Wifi Networks Can Count People—No Phones Required

Using a similar approach that allowed MIT to see through walls using just wifi signals , researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, led by Yasamin Mostofi, have found a way to count crowds of people —with a surprising degree of accuracy—using just basic wifi hardware. Read more…

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Wifi Networks Can Count People—No Phones Required

The Difference Between Wi-Fi Security Protocols: WPA2-AES vs WPA2-TKIP

Setting up encryption on your wireless router is one of the most important things you can do for your network security , but your router probably offers various different options—WPA2-PSK (TKIP), WPA2-PSK (AES), and WPA2-PSK (TKIP/AES) among the alphabet soup. How-To Geek explains which one to choose for a faster, more secure home network. Read more…

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The Difference Between Wi-Fi Security Protocols: WPA2-AES vs WPA2-TKIP

A Man Going Deaf Can Hear Wi-Fi Signals, and Here’s How They Sound

Losing your hearing can be a frighteningly isolating experience. But instead of trying to replace the audible landscape he began losing at age 20, science writer Frank Swain decided to find a way to listen in on something humans can’t hear: the hum of Wi-Fi all around us. Read more…

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A Man Going Deaf Can Hear Wi-Fi Signals, and Here’s How They Sound

All the National Chains That Offer Free Wi-Fi

Sometimes, you just need to quickly grab some free Wi-Fi while you’re walking through town. You probably know that nearby coffee shops offer Wi-Fi, but tons of retailers and restaurants offer it too—you just need to know where to look. Read more…

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All the National Chains That Offer Free Wi-Fi

Samsung Has Made Wi-Fi That’s Five Times Faster, Due 2015

Samsung has announced that it’s developed new technology that boosts Wi-Fi data speeds by five times compared to current hardware standards—and it could feature in devices as soon as next year. Read more…

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Samsung Has Made Wi-Fi That’s Five Times Faster, Due 2015

A New Wireless Router Lets You Trade Facebook Check-Ins For Free Wi-Fi

Offering free Wi-Fi to shoppers or diners is almost as essential to a business these days as having a public bathroom on site. But at the same time, you don’t want to give it away to just anyone walking by—at least without getting something in return. So D-Link’s new AC 1750 wireless router only doles out the Wi-Fi after someone has checked in to your business’ Facebook page. Read more…

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A New Wireless Router Lets You Trade Facebook Check-Ins For Free Wi-Fi

Google Knows the Wi-Fi Passwords of All Android Users

A new privacy fuss is kicking off around Google’s Android mobile OS, with security boffins claiming that the software’s backup tools mean that a copy of everyone’s Wi-Fi password history is now saved to Google’s servers. Which may mean it could be legally compelled to hand them out, should a government come calling. Read more…        

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Google Knows the Wi-Fi Passwords of All Android Users

The 49ers’ plan to build the greatest stadium Wi-Fi network of all time

49ers CTO Kunal Malik (left) and Senior IT director Dan Williams (right) stand in front of Santa Clara Stadium. Jon Brodkin When the San Francisco 49ers’ new stadium opens for the 2014 NFL season, it is quite likely to have the best publicly accessible Wi-Fi network a sports facility in this country has ever known. The 49ers are defending NFC champions, so 68,500 fans will inevitably walk into the stadium for each game. And every single one of them will be able to connect to the wireless network, simultaneously , without any limits on uploads or downloads. Smartphones and tablets will run into the limits of their own hardware long before they hit the limits of the 49ers’ wireless network. A model of Santa Clara Stadium, with a wall painting visible in the background. Jon Brodkin Jon Brodkin Until now, stadium executives have said it’s pretty much impossible to build a network that lets every single fan connect at once. They’ve blamed this on limits in the amount of spectrum available to Wi-Fi, despite their big budgets and the extremely sophisticated networking equipment that largesse allows them to purchase. Even if you build the network perfectly, it would choke if every fan tried to get on at once—at least according to conventional wisdom. Read 69 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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The 49ers’ plan to build the greatest stadium Wi-Fi network of all time

Satechi Wireless Multifunction Mini Router Solves Many Wireless Internet Needs with a Tiny Footprint

We love our pocket routers , because they’re great for both travel and home use. The Satechi Wireless Multifunction Mini Router offers more than just standard internet access over Wi-Fi, however. It also works as a signal repeater, access point, wireless client, and bridge. More »

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Satechi Wireless Multifunction Mini Router Solves Many Wireless Internet Needs with a Tiny Footprint

FCC adds spectrum to Wi-Fi—but you likely need a new router to use it

Jason Alley The Federal Communications Commission last week said it will add 195MHz of spectrum to Wi-Fi’s 5GHz band. This move is designed to relieve congestion in Wi-Fi networks, particularly in areas of widespread simultaneous usage like airports and sports stadiums . It could help your home network too, but not right away—routers available in stores today may not be able to use the new spectrum at all . Finding out definitively whether today’s routers will support the new spectrum is difficult, partly because the FCC still has to issue specific rules governing its use. We’ve hit up router vendors and other industry people to find out whether software updates might let current routers access the new spectrum. While the results were a bit muddled, it seems safe to say no one is guaranteeing today’s routers will get the benefit of the new 195MHz. Even the latest routers supporting the ultra-modern 802.11ac standard may be left behind. Cisco refused to comment at all, telling us only “Cisco has not made any announcements about this so cannot discuss at this time.” Buffalo told us “the chip vendors will need to work on it” and that “they will at least to have to make changes to the hardware driver. … The magnitude of that change will determine if Buffalo is able to use the same hardware.” Read 21 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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FCC adds spectrum to Wi-Fi—but you likely need a new router to use it