Slashdot Mirror
Worldwide WarDrive Aftermath
wardriver writes "The event took place on August 31st 2002, people from around the world took part in the effort to document and make known wireless access points as a group. Some people go WarDriving everyday, so this was just like an normal day for many who attended any of the world wide events as documented on the results page. Hardware ranged from laptops, to car mounted computer systems, to handhelds all equipped with GPS devices to accurately map the spots. Cars were marked with )(WarDriver stickers and people were sporting their wardriving is not a crime t-shirts. All in all the event went well and with enough pressure and requests to chris it may happen again." And in a related story, Dr_Marvin_Monroe writes "Wardrivers be warned---- A Practical Approach to
Identifying and Tracking
Unauthorized 802.11 Cards
and Access Points includes information on locating rogue access points and intruders."
This just goes to show that there are far too many people with too much time on there hands. Reminds me of the people in my home town who would drive around on Friday night clogging up traffic for no reason.
I've got a mind like a steel trap - it's got an animal's foot stuck in it.
It should be known that there are cards that can "just listen" without letting themselves be known.
;)
Cisco makes the AIR-LMC350 which would be a good choice for wardrivers.
Or, not being an idiot administrator and leaving everything open helps too
Get paid to code OSS
It is called Promiscuous mode.
Other vendors can do this as well.
Andy
I went for a low-tech version of this event.
Knock knock
"Anybody home?"
Try door.
"This one's locked, next house!"
Nicky nicky nine doors is fun...except for the old codger sitting on his front porch on a rocker with a shotgun full of rock salt...
John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
World Series (2 teams from Canada, rest from States).
WarDriving... Cities from only the western part of North America...
Don't call it "World" if its just North America, and especially don't if its just a region of North America.
Tournament Management Online &
They interviewed a couple of guys that regularly drive around in a "pickup truck full of gear" and document access points. Apparently one of them has documented more than 400.
The best part was when they said they do it at night, so people in "affluent neighborhoods" won't mistake the cylidrical antenna for a shotgun.
If by "worldwide" they mean "a few counties in California, Canada, and bits of the midwest," then the project was an amazing success. :)
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
It is called Promiscuous mode.
Other vendors can do this as well. Remember that Cisco does not make their own NICs. They contract out just about everything that they sell except for the IOS. They are basically just a software and marketing company.
Andy
An ounce of prevention shows up in the ledgers, but they never see the cost of the avoided pound of cure.
perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5, (41*2), sqrt(7056), (unpack(c,H)-2), oct(115), 10)'
Already slashdotted.
Anyone got a google cache?
"wardriving is not a crime t-shirts...
You got to admit that people aren't doing themselves any favours by choosing a real positive expression like "wardriving"....
I can see this must win real friends when you are explaining to companies what you are doing outside their offices. Especially in countries where vigilante groups /gangsters like cruising round in their autos. Great PR, guys :-)
(Yeah yeah I know the origin of the term but I still think it sucks.. maybe try cruising round New York on 11th September and explain to a cop that you're war driving...)
I understand that some people invite others onto their network. This is very generous (but in my opinion insane because YOU are responsible for what comes out of YOUR router), but shouldn't these people advertise that their network is open instead of people driving around trying to discover these access points? I think the concept of wardriving is interesting, but the practical ethical results of wardriving efforts seem very very few. Maybe there is some application I am missing. Feel free to enlighten me
psxndc
The emacs religion: to be saved, control excess.
Unless you think of THEFT OF SERVICE!
Sometimes I have to wonder about the real-world intelligence of these people. Sure, they probably are really bright when it comes to technology, but evolution should have taken care of the guys wearing these t-shirts long ago.
Troll you lika? perhaps anally retentive people might make that association.
I'm going round NY with a big CUBA flag and an Osama is a matter T-Shirt on the 11th of September,and a tank. this will weed out all the fuck heads, i'll lead them out into the winderness like the pied-piper and blow the fuckers up.
Some people go WarDriving everyday...
...and really need to get a life.
"Information wants to be paid"
Also, people have been uploading their scans to http://mapserver.zhrodague.net -- a web-based mapping package for the entire planet, and http://www.wigle.net - a java-based mapping client. Check 'em out when you get a chance.
Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
Or pollution.
Go-on don't think american for one day/
WarDriving... Cities from only the western part of North America...
... only a tiny fraction of the world community takes part. If 10 people take part in a 'world' event and they happen to be scattered all over the globe, does that somehow add legitimacy over 10,000 people taking part, who happen to be scatterd over just one corner of it?
Don't call it "World" if its just North America, and especially don't if its just a region of North America.
So get off your ass and do some war driving. Nothing is stopping you, or anyone else in the world, from participating. Indeed, I suspect the organizers would be happier if more countries participated.
Perhaps it will become an annual event, with gradually more countries taking part.
BTW - Where do you draw the line for 'world.' 1 country per continent, x countries per hemisphere? Most 'world' events in Europe and Asia are similarly limited
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
This isn't intended as a flame or a troll or whatever, I'm just curious as to why it's called that.
- sig? who is this sig of which you speak?
/.'ing a server so quickly should be a crime.
C:\>
It would seem to me that if someone wanted you on their system they would register on one of the various websites for free wireless access.
If they didn't want you then you're becoming a bother. I guess you could tell them that they were open and be helpful. I don't see anything of that angle though.
So its just "Lets see who screwed up their technology. Tee Hee." Nothing useful here.
Last I heard it was not a crime to putt around anyones neighborhood, whether you lived there or not. So what, if you just happen to have a laptop and a wireless network device. I haven`t heard of anyone bieng arrested for posessing network gear. Unless it was stolen! Is a cop really gonna bust you for wardriving? I think not. It`ll be the old skateboarding thing, where your told that even though it is public property, and you technically can be there that what your doing is potentially damaging and/or disruptive. Who cares!
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
...and say "Wardriving is a crime"
Buckets,
pompomtom
"There's an exception to every rule. Except for some rules"
Seriously the analogy of if your front door is unlocked doesn't apply. It's more like comparing the kid next door getting a free peep show by looking in your living room window from his house because you're too stupid to close the blinds (I've told my wife 1000x). So is it really that kids job to come over, knock on the door and say ma'am could you close the door because I sure hate seeing your tits? Not really.
Port scanning also is not a crime(for now at least) but a lot of crimes are started with it. I don't blame people for getting a little paranoid.
It's like a guy swinging a baseball bat all over the place. Sure it's not illegal but he could start clobbering people whether on purpose or not. I'd probably tell him to stop swinging too.
My brother-in-law lives in California and has had all kinds of trouble since this event. Conicidence?? You start stealing service and disrupting other people's service and you just crossed the line.
The people that are just scanning and mapping could be considered accesories to the crime when other people use their info to "steal bandwidth".
Personally, I don't see it as a crime to simply find open networks. While that point is likely debatable, I've got a couple access points set up, and quite frankly it doesn't matter to me if anyone were to jump on and use the connection. Granted, if someone is constantly sucking up all my bandwidth, that's a different story. But, while I don't publicly flaunt these access points, it doesn't bother me if they're used. It's sort of a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" mentality. MY ISP is quite open when it comes to the types of traffic, so that's not a concern to me. Yeah, some idiot could download kiddie porn or something and it's probably muddy waters legally, but I treat people in general with trust, I don't look at everyone as a criminal because they're not.
The symbol for Wardriving )( resembles a shape formation in the latest hubble image (check out the Hubble Site module in Slashdot). Waow!
This is a sign...
W
If they were smart, they would get their site posted to slashdot after first making sure their 56k modem was up to withstanding a slashdot effect.
Oh, wait. Nevermind.
The many war{driving|storming|floating|biking|hiking} groups here in Europe would likely participate next time.
I just got a new laptop and I'll be getting netstumbler up and running RSN. Part two of my driving around Europe vacation is about to begin. That should provide a nice map of a few dozen cities by the end of the month.
the AC
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
There's nothing to stop people Wardriving whenever they want, but who's going to notice little old me WarDriving, even if they do notice, they'll probably think I the one putting up all the graffete and forget about it hte next day.
Now if 100 people go Wardriving at the same time the awaireness of WarDriving and Wireless networks etc.. will go up, even if only a small amount. It's hard to forget seeing 100 freeks WarDriving but it's easy to miss one.
