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Of public wifi networks and DNS servers
SteevL
What can I do for you?Registered User regular
What can I do for you?Registered User regular
I work in a public library and we offer free wifi. The way it is supposed to work is pretty simple: a patron brings in their laptop, they connect to our access point, and then open up an internet browser. Once they agree to the terms of service -- always the first thing to appear in the browser -- it'll take them to their default homepage.
It works pretty well for the most part, but occasionally I'll have a patron approach me and say they cannot connect to the internet. Usually they're on Windows Vista or 7. Up until recently, I couldn't figure out why, and our IT people aren't really allowed to touch the public's private laptops for legal reasons. What was weirder is that they said they had no problems connecting to wifi anywhere else, be it Starbucks, McDonald's, home internet, etc.
Anyway, I figured out that usually the problem was in their wireless connection properties, under Internet Protocal Version 4 properties, they would usually have it set to use a specific DNS server. Once I had them click on "Obtain a DNS server automatically" they had no further problems with our wifi. However, since I don't know very much at all about networking, I really don't know how this will affect their ability to connect to other networks. In the few cases where I've done this, I made them write down the specific DNS server address and showed them where to type it in if they have problems outside the library.
So basically, my question is am I screwing up their connection at all? This is pretty advanced stuff for the average person coming into the library and I don't really feel comfortable making these changes, so I rarely do it.
It works pretty well for the most part, but occasionally I'll have a patron approach me and say they cannot connect to the internet. Usually they're on Windows Vista or 7. Up until recently, I couldn't figure out why, and our IT people aren't really allowed to touch the public's private laptops for legal reasons. What was weirder is that they said they had no problems connecting to wifi anywhere else, be it Starbucks, McDonald's, home internet, etc.
Anyway, I figured out that usually the problem was in their wireless connection properties, under Internet Protocal Version 4 properties, they would usually have it set to use a specific DNS server. Once I had them click on "Obtain a DNS server automatically" they had no further problems with our wifi. However, since I don't know very much at all about networking, I really don't know how this will affect their ability to connect to other networks. In the few cases where I've done this, I made them write down the specific DNS server address and showed them where to type it in if they have problems outside the library.
So basically, my question is am I screwing up their connection at all? This is pretty advanced stuff for the average person coming into the library and I don't really feel comfortable making these changes, so I rarely do it.
SteevL on
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You aren't screwing up their connection, but you should continue to show them how to note their static DNS server entries and how to set them so they can revert the setting once they leave the library. They (or whomever setup their machines) likely have reasons to use a particular DNS server.
I mean yeah, you can setup OpenDNS or something and that will work most places, but whatever.
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