Weaning Your College Grad From Free Bandwidth

Maybe you recently finished paying the last tuition bill? Maybe it did a number on your pocketbook? Look at the bright side: At least your student got free Internet included in tuition. Recent college graduates report withdrawal symptoms when they're suddenly faced with the prospect of paying an ISP real money to surf the web.

I recently asked my own post-college daughter to summarize what she thought kids did when faced with the prospect of having no high-speed connection. "Internet access is usually a problem when they first graduate and are unemployed," she told me. "They have cheap laptops and are trying to job search. They resort to stealing free wireless on street corners or drinking lots of lattes."

She goes on to say, "Once they have an office job they've got high-speed access all day and they are so bored by their entry-level jobs that they do a LOT of surfing. Most likely they want to stay away from the screen at night!"

While I'm betting that she expresses the sentiments of many, there are a number of creative things graduates jones-ing from high speed withdrawal may want to consider.

Use a Laptop

Most important. If you're going to get by without a connection of your own, then you should use a laptop, not a desktop. Your laptop gives you the portability to hit the streets in search of a connection.

Free Wi-Fi Spots

Wi-Fi FreeSpot maintains a comprehensive list of free connections. The list includes restaurants, hotels, and even RV parks. It's also searchable by city and state. Find a couple of free sites near you and make them your home away from home.

Wireless Sniffers

If you don't want to boot up your computer each time you search for that free wireless connection, then you may benefit from using a hotspot sniffer. Sniffers "sniff" out a wireless connection without requiring you to boot up your computer (although sniffers don't always tell you whether that connection is secured or not). Mobil Edge makes the world's smallest sniffer.

Linksys makes a router/sniffer combo that scans for and then displays the details of available Wi-Fi networks on its built-in LCD screen. Then it connects you to whichever network you choose from the list.

Free Internet Connections

There a number (though that number is shrinking) of free connections listed on sites like The Free Site. Two of the most popular are NetZero and Juno, both dial-up. There are also a number of cheap, but not free, ISPs as well as free trial offers. A list of services along with some comparison charts can be found at All Free ISP or Freedomlist.

Share a Connection

Don't say you read this here, but if you're on the same floor of an apartment or in close enough proximity to share the same wireless connection, you can share the Internet access fee and share a wireless connection and password. (A few years ago it was easier to leech onto unsuspecting neighbors for free wireless connectivity, but today most people use password protection on their networks, so thinking communally may serve you better.)

Low-Priced Services

EarthLink has some of the more reasonable nationwide pricing, with offers starting as low as $12.95 per month for the first six months. EarthLink is available via satellite, cable, or DSL, but you'll have to log in and see the pricing deals in your neighborhood.

Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Others

Remember, if you're going to depend on someone else's connection to an ISP rather than your own, you're going to need an email address you can access from anywhere. Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail are good choices.

Switch After the Introductory Offer

Again, don't say you read this here, but if you're anal enough to keep track of introductory offers you could switch services every few months since most offer a three to six month introductory price.

While these will certainly tide you over the tough times, it's probably best in the long run to just get a job that pays well enough to afford your own connection. Any other great ideas?