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Re: How is public WiFi meant to work?

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Rich <rich@example.invalid> writes:

> Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> wrote:

>> In the days of yore, one chose a public WiFi node, and then when one 
>> entered a URL into a browser, the WiFi node served up a page that 
>> redirected one to a terms-acceptance page.  One clicked on that.  Job 
>> done.
>> 
>> These days, the URL one enters is likely to be for the https 
>> protocol.  The WiFi node cannot redirect that, and nor can it pretend 
>> to be the target page.
>> 
>> So, in today's world, just how is this meant to work?
>> 
>> I seem to have no end of trouble with it, at times resorting to 
>> entering the URL of a page of my own that is not https based.

A helpful person had to point that out to me last year.
 
> That is the solution, well, a http page, not necessarially your own, 
> but at least when you own it you know it will not suddenly switch to 
> https out of the blue.

And ensure that the browser doesn't go first to a copy of the data
referenced by that URL that's cached on your hard drive.  The helpful
person also had to remind me of this.

> Android phones work around this glitch by querying a set of google 
> http: servers that presumably google specifically setup for keeping 
> these captive portal pages working (and, of course, giving Google even 
> more metadata with which to market things to you).

Oh, great. :-\

-- 
Mike Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada

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Thread

How is public WiFi meant to work? Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> - 2019-04-20 12:50 +1000
  Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2019-04-20 05:02 +0000
    Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> - 2019-04-20 03:11 -0300
    Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? Sylvia Else <sylvia@email.invalid> - 2019-04-20 16:54 +1000
  Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2019-04-20 10:38 +0300
  Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2019-04-20 09:02 +0000
    Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2019-04-20 14:44 +0000
      Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? RS Wood <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2019-04-21 19:56 -0400
  Re: How is public WiFi meant to work? not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2019-04-21 00:12 +0000

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