Can anyone point me in the direction of a bit of software that will let us know when we are in range of a wifi network. Summat that I can bung on the laptop.
I'm looking for public free to use ones whilst on holiday.
Lee D
wotesaid. Most excellent kit for wardriving. Can also be hooked up to a PDA/GPS thingy to actually 'show' where the hotspots are.
;)
To save firing up the laptop every time, Maplins (among others) sell a fairly cheap keyring type thingy where you push a button & a light tells you there's a network about. Some of the flashier (sorry) ones tell you if the network's secured or not. Other than that, the standard Windows Wifi configuration utility does it for me. Power up the wifi adaptor, enable it in network properties, & ask it for available wireless networks. Some of the unsecured ones are free, some you have to pay for. You can find out which is which by logging on & opening your browser. If it asks for money, you know what to do;-)
The sequence in XP is:- Start button Settings Network Connections Wireless Network Connection (Right click) Enable (Right click) View available networks.
Select from list...
You may need to fiddle with your firewall settings to get it to work.
It's worked for me in France, Belgium, Holland & the UK so far...
I've good memories of the Kyriad Hotel near Disneyland Paris, which has free Wifi in all the bedrooms. It seemed faster than the broadband I've got at home, until everyone else logged on:-)
Tciao for Now!
John.
OK installed and I got my GPS mouse to finally see Sats after kicking its god dammed butt around the livingroom... it was much happier when it could see the sky ;-)
How do I make use of the GPS. It's pinging up the coords of where I am - I can't see any obvious tricks it does in addition.
I'm tempted to have a cruise around sometime to see how may net's it finds. Around 12 months ago I inadvertantly sat surfing on a neighbours net. I only realised when I went to switch my wifi box off and it was already off. Most scary!
Lee
Kismet is a lot better, netstumbler for example found 3 networks on repeated runs through a local business estate near where I used to work, kismet found 16, plus a load of laptops looking for friends. IIRC it's because netstumbler uses the card manufacturer's drivers which don't offer proper probing modes of the sort that devious types might want to use.
For Lee though, netstumbler is probably OK as he's looking for open LANs and not ones that have been "hidden" or secured. I don't know if kismet runs under winblows either so learning linux for the purpose might not be so good ;-)
Of course if he finds an open LAN and associates without permission he'll most likely be committing a crime, and as the good honest police officer he is, will turn himself in immediately!
Lee_D wrote: I only
Also technically illegal.
Steve
shouldnt leave unsecured networks lying about then! :)
I do very much like the 'it wasnt me downloading those mp3's/films on my broadband, somebody else must have used my wireless network' defence...
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You can crack WEP with kismet too IIRC :) Didnt like the wlan on my old laptop though :(
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So if you leave your window open, then you are inviting people in....
Laughed out of court, if the court is so minded.
Steve
Yes indeed! I've already idenified three or four sites that are free to the public in the areas that I'm visiting. Though I've never (knowingly and intentionally) used another WLAN to do my stuff so it's all quite new.
Derek has now spawned an idea for my PDA and mention of a SD WI-FI card resulted in some trawling. Two of the sites I found are Casinos and craking open a laptop and GPS may draw some suspicion propped on top of a one armed bandit.
I'd like to be able to upload photos to my site as some media types have shown an interest in the 110 and our holiday. BBC Radio Stoke want to call me up now and then to see what we are up to, what our observations are and no doubt listen to the Atlantic rollers in the back ground whilst I slurp on a cool beer under my sun shade (as opposed to umbrella) :-)
Lee D
I'm not sure thats the best analogy. I'd say it was more like leaving an extension lead out of your house running down to the main road and being surprised when a passer by plugs in their phone charger or whatever... Kids at school bring in phone chargers and things and plug them into the mains sockets in the classroom. Not much different in my mind...
its worth a try! it introduced doubt which is the point of it isnt it?
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Ive got an SD wifi card. doesnt work in my pda though as it doesnt support windows mobile 5 properly (i think - if i am getting my versions correct). If yours is the older version (which it might be as it is the model before mine) you are welcome to borrow it and have a play. Come get it!
In my PDA it would only work if i set my wireless to channell 11 and turned off all the encryption and even then it crashed all the time.
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Tom does your card have memory built in the ones I have found thus far don't seem to which defeats the object of the excercise i.e. nowhere to hold the program or data for up or downloading or come to that the map data. Derek Vvvvvvrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmm
I think it might have 16 or 32mb or so built in to the wifi card. My PDA has a few mb (64 i think) built in that will hold the programs and a few bits and bobs. It will also apparently read usb mass storage devices through tis usb socket (so i gather) but ive never sorted out the right cables/adaptors to try it.
I always use tomtom off its own SD card and just swapped the wifi one in to use it.
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Yes, I should charge him for usage of my airspace..cheeky f**ker. It's no wonder I can never get the timings right with the microwave.
;-)
Lee
No but don't be surprised nor complain if they come in.
Lee, you're the source of all evil. In light of your post I've subscribed to your theory about microwave problems, flashed up the
802.11a access point that happily co-exists with the microwave, and aimed the old 2.4GHz access point (set to his channel) at the neighbour's house via a 19dBi directional antenna. Methinks my next cooking attempt may succeed and that his network is "unstable". :-)
This is one of the things that scares me about wireless - you think you are safe but in reality someone with a bit of knowledge and some widely available software can by pass your security. I have recently had to get a wireless access point for the office and I am using WPA authentication with a Pre Shared Key. Is this secure and to what level??
Peter
Thanks Tom I did a spot of research last night it looks like Sandisk are the only folk who sell the integrated memory wifi cards with a mingy 256 mb that said it would be enough to put the most used SmartST maps on as well as the necessary software to run the wifi and store a bit of stuff ( though sadly not the 4+ albums worth of music I have stored on the 512Mb card I use most of the time ) might give it a whirl. Derek
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