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Linuxcare Founders Go Wireless

Posted by chrisd on from the bootable-business-card-gateway dept.

LinuxCare founders Dave Sifry, Art Tyde and Dave LaDuke have started their second company: Sputnik. Basically, they have an ISO you can download that will turn a laptop with an 802.11b card into a wireless gateway. They also wrote a user-authentication scheme that reroutes all traffic to the gateway until the user logs in via a web form. This should sound familiar to people who stay in broadband capable hotels a lot. Using this authentication technique, the software allows you to choose who can and cannot use your gateway, and in you'll be able to charge strangers for access (with Sputnik handling the billing). This will likely get some isps a wee bit upset. NewsForge has an article detailing what they are doing. Update: Turns out the authentication wasn't written by Sputnik, my bad. They use NoCatAuth Disclaimer: I've known these guys for a long time and am pals with them, so I waited until someone else (in this case Grant at NewsForge and the NYT) put something up independently about them before linking to them.

2 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. It sounds wonderful, except... by elenchos · · Score: 0, Troll
    ...isn't the whole thing an invitation to TERRORISTS?

    Think about it. Those on the wrong side are going to be the #1 beneficiaries of a technology like this. It allows them to create their own secure networks and organize murderous attacks against the civilized world with total impunity.

    In the past I might have thought putting all this power in the hands of just anyone was an unmitigated blessing. But now?

    I'm only asking: Is it worth the risk? Can't anything be done to make this technology safe?

    1. Re:It sounds wonderful, except... by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 0, Troll

      Isn't knowing how to write an invitation to TERRORISTS? After all, if you can write, you might make instructions on how to do EVIL THINGS, and terrorists will use those instructions to SPREAD TERROR! Or, in other words, if you outlaw ANY knowledge, then, logically, you must outlaw ALL knowledge, because there IS NO knowledge that cannot somehow be used for 'evil' purposes.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.