Next time you log on to WEBbeams, you may notice a much different welcome page: that’s the page you’ll see after you’ve entered your login code or username & password. Now you can easily find other roaming WEBbeams hotspots, check the local weather, stay current on daily news, or make your own streaming Internet radio station on Pandora. The page will be personalized for each café and include location-specific advertising. Check it out and send your thoughts to feedback@webbeams.com. When you view this sample page, the location-based (i.e., location name and weather) information on this link will be from our main office in Milwaukee, WI. If you were viewing it from a café, the information would be representative of that specific location.

Mark off March 14th-16th on your calendar to attend the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition. The Specialty Coffee Association has awarded Alterra Coffee and the city of Milwaukee the opportunity to host this unique event that will showcase the espresso-making talents of the Great Lakes' top baristas.

Earlier this fall, we discussed the necessity of being CALEA compliant with your Wi-Fi system. Another very important step in offering public Wi-Fi involves meeting Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards. When offering public Wi-FI access on the same Internet connection as you run credit card transactions on, PCI standards require you to maintain a separate and segmented network for the credit card transactions: so you ensure all the payment card information remains hidden from prying eyes. PCI compliance requires the following steps:

• Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
• Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters • Protect stored cardholder data
• Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
• Use and regularly update anti-virus software • Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
• Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
• Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
• Restrict physical access to cardholder data
• Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
• Regularly test security systems and processes
• Maintain a policy that addresses information security

Fortunately, with a WEBbeams router, wireless customers go directly to the Internet, and the firewall prevents them from making a detour into the hotspot’s back office network. Our routers will ensure hotspots meet compliancy with the PCI spec sections pertaining to network segmentation, and we can even configure the WEBbeams Internet Gateway to set up two wireless signals, one for public and one for private, upon request. If you’d like more details about PCI Compliance, visit the PCI Security Standards Council’s web site.

If you’d like to learn more about the many products and services available to coffee shops, as well as some valuable tips about running your own café, check out Coffee Fest. The trade show visits Washington DC this February 15-17 and will feature more than a dozen training courses as well as an extensive array of exhibitors. If you attend, stop by and visit WEBbeams at tabletop #8. If you’d like free tickets to the show, please contact Ericka at erickarodriquez@webbeams.com or 1-888-WEBbeams, ext. 6000 by January 25.