By: Joe Oliveto
Credit: Shutterstock
Airports are the worst. Food is overpriced, people are rude, and the TSA procedures remind you of that nightmare you had after you watched Se7en. Normally, browsing through Facebook and the grossest subreddits known to man would ease the pain of this experience, but you've got better luck getting cheap, reliable Wi-Fi at the Vatican than an airport.
So, to make sure you're never stuck in another terminal staring longingly at your screen, here are some hacks to help you get back on the Internet.
Credit: Shutterstock
Click on Boingo's partner pages to get past the paywall
Airport Wi-Fi systems often have partner pages, free sites you can use to get unlimited Wi-Fi access. If the airport is using a Boingo hotspot, go to the homepage > The Good Stuff > click on one of the free pages > open a new tab. Leave the first tab open and browse to your heart's content.
Trick the network into resetting your time limit
Airports know how long you've been on their Wi-Fi based on a Media Access Control (MAC) address, a specific number assigned to your computer or device. If you run out of time and get booted from the network, download the Technitium MAC Address Changer for Windows or Linkliar for OS X to change your MAC address, fooling the network into thinking you're using a different computer.
Type "?.jpg" at the end of the URL
This is an old trick, but it still works at some airports. If you add ?.jpg to the end of the URL of the site you're trying to visit, you can get around the Wi-Fi restrictions. Keep in mind, this hack only does its job if the network allows images without a redirect.
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