00:00What is a hotspot? So that is the topic of this video. Now a hotspot is an actual location where
00:07people can go to access the internet wirelessly with their mobile device, such as a laptop,
00:13tablet, or a smartphone. And a hotspot could be either public or private. A public hotspot
00:20location will be things like a coffee shop. Now coffee shops are very common in having a hotspot
00:27so that their customers can have internet access using their wireless device. And other common
00:33public hotspots would be things like hotels, airports, and even on airplanes, or maybe even on a starship.
00:44But anyway, hotspots are created with a Wi-Fi router or a wireless access point that's connected to an
00:51internet service provider. And these routers and access points will broadcast a Wi-Fi signal so
00:57that people nearby can connect and access the internet. And you would connect to these hotspots
01:03just like you would with any other Wi-Fi network. You would select the network ID or SSID and type
01:10in the password if it has one. Now some public hotspots are open with no password and some are
01:17secured with a password. So if the hotspot requires a password, you need to find out what it is. And also,
01:25not all public hotspots are free. There are some that you have to pay for. So these were examples of
01:32public hotspots. Now an example of a private hotspot would be something like your home. Now most people
01:38who have an internet connection in their home would have a Wi-Fi router that would broadcast a wireless signal
01:45so that anyone inside their home, such as family and friends, would be able to access the internet.
01:51And another example of a private hotspot would be tethering, which is created by your smartphone.
01:58Now a lot of times there might be a situation where you're away from your home and you need your laptop
02:04or your tablet to be able to access the internet. And if you're not near a public hotspot, then you can use
02:11the convenience of your smartphone to create a hotspot. Smartphones get their internet access
02:17by using cellular networks. And you can transform your smartphone into a wireless access point
02:24so it can share its internet connection with your other devices. Now most smartphones would have the
02:30option of creating a hotspot at the touch of a button. And once the hotspot is turned on,
02:36your phone will broadcast a Wi-Fi signal just like a Wi-Fi router or an access point so that nearby devices
02:44can connect to its signal and access the internet from the smartphone's cellular network. And another
02:51method of connecting to the internet is by using a mobile hotspot. A mobile hotspot is a portable device
02:59that uses cellular networks to connect wireless devices to the internet. So if there are wireless devices
03:06within 30 feet of a mobile hotspot, they can join it and have internet access. Now mobile hotspots come
03:13in two different forms. They will either be a freestanding device like you see here or as I discussed
03:19previously, they can also come as a feature built into your smartphone. And mobile hotspots are available
03:26through cell phone carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. So now going back to public hotspots,
03:35now there are some security concerns when you're dealing with public hotspots, because they are in
03:40fact public, which means that just about anyone can connect to them. And so you're going to be sharing
03:46that connection with other people, which could include hackers. So if you're going to connect to a
03:52public hotspot, you should take certain precautions. So for example, if you have any folders that are shared,
03:59you should turn off folder sharing or at least password protect your shared folders. Another
04:05good thing to do is to install an antivirus program. And if you have a firewall, make sure the firewall is
04:12turned on. And it's also a good idea to install a VPN on your device. A VPN will prevent hackers from
04:19stealing your data because it encrypts the data that's being transferred from your device and the internet.
04:25So any activity that you do when you're connected to a public hotspot, such as visiting web pages
04:32or transferring files, the data is encrypted and kept private when using a VPN. So guys, just remember
04:40that a hotspot is an actual physical location. A hotspot is not hardware. A hotspot is not a router
04:47or an access point, or your mobile phone, or even a mobile hotspot, or even a coffee pot that catches on
04:55fire for no apparent reason. A hotspot is a location where you can go with your wireless device to access
05:01the internet. And also if you're interested in getting a VPN, I'll put a link in the description below of
05:08this video with a special discount. So thank you everyone for watching. Please subscribe and also
05:14follow me on Twitter at PowerCert. Thank you.
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