Wardriving & Piggybacking

Two new terms I learnt tonight.

Wardriving

Is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle using such items as a laptop or a PDA. It is similar to using a radio scanner, or to the amateur radio practice of DXing.

Software for wardriving is freely available on the Internet, notably, NetStumbler for Windows, Kismet or SWScanner for Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and DragonFly BSD, and KisMac for Macintosh. There are also homebrew wardriving applications for handheld game consoles that support Wi-fi, such as sniff_jazzbox for the Nintendo DS, Road Dog for the Sony PSP and Stumbler for the iPhone.

Also see WarChalking.

Note: if anyone has images in Sydney of WarChalking, please send them to me at stusheridan@hotmail.com and I’ll compile a catalogue.

Piggybacking

Is a term used to refer to access of a wireless internet connection by bringing one’s own computer within the range of another’s wireless connection, and using that service without the subscriber’s explicit permission or knowledge. It is a legally and ethically controversial practice, with laws that vary in jurisdictions around the world. While completely outlawed in some jurisdictions, it is permitted in others.

A customer of a business providing hotspot service, such as a hotel or cafe, is generally not considered to be piggybacking, though non-customers or those outside the premises may be. Many such locations provide wireless Internet access as a courtesy to their patrons, either with or without an extra charge, or simply to draw people to the area.^[1]

Piggybacking is distinct from wardriving, which involves only logging or mapping of access points’ existence.

So is Piggybacking wrong?

Sources: one, two, three.

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~ by stusheridan on August 6, 2008.