Individuals behavior regarding open WI-FI networks

As WI-FI became commercially available and accepted by consumers into their homes and businesses the concept of Internet access was quickly associated to this technology. The mentioned occurred due to how the technology was primordially advertised, as a convenient accessory that enables users to have a cable free experience when dealing with their home network (primary created to distribute Internet access). This perception about the technology drives unwary and low tech individuals to believe that all open WI-FI networks correspond to Internet access and so they do not hesitate in order to connect to these networks. The actions of these individuals in most cases could result in disappointment because they end up not getting Internet access and in other cases some networks could be deployed in order to take advantage of the individuals by making them subjects to attacks or some kind of harm. In order to understand the actions of these individuals this project presents a methodology which aims to capture the thoughts and perception of these individuals when facing open WI-FI networks. The methodology involved the creation of an open WI-FI network scenario with which the individuals interacted, and through this interaction information regarding their behavior was obtained by using a survey questionnaire. From analyzing the gathered information it was discovered that individuals are conscious about WI-FI technology in a vague manner, they really do not care about the details as long as it works for them, they assume security responsibility which tends to be clouded by too much trust.