Small win at the library downtown last Tuesday

I was at the main branch in Portland getting some tax forms printed and noticed they have a public wifi portal that actually checks for HTTPS before letting you connect. Most public wifi spots I see just let anyone on. Has anyone else seen libraries start doing this kind of thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

johnson.river4d ago

Stumbled into that same branch last week looking for a quiet place to kill time and got tripped up by their login screen. Had to laugh at myself because I was about to complain about the slow connection until I noticed they were actually checking for secure sites. Makes me wonder how many random coffee shop networks I've blindly joined while trying to print a bus schedule or something dumb like that. Your mileage may vary but this seems like a smart move for a public space.

gavin_kim3d ago

Good on that library. Most people just tap "connect" without a second thought, myself included. Caught myself using unsecured motel wifi on a job site once pulling up manuals for a weird Lennox unit, felt pretty dumb after. Nice to see a public spot actually looking out for people instead of just tossing up a network and calling it good.

torres.blair3d ago

Your mileage may vary" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. I get the idea but honestly I'd rather they just leave it open and let me decide what's safe instead of blocking half the stuff I'm trying to pull up.