Google WiFi+VPN Confirmed

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Posted by CmdrTaco on Tuesday September 20, 2005 @01:52AM from the only-a-matter-of-time dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Google is actually (confirmed!) rolling out their wifi network, first in the San Francisco bay area (see the FAQ for details.) They are also including a Secure Access program for use in conjunction with this. So far, as per usual, it's in beta, and only for the San Fran bay area. Soon the entire US, perhaps??"

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XP and 2K only... by yorugua · 2005-09-20 01:59 · Score: 5, Interesting

... is google turning *that* evil ?
The Next Step by ZurichPrague · 2005-09-20 02:00 · Score: 5, Interesting

And the next step (after rolling it out nationwide) is to introduce a cheap ($30?) handset that accesses the network. A "cellphone" with free phone calls -- forever.

That whistling is the sound of every phone company imploding at once.
Re:Just makes sense by MoogMan · 2005-09-20 02:20 · Score: 4, Interesting

On the upshot, properly targeted adverts are useful for the consumer too. If you see an advert for a product that you are likely to buy anyway, then that's probably not a bad thing.
Re:Where are they? by Tony+Hoyle · 2005-09-20 02:32 · Score: 4, Interesting

There are none.

It's a VPN. Nothing more.
PPTP VPN by Jacco+de+Leeuw · 2005-09-20 02:36 · Score: 4, Interesting

Google seems to use PPTP as their VPN protocol. In theory this should mean that you can use other OSes than Windows 2000/XP as well, if you configure the connection manually.
However, they seem to be generating the username and password on the fly. The username consists of a number. I had expected that you'd have to use your Gmail username and password but this is not the case. There is something fishy about it. Presumably the Google Secure Access client retrieves some credentials over an out-of-band connection (HTTPS? Will have to figure out with a network sniffer).
There are some curious things in the VPN connectiod that GSA creates. First, they use an IP address (66.28.250.27) instead of vpn.google.com. The IP address is not even owned by Google. The connectiod allows the outdated protocols CHAP and MS-CHAPv1 to be used. Ouch. It also binds the MS Client and File and Printer Sharing to the connection. You better have a firewall on your system before you connect. PublicVPN seems to be a better option but it is not free.

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1. Re:PPTP VPN by Jacco+de+Leeuw · 2005-09-20 03:05 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Yup, just as I thought: they use HTTPS to vpn.google.com before the PPTP connection is set up. Presumably to generate the username and password.
  I can connect with my Gmail account but then the connection hangs at the "Port opened" message...
  
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Re:This isn't an ISP it's a VPN client. by MullerMn · 2005-09-20 03:18 · Score: 4, Interesting

I guess one side effect is that I should be able to anonymously browse the web through google.

Presumably, you mean anonymous to everyone except Google, who will be keeping much tighter logs on what you are up to than your normal ISP would anyway (in line with their terms of service)?