Implications for Holiday Homes Providing Wi-Fi?

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apexblue
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Implications for Holiday Homes Providing Wi-Fi?

Post by apexblue »

Last edited by apexblue on Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
It is better to remain quiet and have one think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt....

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J&J
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Post by J&J »

This is a huge issue for UK holiday home owners and their clients. The issue raised in the article is not really of great concern. Very few people will still be using old wireless equipment that doesn't offer wpa2. Illegal downloading is still widespread - particularly amongst teenagers. A family away on holiday with leisure time on their hands must surely be a high risk for property owners.

From the owners point of view, although you know who has been staying in your property on specific dates, who's to say it was those guests using your isp connection to download ? With your wpa2 key published for the benefit of all guests it's fair to say that any number of people could get hold of it. You could change it every week but that would be time consuming.

From the guests point of view, how do they know that they're the only people to know the wpa2 key ? Would they worry that they could be blamed for someone else's illegal downloading ?

There are two easy ways around this. The first is to set your routers to disable wireless access (no different from many hotel rooms). It's quick and simple to connect a laptop by ethernet directly to your router. This way you know that someone must have been in the property to connect to the isp. The other way, and something well worth considering nowadays, is to ditch the land line internet connection altogether and go over to mobile broadband. This has now become so cheap see:
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-b ... payperday/
For £7 per week (which you only have to pay for when you want to use it) you can have mobile broadband which you will know can only be used by the person who has the dongle. When your holiday property isn't being used, or when you have guests staying who don't want to bring a laptop then it won't cost you a penny. Providing you have a mobile signal at your property then this is a great option. I have one of these payg dongles and it works really well and simply with any computer - just plug it in and away you go.

James
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Judith & James
Apartment in Dinard, Brittany.
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James3214
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Post by James3214 »

J&J wrote: The other way, and something well worth considering nowadays, is to ditch the land line internet connection altogether and go over to mobile broadband. This has now become so cheap see:
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/mobile-b ... payperday/
For £7 per week (which you only have to pay for when you want to use it) you can have mobile broadband which you will know can only be used by the person who has the dongle. When your holiday property isn't being used, or when you have guests staying who don't want to bring a laptop then it won't cost you a penny. Providing you have a mobile signal at your property then this is a great option. I have one of these payg dongles and it works really well and simply with any computer - just plug it in and away you go.
James
I was considering this but was worried about the dongle going missing! Guess it is easier to do when you are on-site.
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apexblue
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Post by apexblue »

Just a warning on dongles. If you have an old one you can buy credit and it does not have an expiry date unlike the new dongles where it has to be used within a month as we found out with Vodafone.

Will be adding a disclaimer to our booking conditions about this new law.
It is better to remain quiet and have one think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt....

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Windy
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Post by Windy »

Nice to see our noble representatives are taking this so seriously

http://fscked.co.uk/post/500945473/your ... -is-a-live

Ludicrous legislation from a discredited and now unelected politoco ("lord" Mandleson)
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Post by TTP mk2 »

TTP mk2
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Post by TTP mk2 »

Windy wrote:Ludicrous legislation from a discredited
How many times ?
and now unelected politoco ("lord" Mandleson)
He hasn't been an elected MP for years.
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barbersdrove
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Post by barbersdrove »

i have used t-mobile dongle at my home which is also the site of our holiday let. It operated very slowly, more like a dial up than broadband connection. Also at certain times of the day it was nigh on impossible to get a signal. I was told that this was due to the youngsters coming out of school and getting on line. I've no idea is there is any sense in this explanation but the slowness alone is putting me off offering this to our guests.

I would like to though as currently, if they want to access our broadband I have to be here to push a pairing button on my modem. I am with orange and have asked if they do a modem without this button (as other providers do) but they have said no as this is a security issue which most of their customers appreciate. I can see the advantages of this as it overcomes the issue of anyone being able to connect to your wireless network.
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

Probably a very sensible explanation actually

In London at times my Vodafone dongle is next to useless, and my vodafone mobile keeps reporting "network busy" or something similar.