Most cards have Linux drivers that allow them to be put into "RF Monitor" mode, which is completely passive. This is the default mode of operation for Kismet (http://www.kismetwireless.net/)
Supported cards include:
Prism2 with the linux-wlan-ng drivers
Orinoco cards with a slightly patched driver from http://airsnort.shmoo.net/
SOME Cisco cards. While they all happily go into RF Monitor mode when asked, SOME OF THEM KEEP BROADCASTING.
So all in all, if you *absolutely* don't want to be detected, Cisco is the least safe choice for wardriving. Orinoco is probably the best bet, even though you will have to downgrade your Orinoco firmware for compatibility (8.10 is severely broken for RFMon usage). Prism2s have the best compatibility, but are generally known for crappy receivers and most don't allow external antennas. Almost all Orinoco-based cards have much better receivers and support external antennas. The Cisco hardware is the best (100 mW transmit, not like that matters if you're trying to stay silent, some have dual MMCX jacks for diversity antennas), but you can't trust it to stay silent in RF Monitor mode.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Not really because if they are brodcasting it and it conflicts with my 2.4GHz phone or my 802.11 network, then why shouldn't I be able to get on it? I didn't ask my neighbor to brodcast an internet connection to my house, so they are intruding on my usage of 2.4GHz.
Matt Jones
"The new wave is not value-added; it's garbage-subtracted" - Esther Dyson, Dec 1994
In many cases, these people go wardriving just out of curiosity.
I find it very interesting that in a short drive around my area I found 45 networks (I was NOT expecting that many, esp. since I wasn't using an external antenna), and over a third of them were factory default. (Not just unencrypted, but completely unchanged factory default units.)
I haven't actually DONE anything with those APs though.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
...assumes everyone the United States thinks the US is the center of the world. Get off your butt and do something to help your country instead of just sitting back like a lazy slacker and bitching about the US.
Note that Kismet (http://www.kismetwireless.net/ is purely passive - You NEVER associate with the AP or broadcast it to any way.
So how is that intrusion?
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
birdwatching is about understanding what is out there and to a degree the world around you.
Wardriving is snooping and peeking into someone's electronic window. And they might not know you can see in.
Be ashamed for not knowing the difference!
As I mentioned in a previous post - Many people just do it out of curiosity to see what's out there. They never DO anything with the information except for plot it, and in mant cases, laugh at the morons who leave their APs wide-open factory-default.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
No one fucking cares about this stupid War* crap! The name doesn't even make SENSE! WarDiving? WarFlying? WarDriving? What the FUCK is that supposed to mean? FUCK, WHO CARES!
Yeah, stop going to poor ole securitytribe.com. Chris is probably pulling his hair out by now.
It boggles the mind that so many administrators unintentionally leave their wireless networks open and available to anyone willing to make a little effort (and some cases, no effort at all). Certainly, wardrivers who spend time attempting to access secured networks need to consider their actions carefully, but what constitutes a secured network? There are plenty of foolish administrators out there who take no measures at all to secure their networks but of those who do, and have their networks authorized by 'unauthorized' persons; what truly constitutes security? Certainly there is a level of incompetence in network security where the person gaining unauthorised access can simply claim(when acused of accessing a secured network illegally) "The network was not secured". There has to be some remedial security standard below which (assumin it would otherwise be a crime to access a particular secured network) no crime would have been committed.
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
Well yes and no, yes people would notice general oddities but wouldn't pay much attention it's just peripheral oddness. The people would be aware of 'something'.
If you saw someone in a white pointy hat now and then they'd just be a bit odd.
If you saw 100 people in white pointy hats then you might ask yourself what there upto.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
n/m
Catch up with Larry from 'Three's Company'
Three's a charm
By Kara Spak
PEOPLE
(PEOPLE) --From 1977 through 1984, viewers tuning in to "Three's Company" watched the unctuous Larry Dallas brag about his way with the ladies to Jack, Janet and Chrissy (and, later, to Cindy and Terri), his neighbors in apartment 201.
When Larry was around, the sleaze factor was sure to skyrocket. He was "the classic horny next-door neighbor," says Richard Kline, now 51, the native New Yorker who made the role famous. But even without the help of his TV neighbors, Kline has worked successfully and steadily on the stage and screen and behind the scenes since the show's end.
