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Wireless Internet Thoughfully Provided!


kbootb

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Always worth looking for WLAN, many places now use wireless networks, and if they happen to have no security encryption on that network, then you can easily make use of the connection for nothing.

Although it is mainly in residential areas that you find the networks without encryption.

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Always worth looking for WLAN, many places now use wireless networks, and if they happen to have no security encryption on that network, then you can easily make use of the connection for nothing.

Although it is mainly in residential areas that you find the networks without encryption.

I just got back from Austin, Texas. This is probably the free WiFi capital of the world these days. Just about every small cafe and bar has free WiFi and many of the larger chains are catching onto the fact that they can't get away with charging for it.

 

Every hotel that I stayed in had free internet, again the big posh hotel chains who used to charge $10 a day for access are having to switch over to free service.

 

Drive round any neighbourhood in Austin and you will pick up wireless from people's homes. Most are unprotected and can be freely used. It's top notch for caching if you need to see a picture off a cache page and don't have a print out.

 

My network is available for use anytime, I will have to find out how to get onto the list that Woodsmoke is on.

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Two years ago we did a road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas then down to San Diego and back up again to S.F. We navigated using my old Garmin 12 and an old toshibia laptop kitted with the mapping software MS Streets and Trips. Also had a wardriving suite running.

 

We logged about nearly 500 WIFI installations with around 60% of them Open without encryption. Just before we found a motel for the night we would have a quick drive around to find a suitable open network and steal some of their bandwidth. Send emails and photos back home and use ICQ to relay our progress to friends in real time.

Even logged a WIFI near the top of Palomar Mountain outside a log cabin road stop, but worked out it was the counter till

 

At that time the UK had no where near as many WIFI installations, but the 60% 'OPEN' figure still ringed true and I am guessing that it still does today. Though having open access to the WIFI doesn't mean the network is connected to the Internet.

 

Here in the UK as well as Mc-Donalds, Texaco Fuel Forecorts all seem to have a WIFI hotspot now for the use of subscribed customers, even have a special area marked for parking the car.

 

Near Trowbridge there is a canal mariner and the area is covered by a free access WIFI so the peeps in their barges can get online. *COUGH* and so can everyone else who park or live within 100 metres of the place.

 

Any geocacher considering setup up a WIFI with the intention of leaving it open to allow anyone access to the internet should maybe think twice.

An anonymous internet connection via some poor unsuspecting sods WIFI setup is a big bonus to those conducting identity theft, online fraud and general cyber terrorism.... no really, dont laugh.. its a big security issue.

Other than that minor concern it is likely such an arrangement would be in violation of your ISP's usage/user agreement which could result in your ISP sending out a hit squad to kick down your door 5am in the morning and waking you by holding the cold tip of a glock 9mm to you head chanting "thou shall not sub-let your connection to any tom dick or harry".

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:blink::blink: How do you think we managed so many FTF's on Lizzardman's new Saints & Sinners series. They only became active on the sunday afternoon whle we were somewhere in salford. A kind person had their WIFI wide open...sat in the car having a brew while it downloaded and off we went :blink::blink:
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Wardriving - whats that?  Sounds Interesting :blink:

 

BTW I do not know if the current legal issues have been sorted but it used to be the case that the act of locating a open wifi is not illegal (In the Usa) but actaully using the connection is a criminal act, probably theft. Investigating a companies internal network would also be a no no :blink: (but can be very interesting). I suggest geocachers who go about using open networks that are not intended as a pubic hotspot first be aware on the legality of the act.

 

WarDriving, a definition

 

War (wôr) n.

1 open armed conflict between countries or between factions within the same country

2 any active hostility, contention, or struggle; conflict [the war against disease]

3 [Obs.] a battle

4 military operations as a profession or science

--n. of, used in, or resulting from war

 

Driv·ing (dri'vin) adj.

1 transmitting force or motion

2 moving with force and violence [a driving rain]

3 vigorous; energetic [a driving jazz solo}

--n. the way one drives an automobile, etc.

 

War Driving (wôr dri'vin) v.

1 Driving around looking for wireless networks.

-term coined by Pete Shipley

 

Some further reading...

 

www.wardriving.com

 

www.wardrive.net

 

www.netstumbler.com

 

wepattack.sourceforge.net

 

www.kismetwireless.net

 

wigle.net

Edited by stonefisk
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Great, Santa dropped my compactflash WiFi card down the chimney this morning.... now all I need to do is find suitable software to identify wireless networks from my PDA. Can anyone recommend some PDA software for "Wardriving" or similar please (preferably free :P)?

