[ARCHIVED THREAD] - pirating wireless intraweb (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 6/4/2005 6:50:11 PM EDT
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I've been without a net connection for the last few days since I moved into my new apartment. I went out tonight and bought a USB wireless network card. woot:  Anything I need to do to make sure people can't use this network adapter to bust into my own machine? If I were sneaky, I'd buy a wireless router, set it up so that it appears open, then figure out some way to log information about people who use it. eg. if they check email with an unencrypted password, get the account name etc. Any way to make sure people aren't doing that to me? I just checked the default ip, login and password (admin/password) on the router I'm connected to, and it is open. Any interesting/useful fiddling with it I can do without tipping off the owner that it's open? |
| Most people that are dumb enough to leave an unsecured wireless network have no clue about getting into your computer. I have several houses on my route that I can pull in front of and surf the web. I just make sure not to acess bank accounts, email, etc while using someone else's connection. |
Why would it be illegal? The network is putting out a signal that is receivable by ANY computer with a wireless network connection, and is BROADCASTING it's identification. Free use. It's just cause the people that own the network are ignorant. ETA: Just don't have any file or printer sharing turned on, and run a software firewall that can monitor what programs access the TCP/IP stack. You'll be fine. |
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Be a good neighbor and tell people how to secure their wireless access points. Either they are leaving it open on purpose (in which case, go right ahead and use it) or they are too ignorant to read the owners manual, or the owners manual is written terribly and doesn't tell them that they need to lock it down. The assumption is that open and unencrypted means free to use. However, when the SSID is still factory default, there is a good chance they just don't know what they're doing. Jim |
Now that's black hat work there. There is a difference between normal hacking (which means learning about and figuring out the inner workings of a machine or system of any kind) and the kind of stuff you're proposing above. Once you figure out who it belongs to, you can offer to set it up for whatever level of security they want--I'd suggest locking it down to their computer(s) MAC addresses and doing basic encryption. Be a good hacker, help your neighbor! Don't make yourself part of the problem... Jim |
I should say that by the above I meant harmless things such as hiding traces of my presence and or adjusting settings to keep the router owner from getting harmed by possibly malicious users. I'm all for helping someone out and you're right, if I can find out who's it is, or communicate with them somehow, I'll help them secure it if that's what they want to do. I'm not out to screw with anyone. |
No way to enforce that unless it's blatent. My neighbors all have it and there are places where windows will automatically associate with that access point. How are you to know if it's supposed to be wide open for all to use or if the user is just ignorent of how to secure it? I've seen lots of Hotels with open APs that anyone in a 400' radius could use. Apparently that's how they meant to set it up. |
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The typical wireless connectivity solutions out there come with their security features turned off and you have to run them or enable it to get the standard protection offered in the device. Seems quite stupid as it is likely just as easy to have them come out of the box with it switched on and then give people instructions on how to turn it off if they so desired, the typical end user isn't likely to give it a thought if they aren't PC savy. On some other forums I've heard of some pretty nasty pranks pulled on people who've left their wireless connections open, some disturbing images for desktop images have been placed on people's desktops and that's just the tip of the iceberg from what I've read about. |
How do I get the main IP? |
Well, from the image you posted the four sources are all around 60%. You're in an apartment, so chances are it is someone no more than two apartment away from you--up, down, and to all sides. If you have a laptop, you can wander around and watch the signal strengths. If you're really good, you can use direction finding techniques and map it out. Sure, it's a bit of work, but I do things like that as a hobby (amateur radio). If it were me, I'd think about writing up a letter offering to help set up wireless net connections, mention that I saw two that are open connections, and explain that if you don't want to have an open connection that anyone can use, you need to set up the restrictions. You could just put this on a public bulletin board, or slip it under the doors of apartments near you. Don't forget floors above and below you! Of course, if I did so I'd also stop using the open connection until I had an answer, or a week or two went by and I had no answer. At that point, I'd be back to the assumption that the connection is open on purpose. Jim |
My suggestion would be this: MAC address filtering on as default, and the setup software helps you figure out your MAC address. (It is on a label on the wireless card). You'd have to choose to turn this feature off. Then it would strongly recommend enabling encryption, and you'd have to choose yes or no. Jim |
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IF you're posting through it now, chances are you can ask an ARFCOM moderator/admin to look at your IP posting address. Jim edit: http://www.whatismyip.com/ edit: http://www.dnsstuff.com/ (DNS tools, whois, etc.) |
doh ... should have thought of that got it |
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A while back on Tech TV they went "war dogging". They strapped a bunch of wireless crap to a dog and took him for a walk about the neighborhood with their laptop hooked up to the war dog. They also did a survey of a larger area where they rigged their wireless connection up to a laptop while flying a plane over the LA area and using GPS they mapped the non-secure connections for the area they flew over. Was pretty interesting, both episodes. |
