how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers. Discuss how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers, on Wireless Forums.
how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
As I frequently travel around SE Asia, I found it increasingly
difficult to get online with my own laptop in an internet café.
A solution would be to turn the pc, you get assigned, into a wireless
router and access the net from your laptop through the router. You
would need to do this however without installing any network drivers.
The machines are pretty much locked down and do not allow driver
installs.
An option I am considering is to use a USB device that behaves like a
wifi stick but looks to the pc like a memory stick. The wifi tcp
packets from the laptop would be picked up by the stick and saved as
files. A standalone little app running on the pc would find these
files and send them through the internet. Received tcp packets would
travel the opposite direction.
The Eye-fi sd card (combined with usb-sd adapter) looks pretty much
what I am looking for on the hardware side, but unfortunately its use
is limited and until now there was not much luck hacking it.
So my question is if anyone can think of a better way to tackle this
problem or could point me to a more appropriate h/w solution.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:57:13 -0800 (PST), backupaccjud@gmail.com wrote
in <ea5cc3ce-70c2-4b81-81d8-19b6e74fbd7c@x16g2000prn.googlegroups.com>:
>As I frequently travel around SE Asia, I found it increasingly
>difficult to get online with my own laptop in an internet café.
My solution is to use high-speed cellular data.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
Look what the cat dragged in - :
<snip>
> A solution would be to turn the pc, you get assigned, into a wireless
> router and access the net from your laptop through the router. You
> would need to do this however without installing any network drivers.
> The machines are pretty much locked down and do not allow driver
> installs.
Why not just use "the pc, you get assigned"?
--
Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On 13 Nov 2008 19:50:40 GMT, Axel Hammerschmidt <hlexa@hotmail.com>
wrote in <Xns9B55D403A1A50hlexahotmailcom@130.133.1.4>:
>Look what the cat dragged in - :
>
><snip>
>
>> A solution would be to turn the pc, you get assigned, into a wireless
>> router and access the net from your laptop through the router. You
>> would need to do this however without installing any network drivers.
>> The machines are pretty much locked down and do not allow driver
>> installs.
>
>Why not just use "the pc, you get assigned"?
Lots of reasons; e.g.,
Possible keylogger
Lack of personal data files.
etc.
I never ever use public computers for anything the least bit sensitive.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
John Navas:
> On 13 Nov 2008 19:50:40 GMT, Axel Hammerschmidt <hlexa@hotmail.com>
> wrote in <Xns9B55D403A1A50hlexahotmailcom@130.133.1.4>:
<snip>
>> Why not just use "the pc, you get assigned"?
>
> Lots of reasons; e.g.,
> Possible keylogger
> Lack of personal data files.
> etc.
>
> I never ever use public computers for anything the least bit
> sensitive.
Nor should you then use a laptop...
: From: Donna Ohl <donna.ohl@sbcglobal.net>
:
: Subject: How can I tell if a keylogger got added to my PC while I was
: in Beijing?
:
: Newsgroups:
: alt.internet.wireless,alt.privacy.spyware,microsof t.public.security
:
: Message-ID: <ASbNk.4031$D32.757@flpi146.ffdc.sbc.com>
:
: Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 21:59:26 -0700
That said, why does one want to use the locked down computer as a
wireless router? Bring along your own wireless "pocket router" and plug
the cable from the locked down computer in and use that.
Usefull wireless pocket routers could be a D-Link DWL-G730AP or an ASUS
WL-330gE.
Or just connect the laptop.
I once plugged a cable from my Apple Powebook's (Gbit) Ethernet port into
a vacant port at the Royal Library in Copenhagen and did a software
update - over 100 MB - from Apple in just under a minute. A few weeks
later I returned to find that all the public computers were now connected
by cable to ports hidden behind wall covers.
