To access a business's Wi-Fi network, guests must often log in to the company "captive portal" or website before browsing other resources. Restaurants, hotels, airports, coffee shops, and other establishments use the captive portal to promote their business, market their products, or offer special deals.

Captive portals give a business the means to gather information about the user, require them to agree to terms of use, and enter a user ID and password before advancing. These authentication methods help deter unauthorized or criminal use of the company network.

A captive portal also allows a company to control bandwidth, limit downloads, and block certain websites to discourage guests from downloading multiple large files in a single session.