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A Map of Wireless Passwords from Airports and Lounges
- dfcowell 8y agoSites and tools like this simply encourage lounge operators, vendors and airports to add captive portals or SMS verification and make getting access to wifi harder.
- izacus 8y agoWhy? Why would an airport make connecting to the free WiFi they offer harder?
- jpatokal 8y agoLounges often have wifi meant for guests only, and the bandwidth can't cope with everybody in the airport using it.
- peteretep 8y agoThe WiFi isn't offered by the airports, it's offered by private lounges and restaurants, who offer it as a perk to their paying customers.
- danilocesar 8y agoWell, in europe most airports have free wifi with no restrictions. They are usually offered by the Airport administration company. In my home country, almost all airports administration companies offers time-restricted-but-free-wifi too.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y agoI've travelled all over Europe and Asia and I don't think I've ever come across an airport without at least half decent, free, open wifi. Is this predominantly a US thing?
- zerkten 8y agoYes. It's not limited to airports. There are many reason why a hotspot provider in the US wouldn't want the liability of anyone other than a know user accessing their service. These issues are probably more limited elsewhere in the world, although it's probably the case that they are just lagging in coming up with better security practices/policy. Some home internet providers in the US like Comcast have a public WiFi service, but you have to authenticate to use it.
- peteretep 8y agoI am glad to hear that! However, the quick scan I did here of Thai and British airports showed almost every wifi point on _this list_ is a private one.
- maym86 8y agoI doubt they'll find out and even if they do I doubt they'll go to the effort and expense given the how few people will likely use a site like this vs the numbers of people traveling through an airport. Even if they all do add some other security then it's just like going back to a time before this site so no great loss. The alternative is to not share the passwords on this site which is effectively the same to anyone trying to get on the wifi for free.
- sneak 8y agoI don’t think these sorts of lists are in widespread enough use to affect the AP operators one bit. This is just handwringing.
- always_good 8y agoThat you can abuse something only because other people don't is pretty weak justification.
- batiudrami 8y agoIs there an android solution to automate registering and accepting T&Cs for free wifi? The log in process and unreliable connection make them barely worth using.
- akerro 8y agoI've seen an app for this in FDroid.
- sexydefinesher 8y agoWhat's the name of it?
- voltagex_ 8y agohttps://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.juliansparber.captiveportallogin/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.juliansparber.captivepor... "It works by simply replacing the action URL from the login form on the web page to a local HTTP server which redirects the request to the original destination. The local HTTP server saves the request, so the app can reproduce the same call next time you connect to the same WiFi network." Uhh... Time to move to iOS, I think.
- icebraining 8y agoWhy would you move to iOS over that?
- voltagex_ 8y agoWithout a rooted phone, there's no better way to "fix" Android's captive portal code, or to automate it.
- icebraining 8y agoHow would root or iOS help you? The problem is that each captive portal is different, so you need the user to "teach" it once. Seems a reasonable approach to me.
- jarofgreen 8y agoAny comments on the tech behind this? (I've done a few projects crowd sourcing and distributing information like this and I'm currently thinking about some tools in this space, hence my curiosity.)
- Freeboots 8y agoIts just a google map, I dont believe its dynamically updated from users, and doing that would be trivial anyway.
- jarofgreen 8y agoIn most cases the tech tends to be trivial, sure. How you check accuracy of incoming information, make sure it's kept up to date in the future, and present it to people tends to throw up lots of very interesting usability problems.
- FreeTrade 8y agoHave a look at https://memberapp.github.io/#map https://memberapp.github.io/#map It allows messages tied to locations to be written to the Bitcoin Blockchain. The database is public, anyone can add information and it is uncensorable.
- peteretep 8y agoAlmost every item I see on here is using private WiFi connections intended for paying or premium customers, and precisely zero ones that are intended to be free. This would seem to constitute "piggybacking", which is of questionable legality in many places: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_piggybacking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_piggybacking Given the dubious legality, seems odd to see this on HN.
- cpa 8y agoNo you got it wrong, WiFi is controlled by greedy monopolies and he’s just being disruptive ;)
- camillomiller 8y agoThis answer, with the due edits, would describe Uber and AirBnB pretty well, too. ;)
- Myrmornis 8y agoContent on HN has to be interesting. There’s no problem with it referencing illegal activity.
