My first wardrive.

[Gogeta70]

Yeah, like the topic says, this is my first wardrive.

This guy brought me his computer because he had people wardriving his wireless network, and he said he couldn't connect to his internet now at all, because of it, he thinks.

So i'm sitting here with his laptop,i scanned for networks using cain, and found 6, 4 of which weren't secured. So i'm sitting here, in front of my computer and with a laptop, using the neighbors internet for no reason... lol.

By the way, do you guys think the problem is with their wireless router at home, or their laptop? It seems their laptop is in pretty good shape.

[Chaos1986]

Well If A Wireless Network Or Router Isn't Secured Anyone Can Just Hop Onto It. What Operating System Is On The Notebook? Another Thing Is Did They Enable Data Encryption? If Not Anyone Who Wanted To Could Grab Passwords And Account Numbers. What Brand Of Wireless Router Are They Using And Did They Put An Anti Virus, Anti Spyware, Anti Adware And Firewall On The Notebook? Also Why Does He Have Six Wireless Networks? Good Luck

[isapiens]

I bet its just a problem with a laptop. Chances that someone is consistenlty wardriving his home network is pretty low in my opinion...(unless its his neighbour) and even if they do maybe putting a wep key on will make the wardriver's life a bit harder i suppose.

ps: chaos, the 6 networks that gogeta picked up do not belong to that person. they belong to random people who are located nearby that laptop who have an unsecured wireless connection)

[bad_brain]

well, when you´re able to scan for networks with the lappy it´s most likely a router problem. try to ping the router with the lappy and see if you get a connection. to secure his network he should use encrypted connections (well, it´s np to crack it for a skilled wardriver, but it keeps at least all the skiddies out). another good possibility is to setup honeypots, so the attacker sees dozends of networks when he scans but only one is real, it´s too much effort to try them all so he usually gives up after a couple of attempts.

what router is it? maybe it´s possible to explicitly allow only certain MAC-adresses to connect.

[Gogeta70]

He brought his laptop over to my house, because he thought it was his laptop, so i'm really not sure. I'm hoping it's a linksys or a cisco router, because i know those are pretty good. I'll have to look up on how to set up a wep key on my own router, because i saw mine wasn't secure... lol. I guess i'ma be goin to the guy's house.

[Chaos1986]

I'm No Network Expert But Maybe This Might Help Solve The Problem.
I Would First Enable The Highest Level Of Data Encryption You Have Available To You. Second Get The MAC Address Of All The Computers You Want To Allow On The Wireless Network. Third Turn Off SSID Broadcasting Off. Fourth Set Up A Tight Network Key. Finaly Setup The MAC Address Filter And Like Bad_Brain Said "Setup Some Honeypots" To Make The Wardrivers Life A Living Heck. If You Want I Can Give You Ad-aware SE: Personal Edition, Spybot-Search And Destroy And, Windows Defender Hope You Can Get Your Task Done Easily.

[Gogeta70]

Thanks Chaos, but i've already got it done.

[Chaos1986]

Hey NP Always Glad To Help A Friend. I Hope The Networking Project That You Were Working On Didn't Give You Too Much Trouble. Sometimes Networking Can Be A Bit Of A Pain. You Sound Like A Good Friend To Have Gogeta70. Anyways Take Care

[Gogeta70]

Thanks, chaos.

[Gogeta70]

Hmm, the people didn't have wireless internet. They were jacking it off of their neighbor, thinking it was theirs. Their neighbor got tired of it and set up a WEP key... lol.

[isapiens]

u mean your friend was using his neighbours wireless?

[BlackSun]

Im not here to cause problems or rain on any ones fun, however I just thought I would share with all of you my past experiences. (for your benefit) I would suggest for your own safety not to publicly announce that you are using some one else’s wireless with out their permission. Wireless 'hacking' is one of my favorite things to do when I have free time. I have 2 AP's setup on my test lab one using Open-Wrt and the other with default firmware and I test different scenarios with each.(not to mention going out on the road as much as I can) None the less with that being said, I have read into every law I could find about wireless intrusion and its legal issue’s. It turns out... there arent very many. However, what they will stick you with is 'eavesdropping.' The same crap they stick people with who tap some ones phone with out the proper permissions or papers. This is becoming a rather big deal in the US and they are looking to make an example out of any one they can and get some laws passed along the way. With the growing number of wireless devices being distributed each year they need to do some thing about it and this seems to be their answer. I just wouldnt make it easier for them to trace any thing back to you. I do believe I read that one of the only ways for them to get you with the eavesdropping thing is for you to have some kind of packet sniffing/capturing device on your machine. (Which I do and Im sure many of you do) This essentially means that just by running Kismet you are breaking the law because it sniffs packets for information of a different layer of the OSI than say... Netstumbler. Therefore Netstumbler is legal because it just looks for AP's and Kismet actually examines the AP's packets, thus making is eavesdropping. This is also in the US, a lot of you may not apply to these specific rules.

