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."

Comments

"wardriving is not a crime" hmmm

[fantomas]

"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...)

Somebody please clear this up for me...

[psxndc]

While white hat hacking can be argued to be ethical (like Adrian Lamo type people), I don't see how wardriving does _not_ lead to unethical practices. It may be interesting how many people have open networks, but really what "good" does war driving accomplish? Do war drivers stop at the house and tell the people "Hey, you're network is open, and this is how you fix it"? What "good" comes out of knowing where wireless service is available?

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

who f-ing cares?!?

[SethJohnson]

Why have an event ... indeed! What is the goal here? Awareness? Big deal! In the grand scheme of things, are unsecure wireless networks going to mean anything real to humankind? Is this Wardriving 'event' going to draw attention to a subject that will make someone think twice about something that might save the lives of themselves and/or others?

To put this in perspective, consider that for years cellphones were 100% open to eavesdropping. In one case this vulnerability was exploited to expose a scandalous affair Prince Charles was having. Did people take notice and say, "Damn. I better get some encryption going on!" No.

Even if every wireless AP owner knew people might be accessing their networks surrepititiously, would they really care enough to do something about it? Probably not.

Re:Idiot Administrators

[Melantha_Bacchae]

hillct wrote:

> It boggles the mind that so many administrators
> unintentionally leave their wireless networks open
> and available

It doesn't boggle anything when you get off you geeky high horse and realize that most people buying and installing wireless network equipment are not "administrators" of any sort. They are ordinary people who don't know a thing about network security, but just need a net to work. The only thing that boggles the mind is that you would rationalize preying upon their ignorance.

The manufacturers hold one key to solving this. If they would make the configuration of these networks secure by default, and give people easy to understand instructions for enabling security: "Yes, I want to make my network safe from invading hordes of young hoodlums.", it would help.

"Godzilla and Jaguar: Punch! Punch! Punch! Hit! Hit! Hit!
We die if they stop fighting for us."
Jet Jaguar Song, "Godzilla vs. Megalon"