"Three's Company" is just a small note in a long resume of Kline's performances. Most recently, he guest-starred on "Judging Amy," "Gilmore Girls," and "NYPD Blue," as well as Nickelodeon's "Noah Knows Best." Yet his return to another full-time sitcom role, playing Gene Schwartz, father to title character Adam Schwartz on the now-canceled 2001 sitcom "Inside Schwartz," was brief.
Yet it was just a pit stop on the journey Kline's been taking since 1971, when he started his acting career onstage at New York's Lincoln Center, as part of its esteemed repertory company. He debuted on Broadway 20 years later in "City of Angels" and also played Jeeves in the 1996 American premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "By Jeeves."
Kline has also found success directing stage and screen productions. In 1990 he won the L.A. Drama Critics' Award for directing Noel Coward's "Present Laughter," and later directed a number of episodes of the CBS comedy "Evening Shade," which starred Burt Reynolds. Kline also directed the 1997 award-winning one-man show by Los Angeles NBC weatherman Fritz Coleman, "It's Me! Dad!," for both television and stage.
"I just consider myself a working actor," Kline says of his journeyman status. "I'll do theater, sitcoms, TV or film. As long as I don't have to eat bugs -- I wouldn't do 'Fear Factor.'" Kline has also been teaching comedy workshops in Los Angeles, "with an emphasis on, go figure, sitcoms," he says. He is currently preparing to star in the comedy "Caught in the Act," slated for a regional theater in Kansas City.
On the personal front, he also recently married the former Beverley Osgoode, a masseuse from Montreal. "The third time is the charm," Kline says of his new marriage. "This time is forever." It just might be: After all, he's already had success with the number three. And though Kline has fond memories of his "Three's Company" days, his favorite project is daughter Colby, who will be starting her freshman year at her dad's alma mater, Northwestern University, in the fall -- and following in his footsteps as a musical-theater major.
Ok, Slashdotters. Time to fess up and be honest Wardriving, though harmless in and of itself, is shady business. It's the electronic equivalent of casing a store or residence in order to rob it later. I realize the vast majority of wardrivers do nothing with the info they find, and right now it's more of a fad than anything (especially for kids that fantasize about being Mad Haxorz with Big Skillz, or whatever they hell they're calling it this week), but deep down, face it. You KNOW you're up to no good. The very essence of Wardriving is LOOKING FOR VULNERABILITIES. Only two kinds of people really give a damn about this kind of information. Serious security researchers, and net scum looking to break into networks. Now, like everyone else, I'm getting damn tired of seeing my liberties slip away in new laws and regulations. But if there was half an ounce of honesty here, we'd all admit to each other that by doing stupid shit like Wardriving, we're begging the government and public to be alarmed and put further restrictions on what we do. So to you people that deface webpages, spread virii, and wardrive looking networks to break into, why don't you do us a favor and go fuck yourselves. You are why the word "hacker" evokes fear and loathing.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
You are from what I am reading.... Saying that Afluence is what is the determining factor for something that is 'World' based, (as long as there is more then two(2) countries.)
Depending on how you look at it, the people with money rule the world.
Bill Gates (grr) has marketshare majority control of Computers.
Corporations are controling the US government, with their "campain" contributions (HAH).
People say that money can't buy happiness - True
However, Money can by people, and geed is a feeding factor of the 'world'.
this is more geared towards the USA.
www.oobersworld.com - For those that ride.
I see a lot of schools with security problems. They don't have the money or resources to get a truly secure wireless network, but want one either because a. it's the new thing to do and will "enhance learning" or b. some grant calls for wireless networks and the understaffed/overworked Network Admin (often they are the only IT staff) has to put it together. I'm a firm believer on "if you can't do it right, don't do it" when it comes to security.
These so-called "wireless cards" all function with small wires, too small for the human eye to see.
Banach-Tarski Overdrive
what might less ethical people than yourself do with those APs?
that's the problem i have with wardriving - i don't mind that someone goes around snooping, because it's genuinely part of what makes us human - our propensity for curiosity. however, most wardrivers tend to mark with chalk the direction of insecure wireless networks. really, what's the purpose of that? in my mind, that's the equivalent of people going around with a basket of eggs looking for folks with their fly open.
i'm amazed that i survived - an airbag saved my life.
