ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, England – A new study indicates the availability of pornography over public WiFi is a concern for more internet users than the security of the medium.

In a sample of 2,540 users of mobile devices, 56 percent said they would like content filtering on public WiFi channels to be mandated by law. Another 26 said content filtering requirements should depend on the venue.

By comparison, few seem to worry about signing in to secure websites over unsecured public WiFi access points. Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed said they check email over unsecured WiFi, 69 percent update social profiles, 27 percent log in to office networks. About 17 percent do their online banking over unsecured public WiFi.

Among other results:

• 72 percent of connected people now use public WiFi; 78 percent specifically look for free WiFi connections when in public places.
• 77 percent of users are more likely to visit locations that offer free WiFi.
• 75 percent are more likely to stay in a location longer if it offers free WiFi; 63 percent spend additional money in venues offering the service.

Lack of knowledge about how to connect to public WiFi remains the biggest impediment to widespread use, according to the survey. About 66 percent of survey respondents indicated they are confused by the protocols. Fifty-four percent believed their devices automatically connect when in range of a beacon, 7 percent believed they must power their devices off and back on in order to access the web, and 5 percent admitted they haven’t a clue how to connect.

Despite confusion, survey results indicated mobile device users are using WiFi more often: 48 percent of respondents said they use public WiFi at least once a week, 18 percent connect at least once a day and 25 percent use public WiFi at least once a month.

The results of the study, “Using WiFi in Public Places,” were released June 11 by cloud-based social software company Purple WiFi.