dongle help needed

ktj

Hi,
Even though I am a fully fledged technophobe, who has only just got to grips with wifi , I'm now considering delving into dongles :eek: :eek: :eek: , as I think a pay as you go one may give us useful occasional internet access whilst caravanning here and abroad.
However my concerns are:-
1. How reliable are they?
2. Which ones are worth recommending?
3. Are there security issues?
and lastly for someone who took hours to set up my wifi, would I have any hope of setting up a dongle and getting it to work without loosing the will to live?

By the way, I am using wifi with a Medion laptop with Windows Vista and Tiscali and my security is Windows Live One Care. All of this seems to work fine most of the time, but I dread trying to installing any new stuff 'cos it never seems to go smoothly even though I usually manage to get there in the end. Hence if possible I would like to find out what I'm letting myself in for before I spend my money on a dongle.

Many thanks for any help. :beer: :beer: :beer:

matty538

I have a dongle with t mobile and have to say its great, although i use windows xp it really is just plug and play.
I had no problems what so ever and was up and running in ten minutes.

CLLC

I have 3 dongles , orange , 3 and T-mobile

They all work perfectly fine and very handy , as above its literally plug them in and press connect! Simple

As for security , they are perfectly safe , i heard possibly more safe than wi-fi....

Lastly.............. which one to recommend.............. probaly 3 as you can buy a "starter pack" with a few Gigabytes already on it and 3 is clear about the prices of there service abroad.

If you need anyting else , just ask

Regards

CLLC

ManAtHome

I have an O2 one - sets itself up when you first plug it in, also gives you free access to some WiFi hotspots (The Cloud).

Do some research on roaming charges though, usage costs outside the UK can be pretty scary (on all networks).

ktj

Hi, Many thanks for all advice.:T :T :T :T
Dongles don't sound too daunting after all, but just to clarify - will they all work well with Windows Vista and will they all work abroad? Also re. the comment about costs - if you get a £2 per day pay as you go, will there be some sort of daily surcharge to use this abroad?
Again many thanks.

Jakg

Abroad? Yes - but can be VERY expensive.

Works with Vista fine.

macman

There is no security issue as with wi-fi, they work on the mobile phone network, so are as secure (or not) as that is. Installation requires you only to plug it in, it self-installs.
A PAYG dongle will be useless abroad, as you will run out of credit in minutes. Don't even think about using a contract dongle abroad, as the roaming charges can be as much as £1 per MB (not GB). If you want to use one abroad, buy one when you get there that works on the local network.

old_codger1

ktj wrote: »

Hi,
Even though I am a fully fledged technophobe, who has only just got to grips with wifi , I'm now considering delving into dongles :eek: :eek: :eek:...

The pioneer spirit, eh! Just makes you proud to be British