So, in large part, quite possibly the majority, we are not talking about careless security professionals but people who bought a wireless access point at their local computer store because it seemed to be an easy way to get the computers in their house to be able to share the internet connection and play games or share the printer. These are not security professionals or network administrators in any reasonable definition.
The people that should really have the mud thrown at them are the companies selling these home wireless access points to unsuspecting customers with security set to wide open by default and next to no instructions about how to turn it on (since that would confuse the customer and result in more calls to customer support and/or returns). They are the ones being truly negligent. If they were being honest the boxes would have "Share your internet connection and all the data on your computers with all of your neighbors!" in big bold letters.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
WarDriving... Cities from only the western part of North America...
... only a tiny fraction of the world community takes part (e.g. "world" art exhibitions, with all of 4 countries on 4 continents represented out of hundreds is arguably as small a slice of the world as it would be if those 4 countries were on one continent, to cite an example I witnessed more than once while living in Germany).
Don't call it "World" if its just North America, and especially don't if its just a region of North America.
So get off your butt and go do some wardriving. Nothing is stopping you, or anyone else in the world, from participating. Indeed, I suspect the organizers would be happier if more countries participated.
Perhaps it will become an annual event, with gradually more countries taking part.
BTW - Where do you draw the line for 'world?' 1 country per continent, x countries per hemisphere? Most 'world' events in Europe and Asia are similarly limited
If 10 people take part in a 'world' event and they happen to be scattered all over the globe, does that somehow add legitimacy over 10,000 people taking part, who happen to be scatterd over just one corner of it? I agree the term is often abused, but your kneejerk reaction is more than a little silly itself.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
When the story goes live on the website, here's the link
it's not going to stop until you wise up, no it's not going to stop. so just give up.
If I can see you having sex as I ride by in a car is that my fault or yours?
If I can see you having sex as I ride by in a car provided I'm using glasses is that my fault or yours?
How about if I use a pair of binoculars?
How about a telescope?
Why wardriving are listening to telephones with a ham radio are probably both socially repugnant the flip side is that one group of people are BROADCASTING on public airwaves. If they don't want people listening to those broadcasts, maybe they shouldn't be broadcasting on a public frequency.
If you want privacy, pull the digital shades.
No Zen is good zen
I'm hoping to write some scripts of my own to scan the various MAC addresses that show up on the network I manage for 802.11 access points.
So far I haven't been able to find a list of the prefixes used by various manufacturers for their access points. I asked about this on usenet but the only replies I got were the IEEE lists of ALL MAC address prefixes, with no distinction between NICs, APs, switches, etc.
I'm sure various vendors must have compiled such a thing for their auditing tools... but it doesn't seem like there's anything available through Google just yet.
Thanks for any help you can give!
-carl
. We've got computers, we're tapping phone lines, you know that ain't allowed - Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"
damn, didn't realize I'd already posted this (and had it modded down below my browsing level as "flaimbait," go figure[1])
[1] I'd apologize more profously if the moderation system weren't being abused by regional bigots to promote their POV here. Look, I (and a huge chunk of the American public) hate Bush and his "let's fight daddy's war all over again/let's use the American military to avenge the attempt on daddy's life" nonsense as much as everyone else does, but that is no excuse for the sort of region and nation bashing going on in this thread.
You really want to bash someone, bash the corporations who run the baseball league who abuse the term 'world' for their own marketing persons, and while your at it, bash the European art show organizers who do the same to promote their events. But don't bash a bunch of amateur war drivers who tried to organize a world event and came up short. Instead, grab your laptop, get into your car, and add a map of your city and country to the list.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
I have read a lot of snickering about idiotic network managers and know-nothing, affluent homeowners. I guess I fall into the latter category. It would be really nice if one--just one--person posting criticism might also offer a link or word of advice on how to actually secure my spiffy new wireless access point.
My router offers WEP, but a quick Google search makes me wonder if even that's enough. What can the know-nothing, affluent homeowner do that does not take six weeks of intensive reading on network security?
He looked at me and said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send your fingerprints off to Washington."
