Windows XP Hacks

War Driving for WiFi Access

WiFi networks are everywhere, it seems; you can get free Internet access on wireless community FreeNets armed with your laptop, a car, and software called Network Stumbler.

One of the coolest technological advances in popular use today is the wireless network. Wireless networks based on the WiFi standard (802.11x) are becoming increasingly common across the country—not only in people’s homes, but also in universities, corporations, coffee shops, airports and other public places. Now you can bring your email to Starbucks.

There are frequently dozens near one another, particularly in certain urban neighborhoods and suburban office parks that house high-tech companies. Where I live—in Porter Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts—there are dozens of wireless networks in private homes, apartment buildings, and businesses within a very short walk from my home. There are at least half-a-dozen on my three-block street alone, in addition to mine. From my back porch, I get access to my own wireless network, but can also often pick up signals from four nearby WiFi networks.

The widespread availability of these inexpensive WiFi networks has led to a grassroots community wireless networking movement. The idea is simple: allow people passing by to use your WiFi network to hop onto the Internet and they in turn let you and others use their WiFi networks for Internet access when you pass near their homes or places of business. These wireless grassroots organizations ...