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<\/p>\nAuthor: Joe Moran
\nReview Date: 11\/14\/2006<\/i><\/p>\n
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JiWire’s<\/a>\u00a0Hotspot Helper<\/a>\u00a0(a revamped version of the utility previously known as\u00a0SpotLock<\/a>) is designed to make it easier to find and use hotspots and to enhance your security while you do. The software (which is currently available only for Windows XP) is made up of three components: Hotspot Finder, a comprehensive hotspot database you can use offline; Wi-Fi Security, a wireless\u00a0VPN; and Wi-Fi Mailer, to get around outgoing e-mail restrictions sometimes encountered at hotspots.<\/p>\n Hotspot Finder<\/b> Hotspot Helper addresses this dilemma with a useful Hotspot Finder \u2014 a hotspot database based on JiWire’s extensive online directory. Installing the software places the complete database on your notebook, so it’s available even when you’re offline (though a Net connection helpfully lets you pinpoint hotspots on a map). JiWire says the database, which is updated approximately once a week, contains info on 120,000 verified hotspots worldwide. (You can configure Hotspot Finder to periodically download the latest version of the database and to only pull down information for the geographic areas you specify.)<\/p>\n You can search the Hotspot Finder database in a variety of ways, including by country, city and state, ZIP code or access provider, and specify whether you want results to include pay hotspots, free ones or both. We used the database to locate several dozen hotspots in and around Naples, Florida and did notice one mildly annoying characteristic: you can only define a search radius when you search by city and state. If you search by ZIP code, you can only find hotspots within that specific ZIP code, not any others that may be nearby.<\/p>\n Wi-Fi Security<\/b> Hotspot Helper’s VPN uses\u00a0IPSec<\/a>\u00a0and encrypts data using a 128-bit\u00a0AES<\/a>\u00a0key, but unlike many VPNs, it doesn’t require you to enter login credentials or arcane network parameters for access. The whole connection process is automatic and takes anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds. Once it’s enabled, all inbound and outbound traffic on your system travels through an encrypted tunnel, which prevents other wireless clients from eavesdropping on your transmissions or accessing your system via the wireless link. (Hotspot Helper’s tray icon displays a lock icon when the VPN is enabled.) Indeed, we couldn’t\u00a0ping<\/a>\u00a0or otherwise access our wireless notebook from another computer while the VPN was on.<\/p>\n It’s not uncommon for VPN connections to slow down network performance, and that’s certainly not out of the question with the Hotspot Helper VPN, depending on how busy JiWire’s servers are \u2014 but we didn’t experience any noticeable performance impact while using it.<\/p>\n
\nThese days, it seems like there’s a Wi-Fi hotspot around every corner, but paradoxically, it’s not always easy to find one when you need it. After all, an Internet connection is the most convenient way to locate a hotspot, but if you were online, you wouldn’t be looking for one in the first place.<\/p>\n
\nOnce you’ve found a hotspot, Hotspot Helper’s Wi-Fi Security feature gives you an easy way to isolate your system from others while you’re connected to it: Whenever you access a wireless network, Hotspot Helper initiates a VPN connection with a JiWire server.<\/p>\n