Re: Finding *unfiltered* free WiFi? (was: WAP/Router for use with OpenVPN)

[Chip Marshall]

On July 10, 2009, Dave Johnson sent me the following:
> Google has been recording location data of WiFi APs (no surpise
> there), too bad the data isn't exported in a friendly way.  From what
> I can tell, anywhere that has been Street View'ed has also had all
> WiFi AP's recorded as the car passed by taking pictures.
> 
> This was rather obvious when using the iPhone 2G (no GPS).  It would
> contact some server via HTTPS and (presumibily) send nearby WiFi AP
> data in an attempt to get a more precise location.

I think the technology you're referring to is from Skyhook Wireless.
http://www.skyhookwireless.com/

-- 
Chip Marshall 
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Re: Finding *unfiltered* free WiFi? (was: WAP/Router for use with OpenVPN)

[Dave Johnson]

Bill McGonigle writes:
> 
> > We've got the `open database of general knowledge' (Wikipedia), the
> > open database of maps (OpenStreetMap), the open database of
> > speed-limit signs (Wikispeedia), the open database of GSM cell-sites
> > (OpenBmap)..., why not one for WiFi-hotspots?
> 
> We actually talked about this a bit at the DLSLUG meeting on
> OpenStreetMap.  A WiFi node is just another type of node, with a certain
> tag.  I think somebody said wardrivers have already automated this?  It
> makes more sense to add the data to OpenStreetMap than to create another
> database.

Google has been recording location data of WiFi APs (no surpise
there), too bad the data isn't exported in a friendly way.  From what
I can tell, anywhere that has been Street View'ed has also had all
WiFi AP's recorded as the car passed by taking pictures.

This was rather obvious when using the iPhone 2G (no GPS).  It would
contact some server via HTTPS and (presumibily) send nearby WiFi AP
data in an attempt to get a more precise location.

Worked great when driving down a street that had been Street View'ed.
Whenever an AP from someone's house got in range, it would narrow down
the location rather well.  As soon as you went to a street with no
street view pictures, it would revert back to the less accurate cell
tower location.

-- 
Dave
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Re: Finding *unfiltered* free WiFi? (was: WAP/Router for use with OpenVPN)

[Tom Buskey]

On Thu, Jul 9, 2009 at 6:43 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen wrote:

> Bill McGonigle  writes:
> >
> > On 07/07/2009 12:54 PM, Neil Joseph Schelly wrote:
> > >
> > > I run my company's OpenVPN endpoint on both UDP and TCP.  I send
> > > out configurations using UDP because it works in almost all
> > > circumstances, but there was once, with an employee travelling
> > > somewhere in Europe, where the hotel firewall/NAT didn't do
> > > anything for UDP connections.
> [...]
> > I hit a couple of these recently, in two different hotels on the same
> > trip!  Both only allowed DNS and HTTP/S (most of their guests only use
> > wifi for facebook and porn?).
> [...]
> > I've since set up this kind of config for a couple clients with mobile
> > salesforces that have had similar symptoms.
> >
> > At this point it seems "free wireless internet" is an insufficient
> > advertisement for a business traveler, and there's probably nobody you
> > can talk to ahead of time who can tell you what they allow.
>
> Start a wiki project? :)
>
> We've got the `open database of general knowledge' (Wikipedia), the
> open database of maps (OpenStreetMap), the open database of
> speed-limit signs (Wikispeedia), the open database of GSM cell-sites
> (OpenBmap)..., why not one for WiFi-hotspots?
>
> Actually, it looks like OpenBmap  has
> already expanded their scope to include WiFi hotspots; it seems like
> access-restrictions might be just the sort of data that they'd want to
> include in their database--I don't know whether they've considered
> that prospect, yet.
>
>
 http://www.wigle.net/ is a map + wardriving mashup.
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Re: Finding *unfiltered* free WiFi? (was: WAP/Router for use with OpenVPN)

[Bill McGonigle]

> We've got the `open database of general knowledge' (Wikipedia), the
> open database of maps (OpenStreetMap), the open database of
> speed-limit signs (Wikispeedia), the open database of GSM cell-sites
> (OpenBmap)..., why not one for WiFi-hotspots?

We actually talked about this a bit at the DLSLUG meeting on
OpenStreetMap.  A WiFi node is just another type of node, with a certain
tag.  I think somebody said wardrivers have already automated this?  It
makes more sense to add the data to OpenStreetMap than to create another
database.

>> B-o-o-o-o-o-gus!
>
> Are you quoting Bill & Ted, or Frankenstein? :)

Click and Clack, of course!

-Bill
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Finding *unfiltered* free WiFi? (was: WAP/Router for use with OpenVPN)

[Joshua Judson Rosen]

Bill McGonigle  writes:
>
> On 07/07/2009 12:54 PM, Neil Joseph Schelly wrote:
> >
> > I run my company's OpenVPN endpoint on both UDP and TCP.  I send
> > out configurations using UDP because it works in almost all
> > circumstances, but there was once, with an employee travelling
> > somewhere in Europe, where the hotel firewall/NAT didn't do
> > anything for UDP connections.
[...]
> I hit a couple of these recently, in two different hotels on the same
> trip!  Both only allowed DNS and HTTP/S (most of their guests only use
> wifi for facebook and porn?).
[...]
> I've since set up this kind of config for a couple clients with mobile
> salesforces that have had similar symptoms.
> 
> At this point it seems "free wireless internet" is an insufficient
> advertisement for a business traveler, and there's probably nobody you
> can talk to ahead of time who can tell you what they allow.

Start a wiki project? :)

We've got the `open database of general knowledge' (Wikipedia), the
open database of maps (OpenStreetMap), the open database of
speed-limit signs (Wikispeedia), the open database of GSM cell-sites
(OpenBmap)..., why not one for WiFi-hotspots?

Actually, it looks like OpenBmap  has
already expanded their scope to include WiFi hotspots; it seems like
access-restrictions might be just the sort of data that they'd want to
include in their database--I don't know whether they've considered
that prospect, yet.

> B-o-o-o-o-o-gus!

Are you quoting Bill & Ted, or Frankenstein? :)

-- 
Don't be afraid to ask (Lf.((Lx.xx) (Lr.f(rr.
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