Business POS WiFi

Why You Should Never Give Your WiFi Password to Guests

In today’s world, securing business data has to be top-of-mind. You’ve read the news about network breaches at retail giants such as Target and Home Depot, and the list goes on and on. In these cases, hackers were able to breach security that was put in place and steal customer information from the network. This type of data breach could be catastrophic for a small business. If you’re handing out your business WiFi password, you should immediately stop the practice and change the password.

Giving your WiFi password to guests is like giving them the keys to the store.

At coffee shops, restaurants, and retail stores, guests are freely given the password to connect to WiFi.  This type of access allows anyone to openly browse the network. As a result, an intrusive guest now has access to point-of-sale systems, printers, credit card machines and back-office systems. In addition, customers can “see” other guest devices that are connected to the network. For obvious reasons, this is bad.

Most off-the-shelf or ISP-provided WiFi equipment was not designed for guest access and is extremely insecure. WiFi with “guest access” is designed for home WiFi systems, where there may be shared printers or other shared resources. However, offering WiFi as a guest amenity should not allow sharing between devices. It should offer the guest one thing and one thing only – safe and secure Internet access.

Rather than giving away your WiFi password, consider implementing a captive portal system with WiFi marketing enabled.  Not only will your in-house network be more secure, you will be able to customize the login experience for your guests, collect user demographics, and use your existing WiFi network to increase customer loyalty.

Download the Turn Up Revenue & Engagement with Guest WiFi ebook

Smart WiFi with device isolation helps secure your network and blocks devices from “seeing” each other. In addition, Smart WiFi gives you control over how much data your guests can use and it allows you to adjust the time that they’re allowed online. Take control of your business guest WiFi today.

Want to learn more about WiFi Marketing’s potential to increase engagement and revenue for your business? Read What is WiFi Marketing.

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Custom Splash Page Builder

A custom splash page helps give a captive portal the branded look it needs to stand out from the crowd and give guests the peace of mind they’re accessing the network associated with the venue they’re visiting.

WiFi Payments and Vouchers

Offer premium guest WiFi access and promote WiFi upgrades with comprehensive payment and voucher modules. Payments can be used to offer guests varying speeds of WiFi access, while vouchers are great for venues that want to utilize a captive portal that also requires a voucher code for WiFi access.
WiFi payments and vouchers

Guest Plans

Venues can now offer multiple levels of guest WiFi access with our Guest Plan feature. Guest Plans are defined by specific upload and download speeds and session time limits. Brick-and-mortar businesses can offer guest WiFi access and promote WiFi upgrades with our new payment and voucher modules.

Versatile Form Builder

Create and display custom guest surveys on any splash page of your guest flow. Collect feedback and gather additional data points to create smarter marketing.

Enhanced Guest Flow

Guest flow gives venues complete control over the guest WiFi experience. Guest flows help keep a visually pleasing captive portal experience by preventing clutter of multiple marketing assets. Keep it simple, or turn your WiFi into a digital billboard.
WiFi splash page with survey social login

Integrated Ad Spaces

Ad Space Integrations is a powerful feature for venues who want to promote products, deals and specials, online shopping, loyalty programs and other signups, or third-party advertisers all on a pre-authenticated Splash Page.

Increase impressions and clicks for advertising opportunities by showcasing AdSpaces before requiring a guest to connect to WiFi.

Have an app that needs more downloads? The URL redirect function will navigate guests to the app store specific to their device as soon as they click on the advertisement/call-to-action button.

No more will guests have to wait to connect to WiFi to reach interactive ads. Ad Space Integrations takes Ads4WiFi smart advertising tools and places it our smart marketing environment powered by Marketing4WiFi.

Hotspot Scheduler

Determine the specific days and times that WiFi is available to guests. Hotspot Scheduler offers smarter WiFi control by allowing venues to run their guest WiFi during business hours.