Try NetStumbler Stuey here

 

Jodel put me onto this great wee (free) program :P

 

Bill.

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Great, Santa dropped my compactflash WiFi card down the chimney this morning.... now all I need to do is find suitable software to identify wireless networks from my PDA. Can anyone recommend some PDA software for "Wardriving" or similar please (preferably free :P)?

That possibly would be "MiniStumbler" little brother of netstumbler, www.netstumbler.com

 

 

This version of MiniStumbler is known to work on HPC2000,

PocketPC 3.0, PocketPC 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003.

• The Proxim models 8410-WD and 8420-WD are known to

work. The 8410-WD has also been sold as the Dell TrueMobile

1150, Compaq WL110, Avaya Wireless 802.11b PC Card, and

others. Some of these cards do not come with drivers for

Windows CE; for these you can install the ORiNOCO driver,

insert the card, and enter wlluc46 as the driver name to use.

For these cards you must have driver version 7.X or better.

The 6.X drivers cannot be used.

• The Dell Truemobile 1180 CF card works.

• Many cards based on the Intersil Prism/Prism2 chip set also

work. This includes the Socket SDIO 802.11b card and the

built-in wireless on the Toshiba e740, and others.

 

Edited by stonefisk
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That possibly would be "MiniStumbler" little brother of netstumbler, www.netstumbler.com

 

 

This version of MiniStumbler is known to work on HPC2000,

PocketPC 3.0, PocketPC 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003.

• The Proxim models 8410-WD and 8420-WD are known to

work. The 8410-WD has also been sold as the Dell TrueMobile

1150, Compaq WL110, Avaya Wireless 802.11b PC Card, and

others. Some of these cards do not come with drivers for

Windows CE; for these you can install the ORiNOCO driver,

insert the card, and enter wlluc46 as the driver name to use.

For these cards you must have driver version 7.X or better.

The 6.X drivers cannot be used.

• The Dell Truemobile 1180 CF card works.

• Many cards based on the Intersil Prism/Prism2 chip set also

work. This includes the Socket SDIO 802.11b card and the

built-in wireless on the Toshiba e740, and others.

 

I think it is the full version of NetStumbler I have on my laptop ... I've just had a peek and it doesn't mention 'MiniStumbler' anywhere!!

 

Anyway it is a great wee program Stuey and I can recommend it whole heartedly :P

You will have great fun with it...I certainly have :P:P:D

 

I've just had a look at the link I posted and it gives one the option of downloading NetStumbler and MiniStumbler....I have the former .... so I can't comment on the smaller version!!

 

Bill.

Edited by Team Ullium
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That possibly would be "MiniStumbler" little brother of netstumbler, www.netstumbler.com

 

 

This version of MiniStumbler is known to work on HPC2000,

PocketPC 3.0, PocketPC 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003.

• The Proxim models 8410-WD and 8420-WD are known to

work. The 8410-WD has also been sold as the Dell TrueMobile

1150, Compaq WL110, Avaya Wireless 802.11b PC Card, and

others. Some of these cards do not come with drivers for

Windows CE; for these you can install the ORiNOCO driver,

insert the card, and enter wlluc46 as the driver name to use.

For these cards you must have driver version 7.X or better.

The 6.X drivers cannot be used.

• The Dell Truemobile 1180 CF card works.

• Many cards based on the Intersil Prism/Prism2 chip set also

work. This includes the Socket SDIO 802.11b card and the

built-in wireless on the Toshiba e740, and others.

 

I think it is the full version of NetStumbler I have on my laptop ... I've just had a peek and it doesn't mention 'MiniStumbler' anywhere!!

 

Anyway it is a great wee program Stuey and I can recommend it whole heartedly :P

You will have great fun with it...I certainly have :P:P:D

 

I've just had a look at the link I posted and it gives one the option of downloading NetStumbler and MiniStumbler....I have the former .... so I can't comment on the smaller version!!

 

Bill.

the keyword being.... "PDA" not laptop.

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It's still a great wee program though for anyone with WiFi !!

....... and a WiFi laptop or home WiFi network (not just a WiFi PDA) :unsure:

 

Thanks for all your input. I'll report back when I have found a WiFi network! (a friend of mine has one which I will try to detect later) :lol:

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