Wireless network gurus out there!!!

[powercar82]

Ok, so long story short, we've been piggybacking off of a few of our neighbors' unsecured wireless networks for about a year. The last month or so when we connect to each of the 3 unsecured wireless networks in our development, there is no internet connection. The description of each of the networks reads "local only."

Is there some firewall setting that could have been changed to not allow my computer to connect to the internet? Virus? Just checking for input because I'd hate to start paying for internet and realize it is some stupid setting I missed on my computer all along. Oh yeah, I also have Windows Vista if that helps anybody at all. Any ideas are welcome!

Thanks!

[kineda]

local only?! it was working on vista previously?

[Doug]

same computer the whole time? they might have changed it to a secured network but that would show up in the connection box

[powercar82]

Yeah it had been working on vista up to this point on 2 or sometimes 3 networks, but no more. I just think that it's weird all of them show "local only" now. I guess I should ask now, who has the cheapest non dial up internet?

[SFC]

Yeah it had been working on vista up to this point on 2 or sometimes 3 networks, but no more. I just think that it's weird all of them show "local only" now. I guess I should ask now, who has the cheapest non dial up internet?

qwest

[SFC]

as for it saying local only, try hard setting your dns servers to 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.1

The way vista checks that from what I recall is by trying to do name resolution.

[kineda]

what were the ssids? it sounds like they still have the wireless active but not handing out dhcp... if the ssids were actiontec maybe the neighbors became gay and connected using the usb cable

[Xtort]

Actiontec

[Drop Top]

Actiontec SUcks Ballz

fix'T

[sc0tty8]

It is illegal to connect to a network, unsecured or not, with out permission....

But, I'd just shell out for my own internet. I'd run some form of security, but my gay tivo needs an "updated" wifi nic

[HorseDreams]

Besides, any hacker can set you up by breaking into these already open access points and redirecting them to their own DNS servers, so when you go to www.citibank.com using their own DNS server, it points your box over to their fake citibank server page to collect your login info and then rip you off, and you'll never know it until you try a transaction and get page cannot be dispalyed when you then try a transaction.
This scam is called pharming, and it's getting bigger everyday. I never connect to a unknown Wifi network on any machine that I care about. It's much like sleeping with a $5.00 hooker, you never know what you're really gonna get ....IMHO

[kineda]

Besides, any hacker can set you up by breaking into these already open access points and redirecting them to their own DNS servers, so when you go to www.citibank.com using their own DNS server, it points your box over to their fake citibank server page to collect your login info and then rip you off, and you'll never know it until you try a transaction and get page cannot be dispalyed when you then try a transaction.
This scam is called pharming, and it's getting bigger everyday. I never connect to a unknown Wifi network on any machine that I care about. It's much like sleeping with a $5.00 hooker, you never know what you're really gonna get ....IMHO

shhhhh you are scaring all of the fish away

[Fernanernie]

Well anybody that does anything that involves personal info across an unsecured wireless network should have all their shit stolen anyways. Hell, I don't even use OWA across a public WiFi. About the most sensitive shit that I would do is log onto here and talk trash as usual.

[HorseDreams]

Well anybody that does anything that involves personal info across an unsecured wireless network should have all their shit stolen anyways. Hell, I don't even use OWA across a public WiFi. About the most sensitive shit that I would do is log onto here and talk trash as usual.

Doesn't really matter that if it has wep or wpa encryption as all banking sites provide end to end ssl secured sessions. Even if you catpured the data over the air using airsnort or ran the AP and captured the data off the wire using wireshark yourself, the data would be usless as only the banks private session key can decrypt the data. Parming avoids this whole issue by re-directing the marks box to a fake DNS box the redirects them to a fake web server, with a one off cert ssl service. The real danger in using public boxes anywhere is keyloggers.

[kineda]

Doesn't really matter that if it has wep or wpa encryption as all banking sites provide end to end ssl secured sessions. Even if you catpured the data over the air using airsnort or ran the AP and captured the data off the wire using wireshark yourself, the data would be usless as only the banks private session key can decrypt the data. Parming avoids this whole issue by re-directing the marks box to a fake DNS box the redirects them to a fake web server, with a one off cert ssl service. The real danger in using public boxes anywhere is keyloggers.

but open unsecured connections are perfect for downloading questionable material using a livecd for a "custom" hostname and "custom" mac address. not to mention the goodies you find on open shares