"MSN's resposible if some user of theirs hacks white house?"
An MSN user hacking? HAHAHA! much less the white house!
Take a nomadic guy like me. I drive around the country in a converted school bus / RV. I need internet access. Clueless people generously provide it for me. War drivers give me a map of where I am likely to find access, I park in a shopping center and point the YAGI in the right direction, and whammo I'm on the 'net.
I'm happy, the WAP owner is probably clueless that any sharing ever happened, and we both go on with our lives. I don't do anything bad with my access. I do all my email offline so there is a quick send/recieve session and it is done. Web surfing is the only thing I do online and I don't do a heck of a lot of that.
This is a good service to people like me. I'd like to thank the war drivers for helping me to stay in touch with my family and friends on the road.
Looks to me like leakage from your AP might be even easier to get a look at from above.
1 .html
http://arstechnica.com/wankerdesk/3q02/warflying-
My next assumption is that anyone silly enough to be using wireless without decent encryption at the network layer will soon be getting sniffed at the satellite layer! Cheers.
I am seeing a lot of confused comments in this thread, so I will throw in my $0.02.
Disclosure: I wardrive on occasion. I keep a list of access points that I find while driving. Currently in excess of 1,000 for the Portland, OR area.
1. Why wardriving? Everyone has their reasons. Mine are security related. Myself and a small group of other local wifi enthusiasts enjoy passive monitoring to identify security weaknesses. We also inform insecure node operators of the fact that their networks are wide open.
We have found a number of extremely sensitive, wide open access points operated by city and state governments, corporations, and home users. By this I mean networks that are obviously not intended to be public.
If your government has weak security on sensitive information, this can affect you directly (which means Us, the wardrivers too). So we like to notify them of the vulnerabilities and give them information on fixing the holes. Sometimes we get paid to do this.
[You will notice the results page is missing GPS coordinates. This is intentional, as there are those out there who would take advantage of unsecured networks]
This is also usefull for identifying trends and generating usefull statistics.
2. How do you really secure a wireless network? You have a few options: Basic security and high security.
Basic Security: Enable MAC ID restrictions, allowing only those cards with a specific MAC id to connect to the network. Also turn on 128bit WEP encryption. You can switch to a lesser used channel, like 1 or 11 if you wish.
Please note that this is still easily circumvented with the right tools, like AirSnort and MAC ID spoofing. Despite this, most people will find a network in this state and move on. It significantly raises the barrier to entry.
High Security: Install a VPN with very good passwords or preferably something like SecureID cryptographic tokens. This is the only way to be truly secure, where truly secure is as good as the firewall VPN combo you use at work.
try War flying: San Diego covered on slashdot previously.
Anything you say will be held against you.
Well, it seems that some just don't care about figuring out what's it is all about, just as long as there is a cool story, like this. So how is the average reader supposed to get a open view/opinion of the subject. Of course when people read stories like this the public view of it all will crawl towards the dark side.
my sig
Did you ever think that some of us want the government to remove more liberties so the general public becomes so pissed that they revolt? :-)
Oh - what kind of person would even think this way...? Probably someone who doesn't want a government.
Well look at http://www.kismetwireless.net and tell me how rfmon will let you anyone see them using kismet ?
jealousy
of their contract with their provider more than I would be a criminal.
okay, so i read a bit further down and someone already explained it...
ignore me .
...I got nothing.
pollution/
Why think of you feet when you can think in your head.
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
If so, I have something for you.
/.'s filters. :P
Paste this script into Applescript's script editor, open the event log, make sure speech is enabled and your volume is up. Check show events and the show results toggles. Now drive around town. Whenever you encounter an 802.11 access point, the computer will speak to you with the name of the network. The network's specifics will be listed in the event log. Enjoy, Zav
Email me at zavpublic (AT) mac.com
The code will not make it through
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
With my powerbook g3 500, no external antenna and that scanning script I have, we can drive at 60 to 65 miles an hour and still pick up networks. We tested this from Napa to San Francisco in my buddy's Blazer. Tests in my Beemer at 138 mph have been less successful.
So I leave it to the reader to further refine the "pickup speed" if he/she so desires.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
See my comment from the other day here on this topic.
