Wireless Hacks 134
Wireless Hacks | |
author | Rob Flickenger |
pages | 286 |
publisher | O'Reilly |
rating | 8 |
reviewer | hanksdc |
ISBN | 0596005598 |
summary | Tips and Tricks for getting the most out of your wireless network |
From the back cover we find that the book is targeted towards the intermediate to advanced wireless user, and I found that definitely to be the case. Some of the hacks use a lot of technical jargon, and assume a fair amount of background knowledge from the reader. You should probably already know how to get a wireless link up and running to really benefit from the book. But don't let that be a deterrent if you're a newbie. It's still a fun read, and provides a lot of ideas for the inquisitive and creative mind.
The book is very readable, (all the Hacks series books I have read would, like their venerable ancestor, UNIX Power Tools , make for great bathroom books). Each hack is self-contained, and can be read in just a few minutes. You can read the book straight through, or browse around, find what interests you and go from there. Most hacks have references to other hacks in the book, so reading it can be like browsing a web page sometimes. Many hacks also have references to further sources of information on the topic covered.There are hacks here for UNIX/Linux platforms mainly, but all you Ti/Al-Powerbook zealots will find plenty to lick your lips over as well, with several of the hacks devoted to wireless networking with OS X. There are even some for the Windows users as well. Many of the hacks (since they deal with hardware) could be utilized on any platform. Well, ok, you might have a bit of a hurdle to get your Pirouette cantenna hooked up to your vintage Apple ][c, but this book makes a good breeding-ground of ideas for those so inclined.
The book is divided into several chapters, each devoted to a particular topic. Each chapter contains a number of hacks related to that topic:
- Chapter 1, "The Standards," covers the alphabet soup of current wireless protocols, with a brief introduction to each.
- Chapter 2, "Bluetooth and Mobile Data," covers Bluetooth technology (need to use your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to act as a modem for your laptop in a pinch? If only those phones weren't so pricey...*sigh*)
- Chapter 3, "Network Monitoring," is all about finding out what's going on on the local network, including various ways to sniff traffic, broadcast network services, perform network discovery, and analyze traffic.
- Chapter 4, "Hardware Hacks," gets down to the metal, discussing topics ranging from boosting signal strength to building your own access point from micro form-factor hardware to cabling and antenna guides.
- Chapter 5, "Do-it-Yourself Antennas," describes various ways to build your own antennas all the way from Pringles cans to milled aluminum wave guides (Don't forget to use ventilation when soldering ;-).
- Chapter 6, "Long distance Links," offers tips on setting up, well, long distance wireless links.
- Chapter 7, "Wireless Security," dispels the vendor-propagated myths of WEP 'security,' and gives practical advice on how you can avoid the guy next door from sniffing your private traffic (not that you'd have anything to hide, of course...).
Throughout the book there is a lot of information repeated from Building Wireless Community Networks, as well as a few hacks copied over from Linux Server Hacks [Slashdot review here], but all together it makes a very useful collection, and a nice addition to O'Reilly's Hacks series.
So what's my take on it? If you're doing just about anything with an 802.11x network, you'll likely find something fun or useful here. If you're brand new to wireless networking, you may want to come up to speed with something a bit more tutorial-oriented. Perhaps one drawback to the book is its recipe-style format. There's not a lot of background information offered with each hack, but rather a lot "do this, then this, and you get this." If you're not used to hacking and experimenting with things, you might find yourself a bit lost. It certainly isn't a college textbook, which can be both good and bad, depending on what you're looking for.
Overall, if you're the forward-thinking, range-extending, hardware-tinkering, soldering-iron wielding, average slashdot reader, you'll probably find it a fun read with lots of good ideas to offer.
You can purchase Wireless Hacks from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Hacker's challenge 2 (Score:5, Insightful)
www. no cat . net (Score:4, Informative)
Speaking of wireless (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:1)
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:2)
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:1)
Could someone with more better smarts than I explain me this:
I have a monthly hotspot subscription, with my cell phone. I was wondering how hotspot works... I can resolve network names (ping cnn.com will come back allright) before I log in but the web browser always points me to the t-mobile login screen. Also, I don't see anyone else on the network once I log in.
I ran ethereal during a login session, and didn't
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:3, Informative)
1. They set a wildcard in their DNS server, so every query returns the same IP address, probably of their authentication server.
or
2. They have an HTTP proxy server that intercepts everybody who is not authorized for access, and then the DNS could still function normally.
The problem with number two is then in theory, if DNS queries still work right, then SSH, POP3, IMAP, etc probably works fine, and that would def
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:1)
They could redirect all outbound connections to a proxy, no matter what it is (it would just break the protocol).
If you're using their DNS server, then you would still resolve names, but even your SSH or POP3 connections would be redirected to the proxy and fail.
I think I saw something working in this fashion somewhere...