- dsr_ 8y agoThe author claims to be a computer security engineer, yet is deliberately setting up a tool to defeat security -- not an abstract tool, useful in surveying and thus improving your own security and incidentally capable of being used for mischief, but nothing more than a list of identifiers and passwords. The only indicator you can gain from this is that someone betrayed your trust. If this profession had a board of ethics, this is the sort of thing that it would take action against. If people want you to use their networks, they will offer you access via any one of several convenient mechanisms, including not using encryption putting a sign on the wall with a password handing you a card with credentials telling you a password
- tallanvor 8y agoI'm less concerned with the security issues - WiFi you don't control should always be treated as possibly being compromised. What is a problem is that the networks are password protected and not meant for use by the general public. Airline lounges are providing WiFi for customers who have paid for access (either through the type of ticket or by spending enough to have status to access the lounges). Depending on the location, unauthorized access to the networks can either be categorized as theft of service or unauthorized access to a network. A "security engineer" who is promoting illegal activity isn't actually concerned with security.
- codetrotter 8y ago> What is a problem is that the networks are password protected and not meant for use by the general public. I agree but wanted to point out that what you are saying is exactly what parent commenter is saying too.
- drdaeman 8y agoIt is controversial but there is something in publicly posting already compromised long-living static credentials. I do not approve nor disapprove of this. It could be unethical, could be even illegal but still - it also may force to not rely on this security-through-obscurity approach and maybe actually start doing things right. Sadly, many people don't learn from theoretical implications - they just ignore those and don't implement any security. They only start reacting when their passwords are posted in the open. E.g. if you want only paying customers to access your WiFi, generate unique passwords and print them on their receipts (or tickets or whatever) to look up.
- hasa 8y agoAny wifi other than yours, or your company's is huge security risk. I would not trust a second for a service like this.
- alexchamberlain 8y agoWould you care to elaborate what those risks are? The internet is rather bigger than the WiFi network you connect to.
- hasa 8y agoDo I need to explain risks using foreign local networks in HN ? I see it quite unfair to get a downvote for this.
- ericpauley 8y agoYes. Having a properly secured laptop on public wifi is no different than having a server on the public internet. It's not difficult to reason about the threat model here, and operating systems are fully capable of rejecting potentially harmful traffic.
- zerkten 8y agoRejecting harmful traffic is only one of the threats. There are many other attacks that can be conducted when you control the network and DNS. Only security-conscious users think of ways to counter those threats.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- gsich 8y agoYou do.
- jasonlotito 8y ago> Do I need to explain risks using foreign local networks in HN ? Do I really need to explain how not everyone knows everything? HN is made up of many people with many different skill sets. While you might put emphasis and assign an ideal to the "Hacker" in Hacker News, you are ignoring the large audience of people here that come here from different backgrounds and offer different view points. You also ignore what knowledge people may or may not have. Not everyone understands network security where such things are obvious. > I see it quite unfair to get a downvote for this. Do I need to explain why complaining about unfairness of downvotes will get you downvotes? Rather than whine about how smarter people than you might not know something you do, you could take the time to share knowledge rather than come off as a member of "r/iamverysmart".
- jghjg 8y agothis site is so full of sjw's
- j7ake 8y agoIs it possible to set up a trap where someone who inputs a leaked password will be automatically blocked or put on a naughty list? If you owned a coffeeshop, you would want your Wi-Fi users to be for customers only.
- gsich 8y agoWlan is usually not that strong to be reachable outside said coffeeshop. If you live near enough, you'll know the key anyway. (for the chance it does)
- Rjevski 8y agoIf you wanted your Wi-Fi to be for customers only then you'd use WPA2 Enterprise with unique per-user passwords, or at least change the static password every day.
- blowski 8y agoYou might want your WiFi to be for customers only, but not have any idea how or enough money to enforce it.
- JetSpiegel 8y agoI might want a pet unicorn too, then what? Changing the password everyday is an acceptable compromise.
- baud147258 8y agoThe password was changing everyday where I worked, with the daily password available on an intranet page, but then a few months ago a bunch of higher-ups were present in the office for a few days and wanted Wi-Fi access without having to type a new password each day, so the password rotation has been deactivated since
- Rjevski 8y ago
- Uberphallus 8y agoThis is already done here [0] and it's not limited to airports or lounges. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instabridge.android&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instabridg...
- vzaliva 8y agoI am using Instabridge for a few years and it is really great! I wish more people knew about it and use it.
- ape4 8y agoSharing a wi-fi password with the world is a bit like sharing a party invitation with the world. To use this you have to stand outside a restaurant / lounge and hope to acquire the weak signal (and hope the password hasn't changed). Why not just buy a coffee and you get to sit down and a have better signal.
- always_good 8y agoPretty much a case of "this is why we can't have nice things." Everything becomes a bit more inconvenient for everyone if every establishment has to protect against this kind of thing.
- verrecken 8y agoI think its Computer crime in germany if you login to a locked wifi for what you did not get password from the owner.
