Internet cafés and “hot spots”

Internet cafés (also called cyber cafés) are public places where computers are connected to the Internet and avail-able for use for a fee by the hour or minute. Many Internet cafés also sell coffee and food. Combining the social ambi-ence of a traditional coffee shop and the attraction of the Internet, many Internet cafés acquire a regular clientele from students to adults.

These venues appeared first in the mid-1990s and spread rapidly as their popularity grew. While the most common activities at most Internet cafés are to check e-mail, send text messages, or browse the Web, some locations special-ize in gaming (see online games), providing more power-ful machines running games over a local network. Such gaming centers have been particularly popular in Asia.

Internet cafés have grown most rapidly in countries that are becoming more urban and industrial but where many people cannot yet afford their own computers. The most striking example is China, which had 113,000 Internet cafés in as of 2007. In keeping with its strict policies, however, the Chinese government closely monitors activity at Internet cafés (see censorship and the Internet).

Hot Spots

The number of dedicated Internet cafés in the United States and many other highly developed countries has been declining in recent years. This is largely due to the growing number of people who connect to the Internet through their own laptops and other mobile devices (see pda and smart-phone). Thus many locations, including coffee chains such as Starbucks, do not provide machines, but simply offer wireless Internet access (see Wireless and mobile com-puting). Areas where one can make such a wireless con-nection are called “hot spots.” Today virtually all major hotels and airports provide hot spots; there is normally a fee for access as with Internet cafés. (The fee is collected by routing all access through a portal.) However, a number of venues offer free Wifi access.

Users of Internet cafés or hot spots should be aware that they are sharing an ad hoc network with strangers and may be exposed to malicious software. Passwords or other sensitive data may be “sniffed” using special software. It is therefore generally a good idea not to conduct financial transactions or otherwise send sensitive information when connected to such venues, unless one has provided for encryption or can access a virtual private network. Addi-tionally, users connecting their own machines to a hot spot should have up-to-date firewall and antivirus software.