Using Public WiFi in Cafes, Pubs etc

When we moved in to our current house I simply politely asked one of our neighbours if I could use her WiFi for a few days until ours went live, she was more than happy for us to use it.

A few weeks later I replaced the battery in her laptop FOC so we're all good.
 
OvalShaped said:
When we moved in to our current house I simply politely asked one of our neighbours if I could use her WiFi for a few days until ours went live, she was more than happy for us to use it.

A few weeks later I replaced the battery in her laptop FOC so we're all good.
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Much better solution I’d happily loan my WiFi to a new neighbour in exchange for a bottle or two of wine or a case of beer.

I can totally see why the pub don’t like you making zoom calls in the pub while drinking two cokes over a five hour period. I also find it really odd that your work won’t let you connect via VPN from a mobile device but don’t mind you making video calls in a public place, that’s a really odd security policy!
 
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That Jekka Gal said:
I'm awaiting my broadband installation in my new house (a 4 week lead time, would you believe...) so having to use various public places with wifi.

Now, I'm not the sort to spend half a day in a busy pub taking up table space whilst only consuming a glass of tap water for the duration.

Say I'm there 5 hours; I'll order a cokd, then a coffee and finish off with another coke. Even so, I'm increasingly gettjng the feeling that my prescence isn't wrlcome. I haven't bedn asked go leave yet but frequently get pressured to buy something else.

Maybe there are so many digital nomads these days that places are gettjng frd up. I guess the solutikn is to to an anonymous chain type place where the staff don't give a damn but that's a long trip into the city for me.

What are people's thoughts on etiquette when using a business' free wifi?
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are you sure you only had a cokd and a coffee and a coke?
 
OvalShaped said:
When we moved in to our current house I simply politely asked one of our neighbours if I could use her WiFi for a few days until ours went live, she was more than happy for us to use it.

A few weeks later I replaced the battery in her laptop FOC so we're all good.
Click to expand...

These days I'd be pretty leery about letting anyone use my internet connection unless they were close friends/family, even a neighbour.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Much better solution I’d happily loan my WiFi to a new neighbour in exchange for a bottle or two of wine or a case of beer.

I can totally see why the pub don’t like you making zoom calls in the pub while drinking two cokes over a five hour period. I also find it really odd that your work won’t let you connect via VPN from a mobile device but don’t mind you making video calls in a public place, that’s a really odd security policy!
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You don't know what the internet could be used for though especially if it's someone new that's something to think about
 
I wonder if the no mobile data network settings thing is actually just tethered phones etc rather than all mobile data necessarily. Might find that a 4G router would work?

Seems like a very odd policy though.
 
GreatAuk said:
I wonder if the no mobile data network settings thing is actually just tethered phones etc rather than all mobile data necessarily. Might find that a 4G router would work?

Seems like a very odd policy though.
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Really odd policy especially if they are allowing zoom calls from a public place which is much lower on the security scale than using a secure VPN over a tethered phone.
 
uscool said:
You don't know what the internet could be used for though especially if it's someone new that's something to think about
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What does it matter what the data connection is used for the connection to work would still be secured via VPN. Is a tethered mobile connection to the internet really anymore of a risk than a public WiFi hotspot or someone’s home broadband?
 
a1ex2001 said:
What does it matter what the data connection is used for the connection to work would still be secured via VPN. Is a tethered mobile connection to the internet really anymore of a risk than a public WiFi hotspot or someone’s home broadband?
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I was on about if it wasn't secured by VPN you did not mention anything about VPN being used whilst sharing your internet
 
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a1ex2001 said:
The OP specifically says he can’t use his works VPN via a tethered connection if you read the thread!
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Yeah but if your new neighbor who you don't know asks if they can piggy back your wifi for a couple of weeks, then you have no way of knowing if they're using a VPN (even if they explicitly state they will be) - Bad idea to let an unknown person on your connection as you're liable for anyting dodgy they may do (or any fair use policies, although it would take a lot to hit bandwidth limits). It'd be a very unusual scenario but it's entirely possiblle.

I've never come across a business VPN that discriminates against mobile data (and you can easily get an unlimted SIM for around £25/mo - I'd recommend Smarty as when I used them they had no throttling policy, wheras a lot of the others did after however many GB!).
Even if they do then you could run it through a consumer VPN first (nord/PIA/surfshark etc.) and they'd have no way of knowing, unless they're also blocking those VPNs.

Library, or a coffee shop where people are often using it for work, would probably go over easier than a pub though.
 
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You could probably pick up free Wi-Fi spots on the High Street or somewhere you could sit in shelter for a few hours. I think most banks offer free Wi-Fi these days, that's without mentioning the obvious coffee shops, etc.
 
I think people who regularly work from coffee shops and pubs are annoying and rude - especially those that have calls etc throughout the day - go find a co-working space and pay for it.

It's a coffee shop, or a pub, not your office.
 
Bassmansam said:
the hell is a daily stand up?
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A 15 minute meeting where everyone runs through what they did yesterday/what they'll do today/what they are stuck or blocked on.

The name comes from the idea that in-person, you stand up to do this meeting so that it stays brief and focused.

Otherwise you get developers rambling on in unnecessary detail about some complex User Story that nobody else gives a toss about - multiply that by five or six devs all doing the same thing, and your 15 minute quick regroup is a waste of (1 hour x {!varNumberOfAttendees})
 
a1ex2001 said:
What does it matter what the data connection is used for the connection to work would still be secured via VPN. Is a tethered mobile connection to the internet really anymore of a risk than a public WiFi hotspot or someone’s home broadband?
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I was thinking the same thing, no way a public WiFi spot is safer for connection than a 4/5g connection.
 
I don't see a problem with it providing your also spending.

I spent half a day in Costas once just working, I felt terrible so had about 5 coffees a sandwich, and cake in the 5 hours I was there for. It was an expensive day. And it wouldn't be sustainable for a period of time, as a one off while the car was being serviced it was ok, but going forward I make sure I get the courtesy car.
 
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