I think I may have "flattened" the whole library's internet connection
with my little stunt.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Nov 13, 7:05*pm, John Navas <spamfilt...@navasgroup.com> wrote:
> On 13 Nov 2008 19:50:40 GMT, Axel Hammerschmidt <hl...@hotmail.com>
> wrote in <Xns9B55D403A1A50hlexahotmail...@130.133.1.4>:
>
> >Look what the cat dragged in - :
>
> ><snip>
>
> >> A solution would be to turn the pc, you get assigned, into a wireless
> >> router and access the net from your laptop through the router. You
> >> would need to do this however without installing any network drivers.
> >> The machines are pretty much locked down and do not allow driver
> >> installs.
>
> >Why not just use "the pc, you get assigned"?
>
> Lots of reasons; e.g.,
> Possible keylogger
> Lack of personal data files.
> etc.
>
> I never ever use public computers for anything the least bit sensitive.
Yes: pc in internet shops, are, as a rule, infected. You think that
teenager that was online before you was really careful with the shop's
pc ?
More reasons: the keyboard is in another language and it's really
hard to find certain keys. Takes a lot longer to type when they
switch the keys and labels around. And don't forget about the
inevitable broken space bar, etc from gaming abuse. Not to mention
that it's the crappiest keyboard around, the mouse is set a foot up
with the monitor on a short cord - basically everything you could
imagine about the interface can be really bad - as long as somebody
can still use it, somehow, it's rentable.
I was in town the other day and had to get into my email for a package
confirmation code so I went to an internet shop. But I could not
sign in to my email for the life of me. FINALLY I typed the PW into a
text editor so I could see it and figured out that one key related to
my PW was not working on the keyboard. I really hope there were no
keyloggers, it did seem like a well managed shop... but.
More reasons: the browser has all the automatic settings you hate.
There are so many toolbars on the browser that you can hardly see the
pages. There are ten useless programs running in the background
that clog up the pc....on top of the infections....
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Nov 14, 2:05*am, John Navas <spamfilt...@navasgroup.com> wrote:
> On 13 Nov 2008 19:50:40 GMT, Axel Hammerschmidt <hl...@hotmail.com>
> wrote in <Xns9B55D403A1A50hlexahotmail...@130.133.1.4>:
>
> >Look what the cat dragged in - :
>
> ><snip>
>
> >> A solution would be to turn the pc, you get assigned, into a wireless
> >> router and access the net from your laptop through the router. You
> >> would need to do this however without installing any network drivers.
> >> The machines are pretty much locked down and do not allow driver
> >> installs.
>
> >Why not just use "the pc, you get assigned"?
>
> Lots of reasons; e.g.,
> Possible keylogger
> Lack of personal data files.
> etc.
>
> I never ever use public computers for anything the least bit sensitive.
> --
> Best regards, * FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
> John Navas * * *FAQ for Wi-Fi: *<http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
> * * * * * *Wi-Fi How To: *<http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
> Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: *<http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
indeed. Most of my work I can do off-line as soon as I synced my e-
mail, blogs, etc.. but for this you need to get your own laptop
connected to the net . Also security is really a big issue, the
question is not if your passwords gets compromised, but when! I always
checked the date I last logged into my email and in the 3 month
traveling I had to change it five times. Worse was when they got the
password of the site I was maintaining and put it full of nasty
exploits at which point it was blacklisted.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
> That said, why does one want to use the locked down computer as a
> wireless router? Bring along your own wireless "pocket router" and plug
> the cable from the locked down computer in and use that.
>
> Usefull wireless pocket routers could be a D-Link DWL-G730AP or an ASUS
> WL-330gE.
>
> Or just connect the laptop.
>
In practice connecting the laptop or a router is quite a bit of hassle
which the owners of most 30cent/hour internetcafe's don't want to be
bothered with. They will throw you out when you start fiddling with
their cables or start asking difficult questions.
But lately it has become totally impossible as most cafe's use a
central console to control the pc's remotely. This means that a
certain piece of configured client software is needed on the client pc
that talks with the console which will allow a connection for whatever
timeframe you requested. This means that the only option to get
through to the web is through that computer.
Plugging in something that looks like a memory stick in a usb port
however would not be a problem and you would be going over the
'protected' pipe.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
> Usefull wireless pocket routers could be a D-Link DWL-G730AP or an ASUS
> WL-330gE.
