Don's Home Technology Network Help Wi-FI 802.11 Contact

Under Construction.

Protocols | Security | Hotspots | Airports

Protocols

802.11b
(Wi-Fi)		2.4GHz1,2,5.5,11 MbsPAN (Apple AirBus),PDA, Mobil Phone to PC
Distance 65 ft. 11Mbs 100-175 ft 5.5Mbs, 175-200 ft. 2 Mbs
802.11g2.4GHz54 MbsPAN/WLAN, also supports 802.11b
802.11a
(Wi-Fi5)		5.5 GHz54, 108 MbsPAN/WLAN
Distance 0-20 ft. 54Mbs, 20-40' 48Mbs, 40-75' 36Mbs, 75-85' 24Mbs, 85-135' 18Mbs, 135-175' 12Mbs, 175-200+ 6Mbs
Note: 802.11g cards are generally backward compatible with 802.11b

Security
  • Change default admin password on Access Point (Linksys, D-link, Airport, ...)
  • Change default SSID (Don't use your name)
  • Turn off SSID broadcase (Note some PC cards will not work with it turned off)
  • Setup Security to require a password for access and encryption of transmissions. e.g. WEP, WPA, 802.11i
  • Enable MAC filtering and set up a list of MAC addresses allowed to connect
  • Turn off disk sharing (or add passwords on your PC)
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is an newer standard which fixes some of the flaws in WEP.
WPA is actually a snapshot of the current version of 802.11i, which includes Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and 802.1x mechanisms. The combination of these two mechanisms provides dynamic key encryption and mutual authentication, something much needed in WLANs.
See: WI-Fi Security

DLink: Authentication - When enabling Encryption, the Authentication type can also be selected. If Shared Key is selected, the DWL-800AP+ will not be seen on the wireless network except to the wireless clients that share the same WEP key. If Open System is chosen, it will be visible to all devices on the network regardless of WEP keys. The default value for Authentication is set to "Auto", which will automatically adjust.

See: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

Macintosh

AirPort is 802.11 compatible.

Hotspots

 Service Providers
Wi Fi Zone - free in some places
    You may get direct access or the first time you try to connect to the internet you will be redirected to a site which asks for an account and password which you get from the establishment providing the service.
T-Mobile - $6/hr., $10/day, $30-40/mo.
    The first time you try to connect to the internet you will be redirected to a T-Mobil sign up page which asks for a credit card.
Boingo - $8/day, $22/mo.
    The first time you try to connect to the internet you will be redirected to a T-Mobil sign up page which asks for a credit card.

Other wireless ISPs:
Go Remote, iBAHN, IPASS, Orange France, Remote Pipes, SBC, Sprint, WeRoam, Wise.

Hotspot Lists and Locations
Search at Yahoo! Mobile
List of Wi-Fi HotSpots Lists at EZGoal.com
www.wi-fihotspotlist.com
www.wififreespot.com
www.connectedhotel.com

Airports
Links:
Airport Wireless Internet Access Guide at TravelPost.com
free wi-fi airports at wifiFreeSpot.com

Chicago: Term. B: Concourse (Boingo) $7/day, tmobile (not reliable)
Denver: Term-B: T-Mobile at United RedCarpet club (works outside club), AT&T Wireless
San Francisco: Terminal 3 gate 70: T-Mobile
Sacramento: Term A Delta, SW - flysacramento free
Sacramento: Term B1 - United, American;   B2 - Cont. - flysacramento free
Los Angeles Terminal 8 (United) - Gate 80 T-Mobile
Dulles D20: BT Openzone (British Airways), D16 none, C26 none, A6 - "Free Public Wi-Fi" (didn't connect)
Philadelphia D10 (SWA): AT&T $8/day
Minneapolis - St. Paul - WifiZone a Consourse Network (Boingo) $6.95/day
Salt Lake City: Hub: Sprint PCSWiFI wireless.nnu.com/sprintwifi (Wi Fi Zone)
Phoenix Term B - SkyHarbor Public WAN - free
  C: None
Las Vegas free
Houston Term E Boingo $10
Newark Term. A, B: ConcorseCommunications / WifiZone / Boingo $7/session or roaming login for T-Mobil, AT&T, IPASS, Sprint,
  Term C: Boingo $5/hr, $8/24 hrs
Orlando : Free
Boingo Airport connections at www2.boingo.com/search.html

Driving
TA Truck Stop $2 for 60 min. from WanderingWIFI.com
Flying J Gas Stations $5 / day from TON Sservices

Other Places
Somerset County, Davis, Tahoe, I-80 Sierra Nevada

Maps
nocat.net | www.nodedb.com | www.wifimaps.com
http://www.intel.com/unwired - Jiwire Search

WarWalking
WarWalking is walking around a neighborhood to find wireless networks.
Use software like: NetStumbler and MacStumbler

WarChalking
People may mark hotspots with Chalk using the following symbols:
www.warchalking.org

Terms

See Also: Wi-Fi Networking News
Add on Hi-Gain Antennas
HotSpot News


See: Wireless LAN Glossary
AP - Access Point - An interface between the wireless network and a wired
 network. Access points combined with a distribution system (e.g. Ethernet).
 A Wireless hub
BSS - Basic Service Set  - A set of 802.11-compliant stations that operate
as a fully-connected wireless network.
ESSID - Extended Service Set Identifier (see SSID below)
MAC - Media Access Control - All network cards and interfaces have a unique
MAC address built into them.
SSID - Service Set Identifier - An network identifier.  Identifier attached to packets sent over
the wireless LAN that is used for joining a particular
radio network (BSS).  May or may not be broadcast so new devices can find a network.
WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy - Generates secret shared encryption keys
that both source and destination stations can use to alter frame bits to
avoid disclosure to eavesdroppers. 



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last updated 20 June 2009