The demands imposed on the mobile infrastructure by data downloads will probaly do what the digital ecomonmy bill wants anyway - i.e. stop us all having connections where we can downoad anything large or quickly anyway.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

Call me stupid, or even a mandelson, but I don't quite get this.
If we provide internet access by direct connection or WiFi, and guests use it to download pirated material, we'll all get banged up for the rest of our lives because we provided the means for the guests to commit a crime.

If we loan them a dongle, they can use that to download pirated material, and we're equally guilty of providing them with the means to commit a crime, so we're all going to get banged up anyway.

Coming to think of it, if we put sharp knives in the rentals, and Mrs Guest decides to stick said knife in Mr Guest, by the same logic we are guilty of providing Mrs Guest with the means to commit a crime, and we'll all get banged up for the rest of our lives.

Actually I hear that prison food isn't too bad nowadays.........
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

The difference is, Mandelson, that, if he played with your dongle, you would be able to say definitively that Mr Guest had in fact downloaded "megavixens III" from bittorrent in contravention of copyright law, as he would be the only suspect for that date and time and could thus be banged to rights and no mistake guv. (Unless you shared your dongle about that is)

(Of course he could then blame his 9 year old son, who being below the age of criminal responsibility would escape scot free)

If it's over a wifi link it's harder to pin down who done it, so they'd nick you, as the dealer, for the rest of your natural out of spite at not being able to get the real criminal. Ah yes it's a civil offence not a criminal one isn't it?

Clear now your lordship?
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Post by greenbarn »

Windy wrote:
Clear now your lordship?
I am unable to answer any questions in the run up to the election. :wink:

I posted about the implications of the law on the VB forum, with a direct appeal to them for some guidance. Below is their gobsmacking reply.
Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention. As you know, VisitBritain is a government funded body and so bound by the same rules as the civil service during the election period. This means that we cannot take part in any political activity. In the meantime, the trade association for your sector would be best placed to assist you. After the election, we can look at this again with the national tourist boards.
So, at the best of times, we have in VB an organisation to whom we look to represent us and generally protect us from the insanities of Government, whilst that organisation is dependent for its existence on the very Government whose actions it should be questioning.

All is now clear :roll:
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

PMSL

I just posted this reply
You couldn't make this stuff up could you :-)
but I don't imagine it will get past Herr Goebbels' blue pencil over at the Besuchen Großbritannien forum.
As you know, VisitBritain is a government funded body
Er no - Oddly I thought the fact that each member paid them about £150 a year had something to do with things. My mistake1 How much do they get on top of that and what on earth are they spending it on?? :? :?

It's obviously not on representing the industry of maintaining useful decent web sites and forums is it?

And this "our lips are sealed" schtick seems to get used by every person who has ever received a penny of public money so that they can justify their not expressing any opinion when it suits them to sit on a comfortable fence.

We had similar from every local councillor on our development control committee when questioning plans for a new development. "If we express an opinion we can't vote on the matter as we will be seen as prejudiced".

Based on the last year watching them, Visit Britain would appear to be a toothless waste of whatever tax payers' money they get, at least as far as ensuring that the interests of the industry are looked after is concerned.
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Post by greenbarn »

I contacted Martin Sach at EASCO about this issue this morning, and just seen a reply from him. I'd suggested he might like to post an update on VB-AKH re the FHL rules as well as on this matter, and in his reply he mentioned that he'd been having trouble accessing that forum (been there, got the T-shirt). He started the thread on the VB-AKH forum back in May 2009.

He also included a copy of a letter he'd sent to the Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Businesses - Lord Davies of Abersoch - on the implications of the Digital Communications Bill. Letter sent 30th March, EASCO awaiting a reply before publishing anything.

Encouraging to know that somebody is doing something, and surprising to see your comment made it to the AKH forum Windy :shock: along with Barbersdrove's post.

It's invaluable to learn that VB is basically a Government poodle that just lives to roll on its back and have The Master give it a tummy tickle.

Or maybe I'm just being a touch cynical....... Moi?
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apexblue
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Post by apexblue »

Did this get passed in time? Was mentioned on Sky this mornig but OH was talking all the way thru.
It is better to remain quiet and have one think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt....

The biggest mistake we make in life is thinking we have time.
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