I've used a Linksys WTR54 for years now. Works great (at least in US 110vac
outlets).
Plug it in-between an existing PC, tap the config button and you're set. In
a few rare cases you need to take the added step of using the web config
page on it to tweak a few things. But more often than not it 'just works'.
The trick being, however, is you need to be physically plugging and
unplugging network wiring. Not something likely to be possible at most
cafes.
There's no easy way to just plug in a passive device that steals the host's
network connection. It would be a huge security risk. Anyone with access
to a USB port could plug in such a device and instantly steal access to the
PC's network. You can no doubt imagine why nobody would want to allow that.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:35:22 -0500, "Bill Kearney"
<wkearney99@hotmail.com> wrote:
>There's no easy way to just plug in a passive device that steals the host's
>network connection. It would be a huge security risk. Anyone with access
>to a USB port could plug in such a device and instantly steal access to the
>PC's network. You can no doubt imagine why nobody would want to allow that.
Yep, but it's already here. Buffalo and some other USB vendors
thought it would be nice to have the USB wireless device install
itself without using any downloaded or CDROM based software. Buffalo
calls it their "WLI-U2-KG54-AI Wireless-G Keychain USB 2.0 Adapter
with Auto Installation".
<http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/wireless/wireless-g/wireless-g-keychain-usb-20-adapter-with-auto-installation/>
They included some memory on the USB device, pre-loaded with the
Windoze driver software. Plug it in, autostart installs the drivers,
and everything should just function. Right. I'll spare you the list
of situations where that great idea literally doesn't work, but if you
have a very generic and insecure Windoze XP installation, it does
function. A clue is that they now ship an updated driver disk with
the device. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that
modifying or adding to the USB driver install can load just about
anything manner of malware onto the target machine.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On 14 Nov 2008 17:27:58 GMT, Axel Hammerschmidt <hlexa@hotmail.com>
wrote in <Xns9B56BC05098Ehlexahotmailcom@130.133.1.4>:
>John Navas:
>
>> On 13 Nov 2008 19:50:40 GMT, Axel Hammerschmidt <hlexa@hotmail.com>
>> wrote in <Xns9B55D403A1A50hlexahotmailcom@130.133.1.4>:
>
><snip>
>
>>> Why not just use "the pc, you get assigned"?
>>
>> Lots of reasons; e.g.,
>> Possible keylogger
>> Lack of personal data files.
>> etc.
>>
>> I never ever use public computers for anything the least bit
>> sensitive.
>
>Nor should you then use a laptop...
Nonsense -- my laptop is extremely secure.
Look up Security on the Lenovo website.
>I think I may have "flattened" the whole library's internet connection
>with my little stunt.
How nice.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:30:10 -0800 (PST), backupaccjud@gmail.com wrote
in <d926e0c9-962e-4183-866b-9f7775de446b@a26g2000prf.googlegroups.com>:
>
>> That said, why does one want to use the locked down computer as a
>> wireless router? Bring along your own wireless "pocket router" and plug
>> the cable from the locked down computer in and use that.
>>
>> Usefull wireless pocket routers could be a D-Link DWL-G730AP or an ASUS
>> WL-330gE.
>>
>> Or just connect the laptop.
>>
>In practice connecting the laptop or a router is quite a bit of hassle
>...
Which is why I use high-speed wireless. Problem solved almost anyplace,
even well out at sea. :)
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:17:51 -0800 (PST), backupaccjud@gmail.com wrote
in <f12f408b-0254-427f-9fa2-1ce4f9291743@s9g2000prm.googlegroups.com>:
>On Nov 14, 2:05*am, John Navas <spamfilt...@navasgroup.com> wrote:
>> I never ever use public computers for anything the least bit sensitive.
>indeed. Most of my work I can do off-line as soon as I synced my e-
>mail, blogs, etc.. but for this you need to get your own laptop
>connected to the net . Also security is really a big issue, the
>question is not if your passwords gets compromised, but when! I always
>checked the date I last logged into my email and in the 3 month
>traveling I had to change it five times. Worse was when they got the
>password of the site I was maintaining and put it full of nasty
>exploits at which point it was blacklisted.
