Wi-Fi Hotspot News

Follow these simple steps to keep yourself safe online.

Rule 1 - Never use a Wi-Fi Hotspot that’s unprotected. We’ve discovered numerous networks that claim to be a commercial hotspot but are simply someone’s laptop set up to hijack your login details (bank, email etc). They even look legitimate with fancy login screens.

Rule 2 – Make sure you're not on a rogue network - ask your cafe what their network name is.

Rule 3 – Any website where you have to enter confidential information should be protected using SSL – to check this you should see a little padlock. If it’s not there, don’t login! Always check this before buying online or logging in to your bank.

Rule 4 – Don’t use your email client (outlook, mac mail, entourage etc.) unless you know your mail provider uses a secure connection. Most email providers now use webmail protected by SSL as above.

Rule 5 – Turn your firewall on and sharing off. Modern operating systems all have a firewall built in. These are great at stopping some threats but can’t protect against everything. Turn off file share and other such services in your control panel. Finally, using Virtual Private Network (VPN) software may help further but it’s important to get the right kind.

Rule 6 – Keep updated – always ensure your laptop’s software is up to date. Ideally do this before you visit a Wi-Fi Hotspot.

Did you know? A more detailed version on this can be found in Cafe Culture Magazine this month!

Don't fancy paying £14.99 per month for your pre-paid Wi-Fi Hotspot service, or don't want to sign-up for a 12 month contract? If not, you can now buy our PolkaSpots Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspot box outright and pay nothing monthly.

You can get our smallest Wi-Fi Hotspot controller, which is suitable for small locations, for just £179.99 plus VAT. And, we'll throw in some Internet Vouchers to get you started. 

And, dont forget - it only takes 60 seconds to set your PolkaSpots Wireless Hotspot up! Watch the Wi-Fi Hotspot setup guide here.

Buy your Wi-Fi Hotspot online here or call freephone 0800 321 3106

This morning, we've all arrived in the PolkaSpots offices soaked through to the skin. There are clothes strewn everywhere and barely one person is smiling. 

And while we sit here, it's hard to imagine that Linknet are setting another Supafly Wireless Hotspot that will help connect the people of rural Africa to the world.

Almost 8,000km away from our office (as the crow flies), a small village called Minga in the Eastern Province of Zambia has just received a satellite connection and PolkaSpots Wireless Hotspot to help distribute and control their Internet Access.

You can help connect Africa too! We're donating £10 towards the cost of a Wireless Hotspot for Linknet every time someone signs up for a PolkaSpots Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspot! Recommend a friend or sign-up now. Read more here...

Or risk losing customers...

On a recent stay in a well known road side hotel, I was shocked to see that their Wi-Fi prices were stuck in 2001. One hour cost £5; 24 hours was an extreme £10 - I didn't even look at the cost for a week although I was there for a few days.

Next door I discovered a Little Chef and although they don't have PolkaSpots Wi-Fi installed, they were offering a free Wi-Fi service. On the first morning I popped in, bought a coffee and breakfast and tried to use the Internet. Registration was required and I filled the form in using a fake email address to avoid being spammed by the company in question. Happily, I used the connection for an hour. 

False economy? Maybe, I'd spent more on the coffee and food than the £5 but at least I was content and full. Little Chef 1, Hotel 0.

The next day I dropped in again but this time sat down and didn't buy anything. Out came the laptop and there I was online again.

This is the point, if you're going to offer a paid Wi-Fi service, price it right otherwise you'll lose customers to your neighbours. And if you're giving it away for free, make sure you use an access code to prevent people coming in and using your connection without making a purchase.

We were so excited about the new reporting facility, we forgot to write about it!

You've been asking for it, now we've done it. You can now all see who's doing what and when at your PolkaSpots Supafly Wi-Fi Hotspot!

If you're already a customer, please contact us for your login details. If you're not, sign up soon.

Alongside the magificent news from the PolkaSpots factory about being able to check who's using your PolkaSpots Free Wi-Fi Hotspot, we have some more for you...

You've been able to re-brand your own login pages with PolkaSpots since time began. Now you can host them yourself and change them as often as you want. A good plan.

Integrating the Wi-Fi Hotspot login screens with your own website means you have even more control over your Wi-Fi Hotspot Service. 

For more information, call 020 7183 1471 or email us!

£16,857 is quite a lot of money to generate from a £179 investment. If you could pull that off in the stock market, you'd be a lot richer.

It costs just £179 to install a PolkaSpots Wireless Hotspot for a year, not a lot of cash to fork out when it could generate you an extra £16,857 is it...

We didn't even make this up! Here's how it works:

1. On average 15 people will use your Supafly Wireless Hotspot everyday
2. Your average spend per customer is £3.76
3. Your business is open 300 days a year

We were the first to offer Unlimited Free Wi-Fi to the UK public. At the start of 2009, we decided that it would be better if your customers could use the Internet for as long as they needed. Instead of restricting time, we controlled the connection speed per user. Simple but clever.

You were giving out the access code to stop the casual passerby from using the Wi-Fi Hotspot Network. Simple. To change the password, you needed to invest in branded Wi-Fi Hotspot login pages or become a partner. Not a big problem, but we thought you should be able to do this.

So, we're proud to announce you can now change your passwords! As often as you like to whatever you want! If you haven't already received your username, please send us an email.

What's more, you can even get live usage statistics from your Wireless Hotspots. Login to the same portal and you can see exactly who's using it. Wowowowow!

All the best,

Simon