An analogy I used, which is still applicable here, is: "If I walk by your house in the middle of the night and knock on your door and you, sleep-muddled and confused, let me in, then I'll assume I can walk around, sleep on the couch, etc." It should be noted that simply being invited into the house/network does not give you permission to steal physical objects/intellectual property/etc. Using bandwidth isn't stealing in this analogy because it's what a WLAN/Wifi is. Access.
Note that "sleep-muddled and confused" may be used in some legal wrangling in some court, but that isn't the point here. The point is that someone asked for something (dhcp assigned IP) and got what they asked for.
I also noted that a local group here, Personal Telco operates several free and un-restricted nodes in the Portland area. To that, someone replied with: and how is a novice user supposed to know when they've roamed (e.g. the user is walking around) from this 100% open and public node to a private node? Especially when the private node happily gave you the IP you requested?
It's not as b&w as some "Wardriving is theft, plain and simple." would have you think.
Whether wardriving is illegal is up to the courts. I'm not a judge, nor am I a lawyer. But I have a bit of common sense and know that if I set up this magical wireless internet access that works even from my back porch, then I'll also assume the neighbors can get access through me, too. If I leave a "EVERYONE is WELCOME!" sign on my wide-open door, I'll expect people to come in side and wander around. Closing the door and removing the sign is easy. If someone is too damn novice to figure out how, they need to shut down their wireless setup until they figure out or pay someone to figure out how.
Exocet Industries - Taking over the world, one computer at a
There is an article about this on the New Scientists's website: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns999 92760
I would love to try it! If you can put it somewhere we can get at, I'd appreciate it.
Actually, the World Series argument is one that is often made, and one I've made myself, until I found out the truth. The reason the World Series is called the World Series isn't because its supposed to be an international event. There used to be a newspaper called "The World", and the newspaper used to fund the championship series, hence the name "World Series". Its in reference to the newspaper, not to the Earth.
Slightly OT, but this made me laugh:
h al kwalk.jpg
http://www.calgarywireless.net/images/content/c
They act like it's a crime against humanity, perpetrated with a "secret" $150 device purchased over the internet (a wireless card, maybe?)
Hands in my pocket
Let me see if I get this straight...
Some would have you believe that the operation of a Radio Frequency Receiving Device is somehow illegal when said receiver operates on a public, unlicensed band? Exactly what is the logic here? I don't get it.
Even the transmission of a signal to interact with the other transmitter isn't necessarily illegal. It is quite common for a radio to identify itself (indeed, some FCC regs could be interpreted to say that such identification is required).
The fact that the signal on that radio frequency is computer generated and meant for another computer is irrelevent. It is still an open, unlicensed, public channel. With the exception of transmission power rules and the usual FCC Part 15 stuff (doesn't cause radio interference, etc...), there are no regulations on the use of the band in question.
Now, rules about driving a car with an open laptop in your lap may be a bit more compelling. Then again, if you are stupid enough to do this, then you deserve the brick wall you are about to collide with...
Ron Gage - Westland, MI
Note that the 400 access points we discovered were just during THAT evening's war-drive.
l
I war-drive for one reason--to guage the growth of wi-fi in the Northern Virginia area. It's been fascinating. Driving last year I'd pick up 20-40 access point within a few miles of my home. Now, I pick up several hundred on an hour long cruise around my town. That phenomenon keeps me going out on a monthly basis.
We visited Old Town Alexandria for this NPR event. We combined it with a "war-walk" and it's a shame they edited out that portion of the adventure. The inebriated queries regarding our yagis were an amusing portion of the un-edited mini-discs.
If you would like to see the setup that was used, visit:
http://ruff.cs.jmu.edu/~beetle/wardrive/index.htm
We used this same setup for a similar war-driving demo for the Baltimore Sun a few months back.
Beetle
Beetle
http://ruff.cs.jmu.edu/~beetle/
why why why?
I keep reading this argument about theft of service.
I'm not saying these are perfect analogies (they're not) but just think:
If I walk by a house or business (on the sidewalk) and they have a widescreen TV in view, with the windows open, and they are playing a pay-per-view movie, and I watch it, am I a criminal?
If someone leaves a table with donuts on it in the middle of a park, with no signs or anything and I take one, am I a criminal?
