I have a friend who has just bought a centrino laptop - it is configured at the moment to pick up any available hotspots - but she is unable to pick up any from where she lives and would like to install her own ISP. When she does this will this affect her ability to connect to any hotspots when she is out of her house? Or is there something in her Internet Settings she has to change to switch from one to another? Thanks for any help on this matter Lorraine

Since it is unknown what ISp she will have and which hot spots she connects to, it is unknown. Best bet is go to the source, i.e. the ISP and hotspot providers. WILL POST FOR FOOD.

The ISP she will be going with is NTL and the hotspots that come up when she comes to me are Default and Belkin (she always uses the Default one) 'Best bet is go to the source, i.e. the ISP and hotspot providers' Sorry to seem a bit thick but not quite sure what you mean by this. Thanks Lorraine

"she is unable to pick up any from where she lives". While wardriving may not be officially illegal, connecting to and using networks without the network owner's permission is certainly prohibited. What your friend needs to do is contact her ISP in order to setup her default connection that will be used at her residence in addition to the connection she uses when she's at a public internet hotspot. When Google isn't your best pal

So when she has installed and is connected to her own ISP does that mean she can use their hotspots legally - she will be devistated to know she has connected illegally. Thanks Lorraine

Some hotspots are free, while others are not. She can verify with her ISp if they have free hotspots in her area. You can also use the hotspot directory as a guide for finding possible locations. When Google isn't your best pal