WiFi now available at the Black Springs Community Hall and Oberon Showground

As well as letting visitors read their emails and check into Facebook, this will allow functions in the halls to have access to real-time communications for access to web sites, Zoom meetings and all the other things the Internet brings.

If you have your phone set to use WiFi for making calls you will even be able to make calls in Black Springs while we wait for better mobile coverage to arrive.

Connecting for the first time can be a bit tricky. You will need to go into the WiFi settings on your phone, tablet or laptop and search for nearby networks. Select the one named "Community WiFi" and follow the steps to connect.

If you allow your device to automatically attach to this network you will be connected as soon as you are back in that location in future.

A word of warning though - these networks are not secure. When you set up your home WiFi you would have been asked to enter a pass code.

While this is often called a "password" it is in fact a string of characters that form part of the mathematical process to encrypt everything moving between your device and the router that makes the actual network connection to the outside world.

Having the transmission encrypted means that anybody who picks up the signal will see a jumble of random bits and need the key to read what it says.

On an unencrypted, insecure network listeners or "hackers" can see exactly what you type, and might even be able to gain access to your device. This is unlikely, but why take the risk?

The lesson is that you should never do anything on an unsecured network that you wouldn't want the world to see. This applies to "free" networks everywhere, such as in coffee shops and stores.

It's your data, your device and when security is doubtful don't do anything you wouldn't want made public.

Peter Bowditch was an IT consultant for many years and authored a best-selling book about using the Internet.