- stadeschuldt 8y agoCould you link the § you are referring to? I don't think this qualifies for § 303b StGB. (IANAL)
- sbr464 8y agoI needed to connect an Apple TV to a blocked wifi at a hotel, Just sharing, here are the instructions using a macbook to get past hotspot auth, since there isn't a browser on an Apple TV 1. Disconnect from ap by option+click status bar wifi icon 2. Write down your current wifi mac address ifconfig en0 | grep ether 3. Switch macbook to Apple TV mac address sudo ifconfig en0 ether [apple tv mac address] 4. Connect to wifi, authenticate, then disconnect from ap with option+click again 5. Switch back to original mac address sudo ifconfig en0 ether [original macbook mac address] 6. Connect apple tv to wifi ap normally
- rogerbinns 8y ago> ... blocked wifi ... I use Hootoos when travelling. They combine a powerbank with a tiny MIPS device creating a wifi hotspot. Then upstream it can either connect to a wifi network or ethernet. It does NAT etc between the two. The massive advantage is that my devices all know about the hootoo wifi network. I then just have to connect the hootoo to the upstream network which is easy, and you can do browser logins etc from behind it. This is the model I like: https://www.hootoo.com/hootoo-tripmate-ht-tm05-wireless-router.html https://www.hootoo.com/hootoo-tripmate-ht-tm05-wireless-rout...
- rossboss 8y agoThank You! I have been trying to figure this out to connect to xfinity hotspots
- sbr464 8y agoCheers. It was a ceremony before of hacks/ethernet before. This just works and no extra gear.
- paublyrne 8y agoI'm not sure this is a good thing to do, but airports that don't have free open wifi annoy me. It's so useful to have internet access when you arrive in a foreign country, for figuring out how to get into the city, or to communicate with a hotel etc, and sometimes its unfeasible to use your own sim abroad. It just seems a petty thing for airports to do, to try and make a few dollars or euros or pounds that way.
- realusername 8y agoI also hate people who put an open wifi requiring an SMS token in an Airport... You know, the only place where you have a good chance of your SIM Card not working for being abroad...
- 1024core 8y agoExactly! I'm looking at you, Delhi Airport! The f'n morons advertise "free wifi! free wifi!!" everywhere, but when you actually want to use it, they demand a phone number to send an SMS message. Are the people in charge there really that clueless??
- vedtopkar 8y agoI got burned by this exactly a couple of years ago. Flight into Delhi was delayed, desperately needed wifi to communicate with my ride upon arrival, but no wifi without an active SIM card. Infuriating.
- blntechie 8y agoKnowing India, it's probably Government mandated for what they call 'security reasons'. It's hard to get free WiFi or internet without providing a phone number in India.
- pandler 8y agoYeah sounds pretty typical of India in my experience. Can’t get WiFi unless you have a sim
- nimbius 8y ago"email me" is such an aggravating model. Can this be uploaded to gitlab? I feel like this doesnt need an app. just give me a list of tuples and I can script a grep for the AP im looking for.
- clapsclaps 8y ago+1 This looks to me as the best use of having a public git wit info out there.
- tempodox 8y agoHow legal is this? If those places wanted to have open WiFi, they wouldn't have passwords in the first place. Or, at the very least, just write them on the wall. A detour via that app looks rather dubious.
- ChrisArchitect 8y agowhy would this be necessary in airports where, yes, maybe the Lounge has a password, but the airport in general as public wifi. I'm sure the public wifi is accessible inside the lounge..... example Toronto Pearson
- dustinmoris 8y agoTo everyone who says that this is dodgy or immoral: It is not. The majority of the world doesn't function anymore without WiFi, which makes it more of a human necessity than a convenience to pay for. Not offering free WiFi is like not offering passengers free toilets at an airport. Unless you want everyone to piss in a corner you must offer a toilet, especially when you also require passengers to arrive at least two hours prior departure. In India I wasn't allowed to enter airports without showing them my boarding ticket at the entrance. However I didn't have a boarding ticket because I needed to go to the counter inside, which I wasn't allowed (standard in India). So they demand from tourists to log in their email and show the booking confirmation but don't give you free WiFi. Fuck this shit! Going to the taxi stand and they ask me for my reservation number. Same story again, no WiFi no luck. In some countries there is no taxis or taxis are widely considered extremely dangerous (Johannesburg, etc.) and you MUST use Uber. How are you going to do it without WiFi? Long story short, don't fucking build your entire infrastructure reliant on the internet and then don't give your customers an opportunity to connect to the internet. WiFi is a necessity, it should be free of charge everywhere.