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Auto-Scanning the Names People Choose For Their Wireless APs

Posted by timothy on from the just-name-them-all-hidden dept.

MichaelSmith writes "I code on the tram, going to and from work, and I noticed that there are a lot of WiFi access points along the way. So one week I made it my job to write an automatic scanner which runs from a cron job every minute during commuting times. My backup script pushes the new AP names to my web server and you can read it online. It is a mixture of the straightforward, naive and funny, with a few pop culture references along the way. The first column in the file is the number of access points with that name. The second column is the AP name, in brackets to pick up white space." Why can't "Dress Me Slowly" and "Domestic Bliss" just share an AP?

24 of 422 comments (clear)

  1. Best SSID by thewils · · Score: 5, Funny

    The SSID I use is "Honeypot"

    --
    Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
    1. Re:Best SSID by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I named mine "GOATSE", no password, no encryption, but unauthorized connections get redirected automatically... They can't say they weren't warned.

    2. Re:Best SSID by bertoelcon · · Score: 4, Funny

      I use "GetOffMyLawn". It is very fitting for having a large enough yard that you can't see it without being on the lawn or in the house.

      --
      Anything can be found funny, from a certain point of view.
    3. Re:Best SSID by cpt+kangarooski · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't you mean Get off my LAN?

      --
      -- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
    4. Re:Best SSID by Dun+Malg · · Score: 4, Funny

      Mine is called "NotForYou!".... and then is unsecured. I like to be generous to those who don't do as they're told

      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
    5. Re:Best SSID by cdrudge · · Score: 5, Funny

      The w in lawn is silent.

    6. Re:Best SSID by fatbuttlarry · · Score: 3, Funny

      Mine's called "Linksys" and the password is "1234", but there must be a problem because it always lists two of them and some times I make changes and it doesn't save.

    7. Re:Best SSID by ivoras · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a wrong way to do this conversation - you really need to pull something like: "I'm concerned the radiation levels of your wireless router are causing you all to have brain cancer" followed by "innocent" inquiries into if anyone on the office has headaches or problems sleeping, suggesting the AP might be the cause. It's bullshit of course but the only way to get people interested is to make it about *their* asses. If you're good enough (i.e. go through it in a really circumspect way) you may even get them to pay you to investigate and reconfigure the said AP :)

      --
      -- Sig down
  2. On a lazy Saturday evening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    MichaelSmith /.s his own server.

    1. Re:On a lazy Saturday evening by MichaelSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

      erm... "coral cache" rings any bell?

      It does now.

      --
      http://michaelsmith.id.au
  3. Having RTFA for once... by AccUser · · Score: 5, Funny

    My favourite is the tie fighter: ]-o-[

    --

    Any fool can talk, but it takes a wise man to listen.

  4. Re:hi neighbor! by adolf · · Score: 4, Funny

    I ran across one recently that called itself "BURN. FACIAL. SUCK IT."

    I've been thinking about putting together a cron job on a spare WRT router that periodically switches between various funny or disparaging SSIDs, myself. I might even leave it unencrypted, with DHCP on, with a random goatse appearing instead of net access.

    --
    Kid-proof tablet..
  5. Re:hi neighbor! by OverlordQ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Upside-Down-Ternet.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  6. Re:hi neighbor! by Rorschach1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I came across one in Hong Kong called "DON'T STEAL MY FUCKING WIFI". And of course, it was unsecured.

  7. Re:What you are doing is ILLEGAL, IMMORAL, and IIM by Xarun · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why would slashdotting your own website be illegal?

  8. Re:Only 29 Named 'Linksys'? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

    They are the nation's largest provider of free wifi, with their fierce competitor "dlink" close behind...

  9. Re:Once in Washington DC... by Gangis · · Score: 5, Funny

    I saw one near a Subway restaurant that said "Jared Is Still Fat"

    Also died laughing.

    --
    "Black holes are where God divided by zero." - Steve Wright
  10. Best Secure SSID by AmigaHeretic · · Score: 5, Funny

    I got rid of of passwords, WPA,WPA2,WEP or whatever crap and just changed my SSID to "$5.99 per minute".

    I check the logs and have never seen a single person connect to my router.

  11. Re:Tram? Get real... by Cimexus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah because as everyone knows, Australia is in Europe...

  12. Re:hi neighbor! by Jello+B. · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, it sure takes a lot of genius to hear about something and post it to Slashdot in a relevant discussion. Somebody get this guy a fucking Nobel Prize in physics.

  13. Re:If you know enough to change the name... by JustOK · · Score: 3, Funny

    Their both right.

    --
    rewriting history since 2109
  14. Australia? by RevWaldo · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm surprised all the SSIDs aren't "Bruce".

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  15. Re:answer. by GigaplexNZ · · Score: 5, Funny
    Opening line:

    I code on the tram, going to and from work and I noticed that there are a lot of wifi access points along the way.

    I thought about it.

    Sincerely,
    Derp

  16. Quiet Street by Jeffrey_Walsh+VA · · Score: 5, Funny

    I leave an AP open using my street number as SSID. Its outside my firewall and bandwidth is throttled to 15% of my 15/25 Fios. I check the logs sometimes. Its usually someone who came out on a service call, probably logging the job and gettting directions to the next gig. I saw repeated connections once so I blocked the mac address. Shortly after, my close freinds next door noted to me that thier wireless stopped working. I went over and set up their Fios router for wireless.