Re: public APs

May 04, 2025 Last reply: 1 year ago 2 Replies


I seldom use public wifi.  But, had the occasion to TRY to do so


> at a local library branch.
>
> Dismayed to find no HTTPS support; they apparently have an
> "agent" interposed between all network accesses.
>
> Is this common?  I.e., how do people do banking or other
> "secure" transactions?  Or, do they just use them to
> "check pricing" at other stores?
>

The one in my public library is properly secure. In fact it is so secure that some of the libraries own computers won't talk to it at the moment after a recent upgrade to the Wifi router.


I have a portable sat on my desk that I need to reset the forgotten/not known admin password for right now. Unable to install the latest network drivers because they don't know what the admin password was set to by someone about 5 years ago. Yes their PCs are quite elderly and run into the ground but plenty good enough for web browsing. For some reason the "L" key consistently seems to wear out fastest to blank - any ideas why?


Followed by S, C, H, N, D & O but they still remain legible (sort of).


Only the very top left half trace of the vertical for the L remains.


Personally I would never use a public AP for anything involving bank accounts or online purchases. NEVER!

It may be that the agent doesn't interfere with accesses for all traffic, just https. I'd try a remote desktop connection to my computer at home and use that if it works (I've yet to find a location where it didn't). I might need to whitelist the library's public IP range in my own firewall, which I'd do if I used that library often.

Any library I've been to recently has a captive portal followed by an Internet service no different from what I get at home.

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