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The article says > "But the cable can be configured to act as a client to a nearby wireless network. And if that wireless network has an internet connection, t

by ebg13 7y ago

The article says > "But the cable can be configured to act as a client to a nearby wireless network. And if that wireless network has an internet connection, the distance basically becomes unlimited."

wlesieutre 7y ago
Sure but it needs a password to the network. I don’t have any random public hotspots available near my computer.
- DenisM 7y ago
  Are you sure you don't have XFinityWIFI next to you? Most people live near one.
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    I’m in Canada. Our ISPs would never provide such a service in a million years.
    - derefr 7y ago
      I don't know about other Canadian cities, but in Vancouver, there are both Telus and Shaw hotspots randomly strewn throughout the city. The Telus ones exist in public/government buildings as a co-sponsorship with the municipal government; the Shaw ones exist at the numerous charging stations for bike-share bikes, as a different co-sponsorship. Admittedly, you aren't really likely to run into either if you're not downtown. Then there's the Shaw hotspots which they expose on a dedicated side-channel of the routers of people who pay for their business Internet plans, which allow arbitrary other Shaw customers with authenticated MAC addresses to connect to them. Those are all over the place, and it'd be pretty easy to steal a list of a few hundred registered MACs and rely on that network to connect.
      - Scoundreller 7y ago
        Not a thing in Robbers/Bhell territory.
  - wlesieutre 7y ago
    Checked last night and yes I do. Guess I'll be keeping a closer eye on my USB cables. I rarely plug my phone into a computer, but I suppose this works just as well for any other USB device with a removable cord. USB-C is probably safe for now on account of the smaller connectors.
Scoundreller 7y ago
I suppose it could do some keyboard and mouse actions to extract your current wifi network’s password, copy to a file and spin up a tiny flash drive emulator to copy it onto.

by ebg13 7y ago

wlesieutre 7y ago

Sure but it needs a password to the network. I don’t have any random public hotspots available near my computer.

DenisM 7y ago
Are you sure you don't have XFinityWIFI next to you? Most people live near one.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  I’m in Canada. Our ISPs would never provide such a service in a million years.
  - derefr 7y ago
    I don't know about other Canadian cities, but in Vancouver, there are both Telus and Shaw hotspots randomly strewn throughout the city. The Telus ones exist in public/government buildings as a co-sponsorship with the municipal government; the Shaw ones exist at the numerous charging stations for bike-share bikes, as a different co-sponsorship. Admittedly, you aren't really likely to run into either if you're not downtown. Then there's the Shaw hotspots which they expose on a dedicated side-channel of the routers of people who pay for their business Internet plans, which allow arbitrary other Shaw customers with authenticated MAC addresses to connect to them. Those are all over the place, and it'd be pretty easy to steal a list of a few hundred registered MACs and rely on that network to connect.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      Not a thing in Robbers/Bhell territory.
- wlesieutre 7y ago
  Checked last night and yes I do. Guess I'll be keeping a closer eye on my USB cables. I rarely plug my phone into a computer, but I suppose this works just as well for any other USB device with a removable cord. USB-C is probably safe for now on account of the smaller connectors.

Scoundreller 7y ago

I suppose it could do some keyboard and mouse actions to extract your current wifi network’s password, copy to a file and spin up a tiny flash drive emulator to copy it onto.