I use SSL connections, which protects my passwords.
And a different password for every service and website.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
"John Navas" <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
news:0p3vh453jn64dpr7c4c114ms15iupj4f2e@4ax.com...
>>> That said, why does one want to use the locked down computer as a
>>> wireless router? Bring along your own wireless "pocket router" and plug
>>> the cable from the locked down computer in and use that.
>
> Which is why I use high-speed wireless. Problem solved almost anyplace,
> even well out at sea. :)
And your experience with it it SE ASIA cafe locations is, what? Nil? Like
most other things apparently.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:29:57 -0500, "Bill Kearney"
<wkearney99@hotmail.com> wrote in
<KN6dnVsAsPLrob3UnZ2dnUVZ_jSdnZ2d@speakeasy.net> :
>"John Navas" <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>news:0p3vh453jn64dpr7c4c114ms15iupj4f2e@4ax.com.. .
>>>> That said, why does one want to use the locked down computer as a
>>>> wireless router? Bring along your own wireless "pocket router" and plug
>>>> the cable from the locked down computer in and use that.
>>
>> Which is why I use high-speed wireless. Problem solved almost anyplace,
>> even well out at sea. :)
>
>And your experience with it it SE ASIA cafe locations is, what? Nil?
I don't care about SE Asia.
>Like
>most other things apparently.
I leave that distinction to you.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://wireless.navas.us>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.navas.us/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:39:23 -0500, "Bill Kearney"
<wkearney99@hotmail.com> wrote in
<MJOdnetamPPWVr3UnZ2dnUVZ_vzinZ2d@speakeasy.net> :
>"John Navas" <spamfilter1@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>news:u5e1i4pcnf9j4qu4c7tc0eblcksqstkac6@4ax.com.. .
>> I don't care about SE Asia.
>
>And yet the original post was from someone specifically asking about using
>it there. Get a clue.
It's called topic drift. Get a clue.
--
Best regards,
John Navas <http:/navasgroup.com>
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea - massive,
difficult to redirect, awe inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind
boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it." --Gene Spafford
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
> Yep, but it's already here. *Buffalo and some other USB vendors
> thought it would be nice to have the USB wireless device install
> itself without using any downloaded or CDROM based software. *Buffalo
> calls it their "WLI-U2-KG54-AI Wireless-G Keychain USB 2.0 Adapter
> with Auto Installation". *
> <http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/wireless/wireless-g/wirele...>
> They included some memory on the USB device, pre-loaded with the
> Windoze driver software. *Plug it in, autostart installs the drivers,
> and everything should just function. *Right. *I'll spare you the list
> of situations where that great idea literally doesn't work, but if you
> have a very generic and insecure Windoze XP installation, it does
> function. *A clue is that they now ship an updated driver disk with
> the device. *It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that
> modifying or adding to the USB driver install can load just about
> anything manner of malware onto the target machine.
>
This would unfortunately not solve the original problem as the drivers
are there on the wifi-stick and would still need to be installed for
which you would need admin access (which will not be provided). Also
this would not behave as a router but only allows your computer to
connect TO a wireless router instead of behaving LIKE a wireless
router.
Uses of this idea go a lot further than just connectivity on a locked
down cybercafe computer. Anyplace you would go with your laptop you
would be able to setup wifi as soon as a computer connected to the
internet is found (you could actually get something done when visiting
the in-laws!). Also for snooping this opens up a whole new line of
attacks.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On 12/11/2008 19:57, backupaccjud@gmail.com wrote:
> As I frequently travel around SE Asia, I found it increasingly
> difficult to get online with my own laptop in an internet café.
>
> A solution would be to turn the pc, you get assigned, into a wireless
> router and access the net from your laptop through the router. You
> would need to do this however without installing any network drivers.
> The machines are pretty much locked down and do not allow driver
> installs.
