Hotel Wireless Networks----Can You Bypass Log-in Screen?????

Thanks so much. You're so helpful. I'd never have thought of that.

Can someone tell me how to bypass the lock on my neighbor's front door? He left this house right where I can see it. I'm sure he put the lock on the door by accident since he surely wouldn't mind if I used his TV for a bit.

"David" | | > Anybody know how to bypass the log-in screen that comes on whenever you | > receive a signal from a hotel wireless system? I've heard that there's a | > way to do it with Mozilla. The log-in screen comes up as soon as you start | > internet explorer or Mozilla. If you can't supply a screen name and | > password, you can go no further. | | Can someone tell me how to bypass the lock on my neighbor's front | door? He left this house right where I can see it. I'm sure he put the | lock on the door by accident since he surely wouldn't mind if I used | his TV for a bit.

Is there a sign on my door "Chastity Belt Keys Made While You Wait"?

It is easy. Go to the cashier at the hotel and ask to purchase connection time on their wireless network. In exchange for some money they will give you the information you need.

That would be illegal and better asked in a warez group.

Nothing illegal about receiving ANY sort of RF radio waves--PERIOD. Annoyance begins when they try to charge for each computer in a room when two are staying in the room. But you guys are such a bunch of weenies, I'm sorry I asked. Forget it.

If one of the computers is wired, the other could use ICS on a WiFi link. If one is iwirlessly linked to the hotel, the other could link via a second WiFi or wire using ICS.

Did you ask about using a second computer in the same room? Maybe there is a special accomodation for that.

You might select a hotel with Free WiFi. Pointing out that the double charge for WiFi makes the other hotel a better deal might make a difference to the first hotel... might not.

In Denver, I stayed at the Marriott, with free internet, but paid for breakfast, and at the Embassy Suites, with free breakfast, but paid internet. In Sunnyvale, the Maple Tree in has free for both.

Sure. You can recieve anything you like. Its the 'hacking through someone's security' part that is probably illegal, don't you think? Not to mention 'using someone else's equipment to transmit'

HAND, as they say on the other side of hte pond.

What you are refering to is a "captive portal".

There are many commercial and freeware captive portal applications out there.

The "Mozilla trick" that you heard of may have worked with one portal, but it certaintly wouldn't work with all of them. Plus, the one that did allow clients to get around it most likely has been patched/fixed by now.

I use a captive portal approach for my home wireless network. Such approach allows me to keep the SSIDs wide open (unencrypted), but still have control out to the 'net. Makes it very easy for family/friends to get out on the 'net. As for the WLAN stuff, its all VPN'd.

Cheers,

-E

I usually use the Choice Hotel chain (Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, etc.). Most of them offer free high speed internet AND free breakfast.

The Comfort Inn that I just stayed at had cat 5 strung along the outside of the building, poked into each room, and lying on the floor in a coil of about 20 feet of cable. No note, no signs, and I didn't test it. Breakfast was coffee, milk, juice, and Svenhart's breakfast rolls.

How dare they charge you for using their network! They should give everyone free access to the equipment they bought and maintain just like I'm sure you give everyone free access to your equipment that you buy and maintain. Same goes for their rooms. They should be free too!

isn't cumbersome at all.

Not really - there would still be two obvious computers putting packets out which is highly visible if you are looking at the IP and TCP headers, and no I'm _NOT_ referring to the IP addresses. Such header components as sequence numbers, TTL, source port numbers, and the various flags are used by O/S fingerprinting tools. See RFC0791 and RFC0793 for details. It becomes glaringly obvious if you are using different operating system versions on the two computers. The better tools can even detect the "Service Pack" level, so having two boxes running XP, one at SP1, the other at SP2 is a dead giveaway.

[compton ~]$ grep 'Win' 01Jun05 | awk '{ print $7" "$8" "$9" "$10" " $11" "$12 }' | sort | uniq -c 188 - Windows 2000 SP2+, XP SP1 32 - Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP 26 - Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP1 4 - Windows 98 (15) 3 - Windows NT 4.0 (older) 85 - Windows XP Pro SP1, 2000 8 - Windows XP SP1, 2000 SP3 1 - Windows XP, 2000 SP2+ (NAT!) 1396 - Windows XP, 2000 SP2+ [compton ~]$

The UNIX command is probably meaningless to you, but this sorted through a fingerprint log file for the first day of June at the local honeypot. The second line from last - note the (NAT!) - that's a guy who had two laptops sharing the connection.

Old guy

THAT is small and looks nice!

That is all true but do you think the hotel/motel would monitor the connection to that extent? I wouldn't think so, so the idea of one computer logging on thru a router and then the other computers being able to connect thru the router should work EXCEPT where the people are monitoring and checking for such things. You are right it is obvious if one were to check.

Kinda pricey, though, $149.88 at Amazon. Compared to the "Linksys Compact Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54GC" for $63.64 at Amazon,

I noticed that D-Link and Netgear also have "compact" or "traveller" models.