Are there unsecure wifi networks in China?

[puqdew]

I will be going to china for 6 weeks starting tomorrow. Never been there before.

Will be in the city of Hefei, Anhui mostly and Shanghai (only for 2 days).


I dont need the laptop for any real work...I'm just addicted to it.

Anyways, will I be able to connect to random unsecure networks and access the internet like I do here?

 

[waffleironhead]

secure wifi is an oxymoron

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
secure wifi is an oxymoron

 

[Red Squirrel]

I doubt it, Chinese people are pretty smart and I doubt there are much who don't bother to secure their stuff. These are the same kids that put Linux on "uncrackable" xbox 360s with zero effort.

 

[puqdew]

I'm concerned about how the internet works over there....I heard all people have to enter their Social Security Number into a login system before they can browse.

BTW.. I am a total nub about China, random travel tips are welcome too

 

[MovingTarget]

Just don't keep any personal data on it. Remember that you are in China, not the US. Gotta watch yourself a bit more...

 

[MrMatt]

unsecured wifi in china....this ends badly.

 

[Mo0o]

Yeah there are unsecure networks. The connection quality might be kind of suspect though and a lot of shit is filtered but general surfing is still possible.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh right, probably wont be able to get on 90% of the sites you normally visit. They block off most non china sites I believe. (I could be wrong)

 

[spidey07]

If by unsecure you mean unencrypted WiFi then yes.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
Oh right, probably wont be able to get on 90% of the sites you normally visit. They block off most non china sites I believe. (I could be wrong)

naw that's not true at all.

just some common site like wikipedia. but from what i remember, reddit/cnn/economist were all available

http://asp-cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/list.html

 

[RESmonkey]

Originally posted by: RedSquirrel
I doubt it, Chinese people are pretty smart and I doubt there are much who don't bother to secure their stuff. These are the same kids that put Linux on "uncrackable" xbox 360s with zero effort.

No. Chinese kids don't crack anything. The reverse engineers over at Xbox-Scene and junkie programmers do that stuff.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: puqdew
I'm concerned about how the internet works over there....I heard all people have to enter their Social Security Number into a login system before they can browse.

BTW.. I am a total nub about China, random travel tips are welcome too

Here's a tip: They're not as lenient over there as they are in the US. Don't fuck with their laws. It's illegal in the US to tap into other people's unsecured wifi networks. You better be damn sure it's legal over there before you do anything of the sort.

 

[Sea Moose]

Travel advisory <--- I am sure america would have somthing similar?

 

[zerocool84]

You won't be able to go to any good websites since they're all blocked anyways.

 

[puqdew]

where will I be able to buy a power adapter to fit the power outlets there?

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: puqdew
where will I be able to buy a power adapter to fit the power outlets there?

bestbuy, radioshack. most places would have em

 

[dbk]

As long as spankwire is accessible, it's all good.

 

[McCarthy]

I wonder how many Chinese folks are in prison now because of American tourists using their wifi to attempt to access off limits sites.

Just pondering.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: puqdew
I will be going to china for 6 weeks starting tomorrow. Never been there before.

Will be in the city of Hefei, Anhui mostly and Shanghai (only for 2 days).


I dont need the laptop for any real work...I'm just addicted to it.

Anyways, will I be able to connect to random unsecure networks and access the internet like I do here?

Travelling for business, fun, or both? Take a look at my travelling in china threads from a while back:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=China

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=China

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=China

You won't find a huge amount of wifi in general outside the big cities like Shanghai. However lots of hotels will give you free wired internet (eg RJ45). Unsecured wifi is getting rarer and rarer these days world wide. I found that even at the airports most of the wifi hotspots were offered by cafes what wanted your business before they would supply the password.

Oh and prepare to be probed by people in Hazmat suites before getting off the place

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: McCarthy
I wonder how many Chinese folks are in prison now because of American tourists using their wifi to attempt to access off limits sites.

Just pondering.

The sites that are "off limits" are completely blocked not just off limits. So even as a westerner one can't access them. All traffic leaving and entering China is filtered to block out these sites. It's not like the police will come to get you if you visit democracy.com it's just that when you try to visit it the page won't load at all. You will get a server error of some type or another.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: zerocool84
You won't be able to go to any good websites since they're all blocked anyways.

Google News, Wikipedia and many others that you might think would be blocked were not when I was there. However many others were.

 

[lxskllr]

Couldn't you use Tor?

 

[wiredspider]

I think the McDonald's there have wifi, might be some unlocked wifi in the cities. I was able to tap into one when I was there like 3 years ago. There are also some cheap internet cafes if you just want to check up on stuff.

 

[ivan2]

starbucks have wifi, but otherwise i will say it's very scarce.