802.11, the next big thing. not your usual sattelite internet at all. wireless LAN networking with maximum bandwidth of 54Mbit/s

so i was just wondering, does anyone have any experience with it? i was thinking of maybe installing wi-fi for my pc and using one of them free access points. too bad i don't know jack shit about it.

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There are a few standards of "Wi-Fi"

802.11 -- applies to wireless LANs and provides 1 or 2 Mbps transmission in the 2.4 GHz band using either frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS).

802.11a -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANs and provides up to 54 Mbps in the 5GHz band.

802.11b (also referred to as 802.11 High Rate or Wi-Fi) -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANS and provides 11 Mbps transmission (with a fallback to 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz band.

802.11g -- applies to wireless LANs and provides 20+ Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band.

(taken from: http://www.80211-planet.com/ )

Whatever you do be sure to enable WEP encryption and MAC address filtering. I have done some wardriving and have found some 100 open AP (Access Points) in my area alone. I can get on their network no problem and do whatever I want.

quote:

Originally posted by Blake613 There are a few standards of "Wi-Fi" 802.11 -- applies to wireless LANs and provides 1 or 2 Mbps transmission in the 2.4 GHz band using either frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS). 802.11a -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANs and provides up to 54 Mbps in the 5GHz band. 802.11b (also referred to as 802.11 High Rate or Wi-Fi) -- an extension to 802.11 that applies to wireless LANS and provides 11 Mbps transmission (with a fallback to 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps) in the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11g -- applies to wireless LANs and provides 20+ Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band. (taken from: http://www.80211-planet.com/ ) Whatever you do be sure to enable WEP encryption and MAC address filtering. I have done some wardriving and have found some 100 open AP (Access Points) in my area alone. I can get on their network no problem and do whatever I want.

What is "wardriving"?

quote:

Originally posted by ali92 What is "wardriving"?

it's when you drive and have your laptop turned on and searching for WAPs or wireless access points

Blake, since you're experienced with this, my question is: i buy the Nic card for whatever it is, plug it in and it searches for a provider... would you say i'd be able to find a free WAP around here (especially if i make one of them coffee/pringles can antennas). i mean like how likely it is that someone is openly sharing their connection without a password? because that's the main thing holding me back from setting this up: getting disappointed in not having a carrier.

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