Geeky Traveller

It’s easy to connect to the Internet when you’re sitting at home with a stable connection. When you’re on the road, however, it becomes a bit trickier. There are still Internet cafes and you can get Internet access in most hotels these days, but sometimes you just want to be able to connect wherever you are. The question is, is there any Wi-Fi available to you?

The StarTech Wi-Fi Detective is a handy little gadget that will quickly locate all wireless hotspots in your immediate area, and it will tell you all the information you need to know, such as whether it’s locked (and thus off limits to you) or if it’s open and free for use by anyone, as well as the strength of the signal.

I recently got to try out a complimentary Wi-Fi Detective and it’s so easy and convenient to use that it’s perfect for any traveler. You simply plug it into your USB port to charge it. When it’s charged up, you can then just carry it with your in your laptop bag or even your pocket. Whenever you need to know what the wireless situation is, turn it on and give it a few seconds to locate all the hotspots within an acceptable range. It quickly lists the name of each hotspot, and tells you its status so you can connect to the ones that are open.

I used it in my own area (I was pleased to see how far away I could go outside and still access my own network, good to know!), and randomly pulled it out when we were driving around or visiting other people. I now know of at least five free and open wireless networks in the downtown Montreal area if I ever need to use them.

It’s very frustrating to sit and try to work with a weak signal, so being able to use a device to tell you the strength of the Wi-Fi signal is very useful.

It’s a great little gadget, convenient to carry around with you anywhere you go, and highly useful especially with its quick location speed. I definitely recommend it to anyone who regularly needs to access wireless networks.

You can pick one up here for $74.99