Our recently launched segment called Unscrambled takes a look at some Time Warner Cable services and features that subscribers may not know about. Today, our Jill Urban teaches us about WiFi hotspots.

So you are looking for a WiFi connection, you look at the list of available networks and see this: Cable WiFi or TWC WiFi. Well, what does it mean? And as a cable customer, can you use it?

"If you are wandering around and you need a WiFi hotspot, you can sometimes look for ones you can share based on being a member of a group. Let's say you are a cable TV subscriber or some other service subscriber - you can have access to a lot of these public hot spots," says Dan Ackerman, Senior Editor at CNET.

So yes, many people don’t realize it, but if you are a Time Warner Cable high-speed data subscriber, you can have access to secure free WiFi throughout the country. No need to drain your data plan. Currently, Time Warner Cable and other cable providers have partnered to create over 400,000 cable hotspots nationwide. So, if you are in Orlando or Omaha, you can use your cable account to access a secure hotspot. 

"So you would select that network and the first time you connect to it you enter what we call your credentials - your TWC user ID and password -  and then once you connect to it the first time, we will continue to connect you to every hot spot that you come in contact with for as long as you have that device," explains Mike Roudi, Senior Vice President of Broadband Services at Time Warner Cable.

It’s that simple. You can also locate or connect to the hotspots anywhere via the TWC WiFi Finder app. The app will also help determine your connection status and will show your usage and savings on your data plan. Now the big question: Is this safer than free public WiFi?

"Absolutely. We have implemented something called PassPoint, which is an industry standard for secure WiFi connections. So now, when you connect to our PassPoint network, you can be completely sure that your connection is 100 percent encrypted and secure," says Roudi.

The only safety concern would be falling victim to an impostor WiFi network, known as a honeypot hotspot. It’s rare, but it can happen.

Now if you use the Time Warner Cable WiFi Finder App you won’t have that problem. But if you are logging in through your device be sure you check the name carefully to make sure you are logging on to the right hotspot. And as with every user ID and password, you should use a unique one for your Time Warner Cable account. 

For more information on cable WiFi networks, you can visit timewarnercable.com.