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:1)
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:1)
I was running a netStumbler scan for rogue APs, and I was able to see the T-Mobile network inside Starbucks, even after it was closed. I got a signal that would have been good enough for a 1 mbps connection from about 1/2 of every floor. And this with the punk-ass built-in "tab" antenna on a
Re:Speaking of wireless (Score:2)
The DefCon presentation describes their authentication setup, IIRC.
What about the rest of us... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What about the rest of us... (Score:2)
Dunno about everything else, but that tinfoil hat and a can of pringles will help with your office and neighborhood wireless hacking, as this article [nycwireless.net] explains.
Re:What about the rest of us... (Score:1)
Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1, Informative)
Working for a company where security is of the utmost concern, I don't see 802.11 taking over anytime soon. While the speeds and reliability are getting better, it's still just too easy to find a way in. Not broadcasting the link help, but even that's not foolproof for people who know what their doing.
I don't know if you'll ever see this sort of technology in main stream business, but for home Lan's it sure is cool. Personally however, I'm just not a big fan of even thi
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:4, Interesting)
Right now I can use the 'net all around the center of the city I live in, Leiden (of Pilgrims fame). In a few months a commercial ISP will provide internet access through the wifi-network. Quite how they want to make profit, I don't know. Still, it's cool to walk with my Ipaq (opie linux) in my hand and see all the networks around me. Most people just think I'm playing with some pda or gameboy.
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:3, Insightful)
Too bad I can only get Roadrunner. My neighbor has Roadrunner also, but they are home at different times of the day and really just use it as a faster AOL so they don't have to wait so long for pages to load. For a 50% reduction in costs, I'd probably see barely a 5% reduction in service.
Speakeasy handles the billing? (Score:2)
Have they changed their service or somesuch?
-Zipwow
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:2, Troll)
The current problem is that wireless cards work by broadcasting the signal out over a sphere, typically having a radius of around about 100m. This is great in that neither the transmitter or the receiver need to have much spatial directionality, however it meansd that anybody within that radius can tap into your traffic and start breaking any encryption you hyave going.
Now
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
We have a VPN as well, and yes I could do this for the office. I would be comfortable as long as there were no DHCP on the wireless segment, or perhaps MAC address restrictions, so war drivers could not just hop on. But this is of limited value. My users want wireless so they can use it at home, in the airport, at Starbucks, at conferences, etc. These are the real reasons they want
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:2)
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
Maybe Ill just see about setting up a VPN here...
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
My needs are small:
I mean, you let me into security without checking for f
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
802.11 is easy to hack, too easy. Scanning for unprotected networks is childs play, and even for someone who know's what they are doing, it still can't be protected enough to use as a viable option.
I have salesmen going crazy because I won't give in to the push of a wireless connection, but when you're dealing with a financial institution, and countless amounts of other people's money, it's just not an option.
Getting into th
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:1)
Re:Wireless still = Dangerous (Score:2)
SSH tunnels are so useful.
Why Wireless? (Score:5, Insightful)
Unless you've got an office full of notebooks, the best solution still seems to be a mixture of both wireless and wired...with wireless locked down as much as possible (even to the point of having to VPN through to the internal network).
It's fairly scary that one of the main reasons people go wireless if for convenience (and supposed simplicity for home users) -- and it's these same home users that will probably not take the time and effort to learn how to secure their network.
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is this that hard of a concept? Sometimes cabled just isn't an option.
you always have choices (Score:2)
Re:you always have choices (Score:1)
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:3, Insightful)
If the bandwidth is adequate, you have ZERO cost in moving a wireless office from point A to point B.
Wireless has been a GODSEND in/under/around Hotel conferences (the SANS security conference was REALLY cool: Track 1 was how to hack, Track 3 was how to catch the hackers...the wireless packets came rapidly and were Very Interesting.)
Any traveler with a reasonably secure setup has an office just about anywhere he opens the lid on his laptop.
Why wireless? If you spent
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:1)
Yes, I have wireless at home. No, I've never found that the cat5e I ran (2 totally independant networks) is no longer necessary. Ever transferred 10GB of MP3s over your 802.11b?
Mark
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2)
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2)
Or an oftused conference room. Don't have to have a rat's nest of wires growing out of the floor to each seat.
You're right. A mix of wire/wireless is best. Use the wireless only when you need to. But that still leaves open the possibility of holes in the system.
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2)
1. We have computers for many people.
2. I do not want wire all over the place becuase it does look ugly. And punching holes in the walls is more trouble than its worth.
Why wires? (Score:3, Insightful)
I question wired networks. They make sense for servers and backbones. For most users though, wires to the desktop do not make sense. Copper isn't free, and you have to pay someone to run the wires to each desktop. Hope you run enough wires too, or you will pay him to go back latter when one guy comes up with a good reason to run 3 computers in his cube. (I've known several good reasons to do this) Of course you could run more wire to each cube just in case, but then your costs have gone up a lot more.
