ABSTRACT
Wardriving is searching for Wi-Fi wireless
networks by moving vehicle. It involves using a car or truck and a
Wi-Fi-equipped computer, such as a laptop or a PDA, to detect the networks. It
was also known as 'WiLDing' (Wireless Lan Driving).Many wardrivers use GPS
devices to measure the location of the network find and log it on a website.
For better range, antennas are built or bought, and vary from omni directional
to highly directional..
Software for wardriving is freely available on
the Internet, notably, NetStumbler for Windows, Kismet for Linux, and KisMac
for Macintosh. Wardriving was named after wardialing because it also involves
searching for computer systems with software that would use a phone modem to
dial numbers sequentially and see which ones were connected to a fax machine or
computer, or similar device.
INTRODUCTION
Wardriving is searching for Wi-Fi wireless
networks by moving vehicle. Wardriving was first developed by Pete Shipley in
April 2001. It involves using a car or truck and a Wi-Fiequipped computer, such
as a laptop or a PDA, to detect the networks. Many wardrivers use GPS devices
to measure the location of the network find and log it on a website. For better
range, antennas are built or bought, and vary from omnidirectional to highly
directional. Software for wardriving is freely available on the Internet,
notably, NetStumbler for Windows, Kismet for Linux, and KisMac for Macintosh.
The
Origin of WarDriving
WarDriving is an activity that is
misunderstood by many people.This applies to both the general public, and to
the news media that has reported on WarDriving. Because the name
"WarDriving'* has an ominous sound to it, many people associate WarDriving
with a criminal activity WarDriving originated from wardialing, a technique
popularized by a character played by Matthew Broderick in the film WarGames,
and named after that film. Wardialing in this context refers to the practice of
using a computer to dial many phone numbers in the hopes of finding an active
modem. A WarDriver drives around an area,often after mapping a route out first,
to determine all of the wireless access points in that area. Once these access
points are discovered, a WarDriver uses a software program or Web site to map
the results of his efforts. Based on these results, a statistical analysis is
performed. This statistical analysis can be of one drive, one area, or a
general overview of all wireless networks. The concept of driving around
discovering wireless networks probably began the day after the first wireless
access point was deployed.
Choosing
A Wireless Network Interface Card
Most of the wireless networks that are
currently deployed are 802.11b networks. You will find more access points if
you use an 802.1 lb NIC. 802.1 lg access points, which transfer data at nearly
five times the speed of 802.11b (54 MBps as opposed to 11 MBps) are gaining
popularity and it is likely that an 802.1 lg card will soon supplant an 802.1
lb card as the favorite of WarDrivers. In addition to increased speed, the 802.1
lg standard supports WiFi Protected Access (WPA) encryption. Once effectively
deployed,WPA will help to improve the overall security posture of wireless
networks.
CONCLUSION
The
sudden popularity of wireless networks, combined with a popular misperception
that no additional steps to secure those
networks are necessary, has caused a marked increase in the number of insecure computer networks that can
be accessed without authorization. This in
turn has given rise to the sport of wardriving detecting and reporting
the existence of insecure wireless
networks, ostensibly without actually accessing the network. Wardriving may
also involve illegally accessing and
monitoring the networks once so discovered. The sport of discovering connections to wireless computer
networks can be done while driving in a car or
while strolling on foot with a PDA .
