Warwalking

Oh the signals you will find!

So I have found a fun little hobby to do when I’m bored. Warwalking with my iPod Touch! It’s easy, it burns calories, I don’t think it’s illegal, and it’s actually somewhat useful!

Here are my tools:

• iPod Touch
• WiiFinder App (free!)
• Maps App (already on iPod Touch)
• Shoes

I didn’t bother to take proper wardriving notes like take down all the private networks and MAC addresses, encryption types, etc. I just walk around my neighborhood, keeping WiiFinder on autoscan. It brings up all the reachable access points, in “open” and “locked” categories (nice). Whenever I find an open network, I stop, get on Google maps using their internet, and drop a pin with the wireless SSID. Repeat for about…1.5 – 2 miles…and I come home with 25-30 open networks mapped out for future exploitation.

That estimate is probably low, considering that in some places I was getting signals from 6 different routers, all named “linksys” (poor, ignorant souls). So I just dropped a pin and named it “a shitload of linksys” and called it a day. Same goes for routers with the ubiquitous “default” and “NETGEAR” SSIDs.

I find it interesting,  nearly every open AP was the default SSID. It’s clearly just a sign of no technical know-how, I wish I could help them. At the same time though, I’m grateful because it’s people like that which enable me to get wireless almost anywhere. For instance, today I had to look something up while at Goodwill, but there was no wireless. I drove into a shopping center across the street and BAM 3 open wireless points just waiting for me. I love it.

Also, people have some bizarre SSID names. Mine is my last name, as were most that I saw, but I took down some names which I thought were pretty unique.

• God’s Property
• BUTTERJACK
• Invisible (didn’t help him much here…)
• Bubba
• De ja vu
• Youtoo
• Irishmob
• LinksysMINE
• Bigmama
• We rock

I guess anything goes. I kind of want to crack the Irishmob one though, just to see what’s on there…

~ by Kyle on December 6, 2008.