Wireless Hacks
100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
By Rob Flickenger
September 2003
This book is also available in Spanish.
Pages: 304
Series: Hacks
ISBN 10: 0-596-00559-8 |
ISBN 13: 9780596005597




(Average of 4 Customer Reviews)
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Description
Written for the intermediate to advanced wireless user, Wireless Hacks is full of direct, practical, ingenious solutions to real-world networking problems. Whether your wireless network needs to extend to the edge of your office or to the other end of town, this collection of non-obvious, "from the field" techniques will show you how to get the job done.
Full Description
It's an increasingly wired world, but many people are finding that the best way to get connected is to do away with wires entirely. From cable replacement to universal Internet connectivity, wireless technology is changing the way we connect to our machines and to each other.
As with any new technology, buying your gear is only the first step. Understanding how to make the best use of it is another story.
Wireless Hacks offers 100 industrial-strength tips about wireless networking, contributed by experts who apply what they know in the real world every day. Each Hack can be read in just a few minutes, but can save you hours of research.
Inside, you will find a wealth of useful techniques for making the most out of wireless technology, including:
- Making sense of the alphabet soup of the 802.11 standards, and understanding which technology makes sense for your solving particular problem
- Using Bluetooth, mobile radios, mobile data networks, and other exotic methods to keep you connected, no matter where you are
- Practical methods for detecting, analyzing, and monitoring wireless networks
- Extending the range of your network, and making the best possible use of the available radio spectrum
- Designing and building your own antennas
- Engineering long distance network links that span several miles
- Understanding the security issues of wireless networking, and protecting yourself and your users from unauthorized access and eavesdropping
Written for the intermediate to advanced wireless user,
Wireless Hacks is full of direct, practical, ingenious solutions to real-world networking problems. Whether your wireless network needs to extend to the edge of your office or to the other end of town, this collection of non-obvious, "from the field" techniques will show you how to get the job done.
Featured customer reviews

Wireless Hacks to the rescue,
August 28 2006
Submitted by
Matthew
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I work on networks and computers all the time, reading Wireless Hacks helped me loging on to different networks!
Wireless Hacks Review,
February 28 2004
Submitted by Mark
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I bought notebook with WIFI and using it on internet access, so this book was really neccesary for me!!! Evyrobody using Wireless should know about hacking over it!!!
Mark
Wireless Hacks Review,
February 16 2004
Submitted by Will Bober
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Rob Flickenger has done it once again and this time he actually used the word hacks in his latest book on wireless networking, fittingly entitled, Wireless Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools. The explosion and growth of wireless technology has a familiar feeling that takes one back to version 1.0 of web browsers and dialup connections that opened our eyes to a whole new world. From, imagine... I can see inline graphics, to, wow... I am streaming live content while sitting on my deck enjoying a cool one!
Wireless Hacks isnt a traditional book, but as the title implies, it is composed of one hundred tips, tricks, suggestions, DIYs (do it yourself), tools or simply *hacks* regarding all things wireless. Open it up to the index and browse for something that catches your eye. This book really is not meant to be read front to back although you can if you want. I found myself using my trusty old magazine technique of folding over pages of things I wanted to try out or that were quick solutions to current problems. There are enough nuggets in this book to make it worthwhile even for wired users (check out #36 Estimating Network Performance or all of Chapter 3: Network Monitoring).
Glen Flieshman mentions in the foreword that ... Rob Flickenger is an early adopters early adopter which sums up the value Rob brings to the table. He is a wireless pioneer paving the way to unplugging but yet staying connected and the really cool thing is that he is willing to share.
To find the Table of Contents, errata, sample chapters and purchasing information for, Wireless Hacks, see http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/wirelesshks
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Wireless Hacks Review,
January 04 2004
Submitted by Fox
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I found this book to offer many good ideas and methods to dealing with wireless equipment. While this book focuses on wireless networking equipment the chapters in this book can be applied to most any wireless application with some modification.
My only complaint is that sometimes there is not enough detail provided when explaining how to create antennas, devices, or align antennas at long distances. Some chapters could better serve with in depth explinations. Other than that, I found this book to offer a wealth of information that the reader can then expand upon and research if needed.
Media reviews
"A remarkably comprehensive and practical text that requires a reasonable level of technical knowledge, both on the hardware side and scripting side. For those who want to extend their knowledge of computer wireless the book contains some excellent introductory material."
--Major Keary,
Book News, 2004 No. 12
"
Wireless Hacks was one of the best no-nonsense books with tips and tools about wireless networks that I have ever read. Period. From the moment that I picked this book up and started reading, I was immersed in a wave of technological innovation and exciting curiosity to try every single one of the 100 'hacks' that were detailed in this book. Let me tell you, I tried my best!...If only the rating system went up to 10 I could give this book an 11. But, hence, I am restricted to only 5 out of 5 big grins."
--David Markley,
USALUC, May 2004
"'Wireless Hacks' aims to tell the reader everything they could possibly wish to know about setting up and improving the security of wireless networks...Real-life situations are covered with some style...There are very important guides on how to make the best of wireless and squeeze the last little drop of performance out of equipment."
--René Millman, "SC," January 2004
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