AP via Yahoo reports that Starbucks (NASD: SBUX) is now will be offering free wireless access at all US locations starting July 1st.
The move comes six months after McDonalds started offering free Wi-Fi at just over 11,000 locations. Now that this recession-busting offer will drive just about everyone needing a quick wireless connection towards the SBUX chain locations, expect that stateside cybercriminals will no doubt take note.
If you surf, do it safely
Referring to our tips mentioned in Are You Buck Naked In A Coffee Shop before you start surfing at any open wireless access point as well as using hard to crack passwords detailed in our SOeC handout will lessen your exposure to identity theft, account password compromise and other cybercrime. For users of ESET’s solution, click here for steps to take.
Interesting statistic on coffee shop usage
Worth mentioning are reports of current laptop usage of about an hour per user on average and that SBUX intends to start news and entertainment content as a value-add for customers:
On average, laptop users spend about an hour using the wireless Internet in Starbucks stores while mobile phone users who can use Wi-Fi spend about 15 minutes on the network. After the two-hour window, consumers at the Seattle chain were charged $3.99 for two additional hours.
Related articles:
- Are You Buck-Naked in a Coffee Shop?
- Tips for working securely from wireless hotspots
- Fly By Wireless
- Will Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks and McDonalds Spread Malware?
Update: [16:39 PDT] Privacy issue with Starbucks related to the login, but maybe it makes up for the open access and keeps the information secure:
However, it should be noted that Starbucks will require each customer to log in to its Wi-Fi service and Starbucks Digital Network with a unique identifier.
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