Just some thoughts.
If I just look at your house from the street and see that the door is open (AP identification) without going inside, am I a criminal--NO.
Lee
Like most people that I know, I do not care if people get on my wireless network. THere is nothing on my system that they don't have already. If they want to read my personal boring life go ahead or documents I have written that are gramattically incorrect or the viruses on my computers.
I wish those people do a net send when they get on so to say Hi to me and maybe play multiplayer game against me.
if you don't care, open up your wireless so I could use it too.
Later
macstumbler is a program for OS X that does just this as well. This is pretty much the only option for wardriving on OS X, the airport card can't be controlled through applescript like it can in OS 9.
Did I say EMAIL me or what??
:P
Someone needs to leasn how to follow directions.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
it's no wonder wardriving is so popular in the USA. Yanks love their cars and driving, and they don't mind a bit of war (get Saddam), so the term 'wardriving' apeals to their collective psyche immensely.
If you bothered to check, its called the World Series, because it was started by the World newspaper, hence the World series. If it was started by the times, it would be called the Times series.
Normally I'd say someone was ignorant but since you know about google, clearly you made no effort to confirm your assumption, so your stupid.
BTW it(wardriving) was a world event, the fact that you didn't participate is hardly the fault on North America.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
No, manufacturers hold one key to solving this: if they would print in bold letters on a bright red label on the outside of the box, "WARNING: THIS PRODUCT BROADCASTS YOUR NETWORK (INCLUDING PR0N SURFING) TO ANYONE WITHIN ONE QUARTER OF A MILE", it would help.
-- I avoid spam by accepting only OpenPGP encrypted or signed email at this address. Clear-signed, RFC2015, heck, even
Brian
Remember Lexington Green!
I read the email... I was making a suggestion. I'd not want the slashdot effect in my inbox.
I'll send the email.
A better example would be Aussie Rules Football except that there has never been a "World" anything and it's called "Aussie" rules.
And for the poster above, neither Ireland or Scotland have world class cricket teams. Not sure what they play in Scotland but Ireland play a game called Curling I believe. It's sort of an unusual cross between field hockey, soccer, rugby and war.
Nerd: Derogatory term typically directed at anybody with a lower Slashdot ID than you.
Using "service" from someone who is- not deprived of use of the service themselves, and is not permitted to sell that service themselves anyway, does not sound like theft.
At worst, I suppose its like staring at your neighbor's shapely wife. Rude maybe, but theft?
Yeah glad you stuck in the emoticon, I think a lot of people do get a buzz out of the 'war' association, kind of macho big dick stuff. Me, I got mugged a week ago, kicked to the ground and kicked in the head multiple times by several teenagers trying to get my bike and wallet. Ouch, not nice. More to the point if this was not nice then the whole idea of war, people trying to shoot me with guns would probably be even less pleasant. So I think I'll skip the war=cool thing... (Sort of happy ending: a woman in a house across the road came out and shouted at the kids from her window, called the police and the kids ran off. I gave chase, well limped, and a biker dood gave me a lift and we caught up with the kids and got my bike back off them. Goes to prove there are good and bad people in the world).
Or a job?
See for many of us it isn't that easy. Look at the unemployment numbers for this month and you'll see why.
Get your Unix fortune now!
Now drive around town. Whenever you encounter an 802.11 access point, the computer will speak to you with the name of the network.
Cool...
I must remember to change my SSID to "This is the police. Pull over."
:-)
Information wants to be beer.
I've been reading all these replies to my post, and felt that I should clarify. (Maybe it's not a good idea right now, I've been up all night from insomnia) I sort of assumed that people would be eventually using these unsecured access points to get a free internet connection. I imagine there are people out there who just record where the open WAPs are. However, from what I've read in the newspapers, magazines, web, etc., I have noticed that people have been marking these spots like hoboes used to do or maybe still do. Or maybe there's a web site out there that catalogs them all. Now there's no point in doing that besides letting others know where the free access is. That results in eventual theft of service. So while just cataloging the open wireless transmissions isn't theft of service, making these spots widely known seems to me to be a bit unscrupulous, like a locksmith publishing his book of lock backdoors to the Internet. Hopefully you understand what I was getting at.