How do you wifi guys stand it?

monkeyracer · 07-23-2007, 11:22 PM

I am curious why a lot (a whole lot) of people use wifi for their internet connections.

Ok, you have to be near a hot spot. Cool, even with your long range antennas, your computer has to acquire the ip, settings etc. So is it worth it?

Especially with all the mobile broadband cards out there.

Sprint and Verizon are leading the way with the fastest speeds, and best overall coverage on this, but even at&t and t-mobile have options.

While waiting for someone outside their house a few weeks back, I pulled out my laptop, loaded in my Broadband card, and pulled up the e-mail to make sure I was at the right place, and time. While I was putting the laptop away, My client's wife came up to me, and knocked on the window, and told me this:

"Why don't you go and steal someone else's internet connection?"

After explaining I was there to meet her husband, and didn't even turn wifi on, she was of course embarrassed. But I can't blame her.

Why would I want to be sitting outside the coffee shop, trying to access my e-mail, or google something? oh, and all the unsecured connections out there can be scary.
I'd rather just (have my passenger) click the right links in my front end, and get the information while driving.

So my question to the wifi'ers, is this:
How do you stand all the issues with trying to get a wifi connection on the road?

Why not just own up to it and pay for a better, more reliable, (a lot more) secure connection?

moleman · 07-23-2007, 11:38 PM

The price, for me, is prohibitive. The only thing I could really see using it for is traffic updates, and I don't want to pay $40+ a month to avoid traffic. Especially now that they have those pretty electronic billboards that advise you of impending gridlock.

Maheriano · 07-24-2007, 12:50 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by monkeyracer

"Why don't you go and steal someone else's internet connection?"

Why doesn't she learn what a MAC filter is?

For me it's the price as well. There's no way I can pay that price for a few weather updates.

BarryWoods · 07-24-2007, 02:46 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Maheriano

Why doesn't she learn what a MAC filter is?

For me it's the price as well. There's no way I can pay that price for a few weather updates.

Mac filtering won't do ****. I can change my mac address at will. I don't know about you guys, but $40 a month or whatever it is, is way cheaper than a felony conviction. Me, I can wait till I'm at work or home.

Code:

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
        ether aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff 
        media: autoselect (<unknown type>) status: inactive
        supported media: autoselect

Yea, I already changed it...
A quick

Code:

sudo ifconfig en1 ether de:ad:be:ef:12:34:56:78

and I get

Code:

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
        ether de:ad:be:ef:12:34 
        media: autoselect (<unknown type>) status: inactive
        supported media: autoselect

So mac filtering really does nothing.

ironfinger · 07-24-2007, 05:02 AM

how do you find out the mac address you have to copy? and WPA key?

DarquePervert · 07-24-2007, 05:08 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ironfinger

how do you find out the mac address you have to copy? and WPA key?

This isn't the forum to discuss how to defeat wifi security, or security of any sort.

ironfinger · 07-24-2007, 05:16 AM

i was being rhetorical. The last time I was setting up my security, it seemed like MAC filters, WPA, and disabling SSID where pretty much good enough. Unless things have changed.. Of course nothings perfect, but i doubt it's something but a few people could crack.

edit oh.. and lol, I'm glad there are people who are clueless about security. Keeps the sharks away from me!

moleman · 07-24-2007, 07:01 AM

That was my point. I only use the wifi when I am in the driveway or on campus. The only thing I could see needing to be connected to the internet for while physically driving is traffic updates. Who can read an email at 60 mph (and survive)? Just not worth the money.

disabling ssid broadcasting doesn't help much. it can be a pain to set up, and while your router isn't broadcasting the ssid, every client looking for that network is. There isn't really any good wireless security other than a weak signal.

monkeyracer · 07-24-2007, 09:51 AM

i can download e-mails while driving, and then, when i'm stopped and it's safe to do so, read through them. also, my passenger can go onto google and look up a restaurant we want to go to, get the number, and call for reservations, etc.

for me the cost is negligible. i use the mobile broadband as my only internet access. So I just bring the card with me in my car.

RE: MAC address (or other security) it's not about bypassing any security, or any of that. It's more about the fact that you have to go stop somewhere and sit outside the place, to get your weather updates, etc. Also my client just happened to get new equipment and hadn't gone through their security set-up anyways.

I actually only pay $15/month for it (employee discount!) but after I leave this company, I will gladly pay $60/for the access. This is the competing rate for other connections, and I get speeds like this:

This is an average speed, most of the time I get around this number.

My whole point with the thread is, how do you guys do it? Go sit in front of coffee shops when you need to update anything?

Oh, and you can get dictation software (TTS) to read the email to you, or web pages, etc. The situation above would have been a perfect situation. I could have had my e-mail in the background, downloading new messages, and when I stopped, I could have just gone through my front end to the email and made sure I was at the right place and time.

BarryWoods · 07-24-2007, 11:36 AM

That's pretty decent speed for cell. A buddy and I were driving back home from a class down in Anchorage and he had his d-link DIR-450. He was checking his e-mail in the middle of Denali National Park.

moleman · 07-24-2007, 04:40 PM

I am mostly driving from home to campus, and can get a wireless signal from the car fairly easily in both places. I set up outlook to download all my email when I first get into the car, and can check it if I absolutely need to. I've never really needed to use it between home and school. It's only a 30 min drive. Occasionally I use the wifi to run remote desktop and fix some stuff on the computer from inside the house. The humidity is awful here in the summer.

At $15 a month I would definitely think about it.

monkeyracer · 07-24-2007, 10:14 PM

ya, for $15 a month you have to work for the company... if you know an employee, you can get it for $50...

RAMRunnr · 07-25-2007, 10:13 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by moleman

snip Occasionally I use the wifi to run remote desktop and fix some stuff on the computer from inside the house. snip

That is what I use my wifi for in my van, the only one of my cars with wifi. Originally, I ran a Ethernet cable through a window for about a week, that got old real quick!

I set mine up with the profiles feature in the included software to only connect to a few wifi routers (mine, my brother's, My cousin's, and my girlfriend's; all secured with the encryption key loaded into the software.) The software will not auto-connect. It will notify me about a new connection and if I want to connect and add it, but If I ignore it will disappear after about 15 seconds.

kleicl · 07-26-2007, 12:45 AM

I use wifi in my setup because i only use the net to download new programs and update my software when i am parked in the garage. And on the occasion of driving past hotspots they are a cheap component to have. But it pays off in the long run

When the wireless broadband cards go down in price i might pick one up.

kleicl

moleman · 07-26-2007, 02:05 AM

holy crap, I just did a speed test of my set up at home, and your mobile setup is faster, Monkey!
is there any way to hook that thing up to a router?