#1 2008-07-22 02:05:18
I know what you're thinking.
You're wondering if I may have finally posted something truly useful in my "Skills You Don't Need or Want" instructional series.
Yes, it's true. I have. It works.
Download this: http://www.makayama.com/easywifiradar.html
Offline
#2 2008-07-22 02:42:27
Only for PC. Wah.
Offline
#3 2008-07-22 03:00:24
Thanks Sofie! I will be helping an elderly neighbor on a limited income migrate her stuff to a new computer this week, and she will be getting this program! She has Juno dial-up, and they won’t let you download their software installer unless you are a member and presumably have an Internet connection in place*. We live in the boondocks and may not be able to find a disk of their most recent version. She has an old setup disk, and I found an old version of the program on a software archive, but if neither of these work, I will need to mooch on someone’s broadband connection in order to get her dial-up account set up (I know, WTF?) on the new machine.
*The asshole in India didn’t grasp the idea that I needed the software so the new computer could access her account and e-mail.
Offline
#4 2008-07-22 03:21:02
Last edited by icangetyouatoe (2008-07-22 03:23:47)
Offline
#5 2008-07-22 08:59:04
I don't see why you would need this. Most computers search for all available WI-Fi points near you anyway. You simply have to choose one that isn't encrypted.
Unless the software somehow boosts your neighbors crappy signal strength from your distance I fail to see where this would be useful.
Offline
#6 2008-07-22 09:02:58
Scotty wrote:
I don't see why you would need this. Most computers search for all available WI-Fi points near you anyway. You simply have to choose one that isn't encrypted.
Yeah, but this does the whole choose-unencrypted-hotspot for you, silently (I assume) and in the background. It's one of those apps that compuphobes use to distance themselves from knowing anything about what their computer is actually doing.
Offline
#7 2008-07-22 09:57:37
Scotty wrote:
I don't see why you would need this. Most computers search for all available WI-Fi points near you anyway. You simply have to choose one that isn't encrypted.
This one can somehow triangulate the position of the wi-fi connection you're using (how, I don't know), so you know which neighbor to be nice to when they otherwise don't deserve it.
Offline
#8 2008-07-22 10:50:59
Any wireless card comes with software for finding networks in your area. Also, automatically connecting to ANY unsecured connection that happens to be around is foolish (not to mention illegal in the US). There are folks who set up unsecured connections just for the purpose of catching and screwing Wi-Fi Leeches.
Offline
#9 2008-07-22 12:12:21
pALEPHx wrote:
Only for PC. Wah.
http://etrib.de/images/sad_mac.gif
I'm not a Mac guy, but this may be of use.
Zookeeper wrote:
Also, automatically connecting to ANY unsecured connection that happens to be around is foolish (not to mention illegal in the US).
[citation needed]
Offline
#10 2008-07-22 13:22:44
ah297900 wrote:
This one can somehow triangulate the position of the wi-fi connection you're using (how, I don't know), so you know which neighbor to be nice to when they otherwise don't deserve it.
Quite impossible with the common access cards used in home PCs and laptops. I haven't looked at the software, but I would imagine whatever it is telling you about location is erroneous gobbly gook. With the omni antennas and transecievers in wifi cards even an attempt at inferring distance from the signal parameters is not even close to being accurate.
Last edited by Johnny_Rotten (2008-07-22 13:23:55)
Offline
#11 2008-07-22 14:37:23
square wrote:
pALEPHx wrote:
Only for PC. Wah.
http://etrib.de/images/sad_mac.gifI'm not a Mac guy, but this may be of use.
Zookeeper wrote:
Also, automatically connecting to ANY unsecured connection that happens to be around is foolish (not to mention illegal in the US).
[citation needed]
Offline
#12 2008-07-22 16:35:19
Sophie, Don't you live in a "gated" community in the desert chalked full of $200k taupe colored piece of McMansions? What do you need this for?
Offline
#13 2008-07-22 16:57:56
It's both, really. I wanted it for someone else. My own system can't do wifi. But it's as already mentioned...leeching is a bad idea. There's a network in my complex (seen on a neighbor's computer) called "Free Internet Access." I can only wonder what that person was sitting there waiting to do.
Offline
#15 2008-07-22 17:35:55
Offline
#16 2008-07-22 18:05:45
I also don't see what the big deal is about this. All nics search for and metric all available wireless access points.
Offline
#17 2008-07-22 18:32:44
Hmm, it's a close call as to which of the two of us should be more upset by this suggestion... probably Pale.
Anyway, of the hundreds of articles Google turns up about Mr. Smith's arrest, I didn't see any which got around to saying whether he was actually found guilty (or even went to trial). Even if he was, that's just the statute in Florida, which thankfully the rest of the U.S. is not part of. I can't say it's definitely legal, but I don't see the appellate decisions (or even any trial convictions) showing it's illegal under either the U.S. Code or the various state statutes, either. Plus, there are those who intentionally leave their networks open.
You'll get no argument from me about the wisdom of using open wireless networks for sensitive data. Heck, I wouldn't even log in to my High Street account on one. You could probably spend an afternoon at your local cafe and collect a dozen plaintext passwords, and even get the SSL ones if you set up an evil twin hotspot.
Offline
#18 2008-07-22 19:06:03
benzene wrote:
Sophie, Don't you live in a "gated" community in the desert chalked full of $200k taupe colored piece of McMansions? What do you need this for?
Actually, I now live in an ungated subdivision called Vegas Valley Estates, full of $400-$500k horse properties with acreage, built in the '60s. But my house is even newer, because the original one burnt to the ground in the '80s. It's not a McMansion, but it's pretty nice. Not flashy at all.
I don't need it, because our business pays for shit like internet access. Everyone else might.
I know, I'm a socipathic fucking saint. I like getting one over on The Man.
On an unrelated note, I just fell asleep for 2 hours in the middle of business hours. Good thing they can't fire my lazy ass. Oh, and I've been sober for 2 days. I don't know why. I should go at least have a beer or a bowl or something.
Offline
#19 2008-07-22 19:13:54
square wrote:
Hmm, it's a close call as to which of the two of us should be more upset by this suggestion... probably Pale.
Yes, I'm both flabbergasted and disgusted at this importune comparison. Fie on thee, Zooks. A house on your poxes.
Offline
