[Tfug] [Bulk] Re: Wireless To Go

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Rocco,

> Meanwhile, I have 2 days to figure which one of the following do I put
> my energy into...
>
> Take legal action on landlord. Find weekly place to live and blow all my
> saved income on the chance that I will find a place and still have
> security deposit. store boxes at neighbors, or pack securly to be
> fed-ex'd and just leave the city.
>
> Any one of these decisions can take all my time.

I think there may be some "help-lines" for free legal advice
that you might want to *peek* into.  I.e., if there is some
standard thing you can do which defers evictions to buy you
time (AFAIK, a fair bit of time is required for a landlord to
*legally* "evict" you... not just "Hey, you didn't pay this
month's rent so you have to leave, *now*!"  But, of course,
IANAL...)

*If* there are no alternatives, then packing for temporary
storage seems like it is probably the biggest bang for the
smallest investment (otherwise, you have to *really* decide
what stuff you want to keep/discard, how best to ensure it gets
to its final destination, weight limitations, etc.)

And, you can always try talking with your landlord citing
your "history" (unless, of course, you've a poor one!)

Sorry to hear of your predicament.  Hopefully it resolves itself
to your satisfaction!

>> Otherwise, libraries and cafes would be my second recommendation.
>
> Yeah, thought of that. One question is... is it secure to hook my laptop
> up to a public wifi like that? I heard a techie on a program talk about
> how people stalk those places trying to intercept your connection.

I would avoid "cafes" (airports, etc.) or any other places where
the clientele is *completely* anonymous and widely varied.  I
think libraries are reasonably safe -- "a higher class of patron"?
<grin>  You can also consider simply using the library's public
access computers (I think you can still get temporary access even
without a library card...  think: "winter visitor")

I've never tried pulling a network cable from one of the library's
machines and connecting directly to a machine of my own.  Depending
on the library, they might frown on that significantly.  Or not.
(Assuming it works...)

I would, however, think carefully about what risks you are
actually taking.  And, your fears in that regard.

I certainly would want to take steps to ensure that nothing can
creep *into* a device that I own.  Nor "poke around" at its
contents.  Unless it (contents) are disposable.  [To that
end, there was a FOSS project for a "Live Web-browser" so
you could safely browse the web without mounting your local
disk -- keeping *it* safe along with its contents]

I wouldn't be overly concerned with folks eavesdropping on the
content of your traffic -- esp any temporary SSL connections.
E.g., online banking is probably safe assuming your machine is
kept "uninfected".

I would NOT engage in behavior that you wouldn't want your
mom (i.e., law enforcement) to know about as you can be sure
something is logging your actions, IP/MAC, etc.  And, I think
the library blocks certain sites/traffic (from my recollection
of the agreement you make with them when you connect).

One other note:  I think the WiFi is available 24/7 at the
libraries -- even AFTER normal hours.  I.e., I have dropped
off books after hours and encountered folks sitting outside
with laptops in use.  Of course, you might not be keen on
being in an empty parking lot during the wee hours of the
morning just to check your email!  :>

> Thanks for the input...

Good luck (on all counts)!
--don