WAY different. You don't have to go and mess with the property of the cable company, OR the property of the person that's broadcasting their SSID to all of Creation. Apples and Oranges. |
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To make sure that people can't bust into your machine, make sure that filesharing and printer sharing are turned off, and run a software firewall too. There's no way to keep various other people, including the owner of the connection and anyone close enough to "see" the network, from listening to your connection. The only protection is to use encrypted connections, and even then you have to be careful. There are progams out there for attacking SSL connections. I haven't messed with that much, but my understanding is that if one is being used, your computer will display messages about the server's certificate being invalid. But with the setup you have now, you can log everything that goes on on those networks, including any unencrypted passwords, websurfing habits and such that are sent over the network, including any other people borrowing that connection. There isn't a whole lot you can do to secure it that doesn't involve telling the owner. You could watch the network to determine the MAC address of all of the owner's wireless cards, and then set the router to accept only those addresses. Of course, that isn't all that secure, and the owner will probably notice if he tries to connect a new computer. As for finding our who it is, there's no really reliable way. As has been mentioned, you could just ask around or you could also walk around with the computer (assuming it's a laptop) and watch the signal strength to try and figure out which apartment it's coming from. |
| Here is a kicker. My buddys neighbors WiFi is faster then his cable! So he has been using his neighbors internet instead of his! I found if you drive around with your laptop on, you can find all sorts of places have wifi. We come a long way since the Apple IIes that I had as a kid. Writing a paper with one of those was a pain in the ass. Damn green screen too. |
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If a wireless access point is not intended to be public and you use it anyways (even if the owner is not smart enough to secure their connection) - you are a thief. You are stealing bandwidth from someone else who is paying for it. Unless you have permission from the person paying for the internet service, you should either get your own connection, or live without internet until you do. The best thing to go is get the IP that the Internet Service Provider is giving the connection (if the router is unsecured), and let his ISP know that the IP has an usecured wireless connection - so they at least can let their customer know and reccomend security measures. |
That's what I plan on doing ... after my connection is hooked up. It's a roadrunner IP ... same ISP as I use.
I don't feel too bad about it. I'm paying for rr at my old apartment right now but not using. They couldn't schedule the move to the new place until later in the month. |
+1 Wardriving is fun! 
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This morning I hung the usb cable out of my window, and was able to connect to the network of the hotel across the street. Their router was set up to shoot me to an click through webpage (agree/disagree) saying I won't do anything illegal with their network. So, this one looks to have been left open on purpose, since they obviosly did some configuring of the router but chose not to lock it down. |
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We have free wi fi access in my park courtesy of my work. It's great but there'e two secure access points across the airport that I'd like to block out. It seems everytime my connect drops or has issues it's one of those to places popping up. How can I block them? Oh, and I think theft of telecommunications is a federal crime. |
WiFi is almost certainly going to be faster than the broadband connection. Even if you have 10Mb/S downstream a standard 802.11b router is 11Mb/S. This does not mean you get 11Mb/S connection to your ISP, it simply is the transfer rate to the router. You will ultimately never see the benefit of the router's top speed unless you are sharing data over the local WiFi. So unless your buddy's neighbor has a really wide pipe, your buddy is only getting a couple of Mb/S actual connection to the net. |
Some venues like to use archaic laws to bust people. For example, the DA might consider it "Stealing Electricity", which carries a hefty fine and/or imprisonment in some areas, due to really old laws.  Like how stealing copper, in any amount, is a felony in Oklahoma due to a law dating back to the 19th century.  Check around with local law enforcement and ask hypothetical questions like "If you really wanted to get a guy, and he was doing this, what could you charge him with?" Nothing is worth going to jail over. Especially the goddamned internet.   
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The cable ISP I worked for didn't care. Routers, much less wireless was not supported. If they had an unsecured network it was their problem. We didn't care. Do-gooders would call in to report unsecured networks and we would just blow them of. One time a lady called in complaining that her wireles service from us wasn't working and complained of weak signal. She wanted a refund of service. Turns out the lady didn't have high speed service, she had been using the neighbors wireless and didn't know it. We don't get involved. |
who cares.... whos going to bust you.. the mattress police? |
Do you think its OK to to tap into Direct TV's signal that they broadcast into EVERYONES backyard? You dont have to mess with their "PROPERTY" to get TV. You dont need their card or receiver for it to work. The question is. "Is a broadcast signal private property"? If so then I dont want their private property beamed into my backyard. |