Any way to determine what wireless hardware I'm connecting to??

Try walking into the skool and "borrowing" the use of their equipment using that excuse. That's not the way it works. Expand your logic to include military or municipal hardware. Walk in to their facilities and demand to use the equipment on the basis of being a taxpayer and see where it gets you.

The local high skool has a swimming pool, which I voted to pay for with my property taxes. However, if I want to use the pool, I have to follow the rules, the schedule, and pay admission for its use. I suggest you discuss the issue with someone in the skool administration.

No problem. Of course you'll contribute a part of the money you're saving, by using their system, to the skool computer fund? It does cost the skool money to pay for the hardware, their ISP, maintenance, administration, abuse protection, licenses, security, and insurance. It's not just the bandwidth that you're using.

Oh, that's easy. Just connect to their network and abuse it for a while. They'll probably find you first. If you hang your dish or panel antenna out the window, in plain sight, it will help them find you.

I can guess the answer and it will be "no". The problem is not your use of bandwidth. It's a security issue. They have no control over your machine or your activities. If you get infected with a worm or virus, it will be all over their network. Since you're on the inside of their firewall, there's no protection for their own machines. If the skool is really cheap and puts the administration computers on the same LAN as the open wireless, then they've put those machines at risk. Apparently, the skool does not turn off the wireless at night, so I suspect there's no competent system administration and probably no security. You may be right that there's nobody to ask. Do you want to be responsible or blamed for trashing their system (even if by accident)?

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann
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I'm getting a weak wireless signal from the public school that is next door. I'd like to get a wireless extender / booster / repeater and see if it can boost the signal enough that it is farily reliable and useable (so I don't have to subscribe to an ISP).

But it seems that most ( All ?) wireless extenders only work with their own manufacturer.

So, is there any way to tell what brand and/or model of wireless hub I'm connecting to?

Reply to
Gary

Yes. Ask the person who runs the network at the same time as you are getting their permission to connect to it.

Reply to
Duncan Booth

I may go ask. There are two reasons I'm trying this avenue before asking.

#1: I don't feel at all wrong in using a network that is part of the public school system that I help pay taxes for. I don't plan on doing much more than light surfing and email, so it's not like I'll be bogging down the network. If they wanted it secure, they could easily secure it.

#2: I may eventually go ask permission. But my experience with these things tends to be that finding the right person to ask and getting the right information can be an arduous task.

However, I do get your point. Maybe asking is the best solution. Maybe I will do that.

Reply to
Gary

Yes, they might suprise you. I know when we couldn't get broadband round here, but they had installed a leased line to the local primary school there was a lot of interest in seeing whether we could set up a wireless network. After all, just how much bandwidth do a bunch of under 11s need? Especially since most non-school access would have been outside school hours.

The plans foundered though when the authorities discovered that, without realising it, they had signed contracts which prevented them allowing access to the leased lines by anyone outside the schools. If your authorities were awake when they signed their contracts you might find that they would regard giving access to the local community is a really positive bonus.

Then again, pigs may fly.

Reply to
Duncan Booth

Find the mac address of the AP

Use this :

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Reply to
David Sauer

I'm not saying this is a bad argument, but if its definitely good, then presumably you can use it to persuade your local education dept to give you access anyway.

It always starts that way.... :-)

This last point is a bogus argument. Its the same as saying that its ok to take stuff from someone who forgets to lock their house.

This is indeed true. And moreover the right person may say no, just to be on the safe side, as if tehy said yes and you *did* turn out to be a sex maniac, or used your access to snoop on the schoolkids, imagine how much trouble they'd be in.

Reply to
Mark McIntyre

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