Most new laptops these days come pre-installed with wireless connectivity. Even if you don’t subscribe to your own wireless internet service, there are growing numbers of government and private owned Wi-Fi networks that let you connect for free. But how do you find them?

The Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory is a brilliant resource that lists, surprise, surprise, free Wi-Fi spots around your city. Most of the US appears to be covered, and I was happy to see listings for Australia. If you know any that aren’t on the list, there’s a form you can fill out to update the list - according the directory owner’s blog, the site is updated several times a week from these reader submitted tips.

There is also some helpful advice on how to use free Wi-Fi. The most important one is to be aware that Wi-Fi networks aren’t usually very secure, so there are steps you can take to secure the network but it’s probably not a good idea to be doing anything sensitive like checking your internet banking or working on top secret projects in public anyway. David Pogue at the New York Times writes about the dangers of Wi-Fi and a few things you can do to lessen the risk. I was once at a conference (a telecommunications one, ironically) when one of the speakers mentioned he had tried out the free Wi-Fi using his Mac, only to find he had access to all the other Macs’ hard drives in the room.