[suprz]

if i have a airport card in my laptop, and i go into one of those internet cafe's i can use their internet service while having a coffee etc... right? if that is true then i have some questions..

1- how does the laptop find the internet connection?
2-what would stop me from going somewhere i know has wireless internet access and just standing outside and using it to surf the web?
3- if i walk down the street and am lucky enough to find a house that also uses wireless access can i use their access also? and if i do would they be able to tell i'm on it?

DISCLAIMER: i am not condoning or partaking in any "pirating" of bandwith, i just want to know if it can be done and how someone with wireless could stop it. especially if i get airport i wouldnt want any unauthorized users stealing my bandwith

[MaxPower2k3]

1) the laptop probably sends out some kind of beacon signal, to which the base station replies and the laptop knows that theres a network.

2) every starbucks and other places such as airports require you to sign up for a (rather expensive) plan with T-moble to use their service

3) encryption. if the person in the house sets a password for the network, you cant get on. Otherwise, you can sit in a car outside of their house and surf the web.



that said, i believe this goes in the networking forum

[aaanorton]

1. DHCP.
2. Nothing would stop you, unless the connection requires a password. These are not generally expensive pay services. They may require you to be a customer, though. Some places have absolutely no restrictions. Take you laptop to an Apple store and sit outside. There are others that provide this free service as well.
3. Same as above. Some people don't care and let others use their bandwidth. Others just don't know that this is even possible and never enable encryption. As far as detection goes, the general way of thinking goes like this: If from the former set, then they are openly sharing and don't care who uses it. If the latter, they probably also don't know how to monitor their network and see who's using it either. So either way it probably won't be a problem. HOWEVER, I strongly suggest trying to figure out who belongs to an open wireless signal and determining which group they belong to. If they are clueless, it would be very cool to educate them on wireless encryption.