Security and Reliability (Score:1)
Also if it is not important to you at all that your network access stays maximum reliable..., that you are happy when it works and and don't mind random and capricious outages and packet loss due to microwave ovens and other devices in the 2.4GHz range interfering with the wi-fi har
Re:Why wires? (Score:2)
Isn't that an oxymoron?
Re:Why wires? (Score:2)
Maybe if all 3 were on different networks.....
I think wireless is more for laptops than anything else, as you have to have a power line for the desktops anyway, and they don't move much.
Re:Why wires? (Score:1)
Management and network design. You can only have so many hubs on a network, at most 4 between any two points (you can have more if you use a tree design, but you still can't get very many) Allowing hubs in cubes makes it that much harder to design your wiring. (With switches this isn't quite as bad as it was when I first encountered people wanting more computers in their cub than IS wired for)
Management is the next problem. Managed hubs give IS some abilities they really like, but managed hubs are more
Re:Why wires? (Score:2)
I just like the looks of little wires, they're so cute...
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2)
Too many apps to mention. You need to think this through.
it's these same home users that will probably not take the time and effort to learn how to secure their network.
Sometimes the paranoia around here is so thick you can smell it.
Most of the people you are concerned about probably were hooked up direct to cable internet on a win98 box before they went wireless. Is it really that much worse to have an unsecured or poorly secured WLAN?
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:1)
Think about it -- not only can you have your machine exposed to the Internet on a dedicated line, you now also allow drive-by access to your internal network, and can act as a proxy to anything they may want to do online. Neat, huh?
When someone ignores security issues, they not only fsck themselves, they also fsck up the people around them. Cleaning up
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2)
1. Clueless users.
2. Insecure technology.
Put the two together and you have problems. The supply of clueless users is endless and growing. In a few years there will be BILLIONS of new internet users around the planet.
Technology companies will continue to make the same tradeoffs they have been making-- if it's insecure it's easier to support.
WLAN is just one more example of i
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:2)
Office - we have 8 employees using 10 macs with airport and share a Cable internet connection into the office. We just moved in last week and it was $90 for a router and it would have been about $800 to have someone come
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:1)
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:1)
Trust me, wireless is a lot easier.
Re:Why Wireless? (Score:1)
Coolest Hack I've seen in awhile (Score:5, Interesting)
This guy's got snort running on it:http://www.batbox.org/wrt54g.html (with a remote nfsmount for logs)
and these guys have info on hackin 'em:
http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/Li
(I'm lazy, look out for the spaces)
same price at amazon (Score:1, Informative)
Spend $7.50 more to get free shipping.
Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:4, Interesting)
I read this [oreillynet.com] article awhile ago. Given that so many people are setting up wireless networks in their homes/apartments, it really makes me wonder how many of them are being hacked, and allowing their neighbors to get free Internet access.
On the other hand, it could be a good defense if you actually wanted to give your neighbor free access. ;-)
--
Slash
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:1)
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:3, Interesting)
-Mars
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:1)
open access for all (Score:2)
Ijust turned on my laptop to write a letter and my console indicated a connection. How nice for them to offer this to anyone.
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:1)
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:2)
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:2)
Then set up a second laptop as a warez server using your neighbor's unsecured network as free bandwidth.
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:1)
>hacked, and allowing their neighbors to get free
>Internet access.
If your network isn't wep encrypted then "hacked" is probably an exaggeration.
Re:Dispelling the Myth of Wireless Security (Score:2)
Saying 'isn't wep encrypted' is a misnomer.
WEP
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WLAN)
I have it at work (Score:1)
I've often wondered if any of our school's parents are smart enough to come up here with a laptop to try to get into the network, I'm not that worrie
Re:I have it at work (Score:1)
Inside telco wiring as WLAN antenna? (Score:2)
I've also wondered about connecting it up to the old-school UHF antenna that's hanging inside my attic (if not for the HOA, it would have been on my roof), but I don't know if that will do any good either...
Re:Inside telco wiring as WLAN antenna? (Score:1)
Re:Inside telco wiring as WLAN antenna? (Score:1)
As for your UHF antenna, it will probably be better than nothing, but not as good as the correct antenna since it is built for a different frequency.
Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:2)
Re:Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:2)
Explosive New [reference.com] Technology!
Re:Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:2)
Re:Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:1)
Re:Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:2)
Re:Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:1)
How far are you trying to go?
Re:Lazy and afraid of soldering irons (Score:1)
SCALE 2x (Score:1)
New WPA security ("improved WEP") any good? (Score:1)
Folks who have worked out other improvements over WEP also stressed key rotation.
So is WPA any good?
It requires FW updates on the client cards, or a card that alread supports it (several of the LinkSys "54G" (802.11g) client cards do support it).
The WRT54G router/AP and client
Re:New WPA security ("improved WEP") any good? (Score:1)
Another review of the same book (Score:2)
Re:Not to be anal, bu(t)t... (Score:1)
The platinum IIe cases used this font too IIRC, although my IIe is beige so I can't be sure. Apple uses the same font on everything to this day...
Re:Not to be anal, bu(t)t... (Score:1)