Meanwhile, there?s the alternative of having paid Wi-Fi connections. This type of hotspot can usually be found in airports. This mainly caters to business travellers who need to connect to the internet even at the airport.

The good thing with this option is that it is more secure because of several measures made by airports in ensuring the privacy of data over the network.

But the data isn?t completely secure. They are still logged, by airports for example, for purposes of having usage records that law enforcement agencies require in monitoring criminal activity.