Darin Smith-Gaddis moved into his apartment in September, but he paid his first Internet bill two months later. Until then, he shared his roommates’ laptops to link into their neighbor’s unlocked wireless networks.

“I feel like when it’s unlocked, it’s more communal property,” he said.

Because Smith-Gaddis, a Weinberg senior, did not have a wireless card in his desktop computer, he eventually started paying $35 a month to use the Internet on his own PC.

But for anyone with a wireless-enabled laptop and a hunger for a Dirt Cheap Deal, Evanston is a free Web mecca.

Beyond mooching wireless (WiFi) signals off neighboring apartments, laptop owners also can check their e-mail for free in local cafes.

Jeff Cohen brings his IBM to Panera Bread Co., 1700 Sherman Ave. three times a week.

“I usually just come here to eat, and I use the wireless while I eat,” said Cohen, a second year Kellogg student. But if it weren’t free, Cohen said he would not bother using the service.

“I could always go home and check things,” he said.

Free WiFi is available at a slew of Evanston cafes, including Cafe Mozart, 600 Davis St.; Liquid Cafe, 1100 Davis St.; Kafein, 1621 Chicago Ave.; Cafe Mud, 1936 Maple Ave.; Golden Olympic, 1608 Chicago Ave.; and Cafe Hookah, 726 Clark St.

WiFi has not always been free. Chicago-based WaveSpotz Wireless, which provides access for Cafe Mozart, Golden Olympic and Cafe Mud, only recently started offering service with no charge.

“We used to be a pay-per-use provider,” said Anthony Vanzyl, the company’s managing director. “But with the current growth of free WiFi across the country, we realized that model was outdated.”

WaveSpotz earns profits from advertising revenues. Neither the customers nor the businesses pay, and there are no pop-ups, spyware or adware, he said.

“We intend to add many more locations throughout the Evanston area,” he said. WaveSpotz will soon add the Dozika restaurant, 601 Dempster St., and is fielding about 24 inquiries in Evanston, Vanzyl said.

Other Evanston cafes use different servers for wireless. Irene Sics, the owner of Kafein, bought her WiFi equipment at Best Buy.

“It helps bring people in, especially during the day, our slow time,” she said.

But according to Vanzyl, off-the-shelf wireless can be insecure.

“Two WiFi computers on the same unsecured system can potentially access each other’s data,” he said.

Sics said she started using passwords on her Kafein network when a customer told her about security risks.

But, as Smith-Gaddis discovered, free WiFi is nearly as accessible in apartment buildings as it is in cafes.

Weinberg senior Kate Chudnovsky pays $50 for wireless in her apartment. Since she uses two computers, she said she would rather not lock her network.

“Sometimes I’ll realize there’s a third party (on the network),” she said.

“If I want to be mean I can turn off my router and kick them off, but their being on it doesn’t change anything,” she said.

People still can pay for wireless at some cafes. At Borders Books, 1700 Maple Ave., Barnes & Noble, 1701 Sherman Ave., Starbucks, 1724 Sherman Ave., and Unicorn Cafe, 1723 Sherman Ave., customers pay by the hour, day or month for access.

Judging from Weinberg sophomore Ashley Wick’s reaction to the Barnes & Noble wireless log-in screen, the paying crowd may

be thinning.

“I have wireless at my apartment,” she said. “To come and pay for the atmosphere is stupid.”

Send any other Dirt Cheap ideas to Daniella Cheslow at [email protected].