Again, Im not trying to start any problems, I just every one to be aware of the possible consequences of simply clicking, 'connect'.

One last disclaimer Ill through in is that its also my belief through my reading of my own state law 'Indiana' that as long as you have the option 'connect automatically to unsecured networks' you are by no means breaking any laws, your computer is simply doing what microsoft programmed it to do. And it can be considered an 'accident.' (for windows users)

[Gogeta70]

That's basically what happened, it automatically connected to 'belkin5' which was my neighbors network. I didn't notice it though for a good while, until i decided to check for problems with the lap top, then i noticed that there were 4 different networks that i could connect to, including my own. I do see where you're going though.

[DNR]

As a prolific wardriver I can relate to this thread a lot.

I blame the owners of unsecured wifi's for this mess. It is true that M$ wifi connector will connect to any strong wifi AP. You have to select which one you should be using. Example, I like this library connection, it has a prime location out on the street for me to sit in my car, in the shade. But, nearby there are two other AP's, residental (one actually is named "momma's network" ) So when I came to this location, my lappy would connect to the strongest AP (not the library). You have to select Disconnect and you'll be prompted "if you want to connect to this network, you will have to manually connect.." This eliminates the computer from automatically connecting to the wrong AP.

How do people know you are surfing on their AP? Their router will be lighting up, while you are on it and they are not. Why is it a bad thing? Do you want your ISP thinking you are dl'ing kiddie porn or illegal software? Ever try to surf while someone is dl'ing a movie or large file? If I try to crack the Bank of Jamaica using your 'free' wifi', guess who will get a visit from the police first? The IP will come back to you, not the rogue lappie. If you are charged by amount of usage by your ISP, you'll be sapped.

People that live in condos and apartments can pick up neighbors' APs. I can also pull into a complex of several hotels and immediately pick up several 'free wifis', of course they were meant for hotel patrons, not me. I got this sweet hotel wifi that I can connect from a freeway onramp.

What is the risk for the wardriver? free wifi can mean 'no privacy', a box with a sniffer can be between the AP and the internet, and it can collect CC#s, user/pwds, and even playback your IMs and surfing.

Netstumbler is a bit better than CAIN, because it has an audible sound when it hits on wifi APs, so I don't have to stare at the CRT while driving. Whats more dangerous than someone on a cellphone? Someone looking and typing into a laptop while driving

I was approached by the police in this small town. Apparently someone called the police because I would show up almost everyday and 'sit in my car' for a few hours.
The officer pulled up behind me, lit up his lights, and approached me, I had the lappie in my lap, and I put my hands on the steering wheel. When he came up, I said "Can I show you what I am doing sir?" I then showed him my lap top, I went to M$'s wifi connection to show him that I was connected to a AP named "Library". I told him I was using the library's AP for email. Since the police lights got the attention of the librarian, she came out and I showed her too. Her comment was "wow, that is great, I didn't know people could get it outside!" The officer ran my name for wants/warrants, and probably even wrote up a report. Now, the police know what I am doing, and they just drive by waving at me.

Clear, polite communication will save your ass if this happens to you.

I do have all sorts of tools on my lappie. I disagree with the 'possession of hacking tools' implication. Remember, there is a law that prosecutes for "unauthorized access to a computer or network", that is exactly what you will be doing if you play on your neighbor's wifi. It is a five year felony, at the least you'll have your lappie impounded while you wait for court. You do not need hacking tools to get in trouble with this law, the M$ wifi connector will allow you to wardrive too. Of course you could claim "it was an accident" (but if you surf on it everyday and you don't even have a wifi network yourself, and the network is 'named' (like momma's network) it might be hard to prove in court), ignorance is not a good defense.

DNR

[isapiens]

So DNR are u saying common cops are trained to recognize wardrivers? I thought most of them wouldnt even know anything about wireless hacking.