>
> An option I am considering is to use a USB device that behaves like a
> wifi stick but looks to the pc like a memory stick. The wifi tcp
> packets from the laptop would be picked up by the stick and saved as
> files. A standalone little app running on the pc would find these
> files and send them through the internet. Received tcp packets would
> travel the opposite direction.
>
> The Eye-fi sd card (combined with usb-sd adapter) looks pretty much
> what I am looking for on the hardware side, but unfortunately its use
> is limited and until now there was not much luck hacking it.
>
> So my question is if anyone can think of a better way to tackle this
> problem or could point me to a more appropriate h/w solution.
>
> Thank you,
> Toffie
Perhaps you should look at one of these:-
<http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=346>
It is small, can work in client mode and according to the web page "For
added mobility, the DWL-G730AP can be powered over USB if power outlets
are not available".
>> Yep, but it's already here. *Buffalo and some other USB vendors
>> thought it would be nice to have the USB wireless device install
>> itself without using any downloaded or CDROM based software. *Buffalo
>> calls it their "WLI-U2-KG54-AI Wireless-G Keychain USB 2.0 Adapter
>> with Auto Installation". *
>> <http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/wireless/wireless-g/wirele...>
>> They included some memory on the USB device, pre-loaded with the
>> Windoze driver software. *Plug it in, autostart installs the drivers,
>> and everything should just function. *Right. *I'll spare you the list
>> of situations where that great idea literally doesn't work, but if you
>> have a very generic and insecure Windoze XP installation, it does
>> function. *A clue is that they now ship an updated driver disk with
>> the device. *It doesn't take much imagination to figure out that
>> modifying or adding to the USB driver install can load just about
>> anything manner of malware onto the target machine.
>This would unfortunately not solve the original problem as the drivers
>are there on the wifi-stick and would still need to be installed for
>which you would need admin access (which will not be provided).
I don't understand the problem. Could you describe what you're trying
to accomplish?
As I see it, you want plug and play functionality, without any
drivers. You can't do that with a USB port. You might be able to do
that with Linux, which uses BTLD (boot time loadable drivers). You
can do it with ethernet, but only if the device were totally self
contained (power, firmware, wireless client, DHCP server, firewall,
etc) and all that is required is plugging the ethernet cable into the
laptop ethernet port. There are several portable "travel" wi-fi
routers/clients that come close. For example, the WTR54G:
<http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayo ut&cid=1166859932316&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FV isitorWrapper&lid=JavaScript-1166859932316>
>Also
>this would not behave as a router but only allows your computer to
>connect TO a wireless router instead of behaving LIKE a wireless
>router.
Unless I'm missing something here, there is no need for the client
conencted radio to act as a router. Routers connect two networks. In
the typical coffee shop, there is only one network.
>Uses of this idea go a lot further than just connectivity on a locked
>down cybercafe computer.
Examples please?
>Anyplace you would go with your laptop you
>would be able to setup wifi as soon as a computer connected to the
>internet is found (you could actually get something done when visiting
>the in-laws!).
There are automatic connecting wireless (software) clients available.
They do SSID scans, and try to connect to anything and everything it
finds. My Verizon XV6700 cell phone does that. It's an ugly, slow,
error prone, and insecure process, that methinks is a rather lousy
idea. However, I will admit it's convenient. If I were evil (well, I
am evil, but don't let that bother you), I could setup a virtual
access point in a coffee shop, and just wait for such clients to
connect to me. I would then pass the traffic on to the real access
point. This is called "man in the middle" attack, and is a common way
to sniff passwords. It's also fairly difficult to detect unless you
know the MAC address of the real hotspot wireless access point.
>Also for snooping this opens up a whole new line of
>attacks.
Yes, but not new. Man in the middle has been around for quite a
while.
Re: how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers
On Nov 19, 5:51*am, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:16:01 -0800 (PST), backupacc...@gmail.com
> wrote:
>
>
> I don't understand the problem. Could you describe what you're trying
> to accomplish?
>
Hi Jeff,
first off, thanks for all the suggestions up till now.
The problem that I am trying to solve is actually quite simple: How to
bum an internet connection off an xp or vista machine that only allows
the most basic of functions to the default user. I.e. any machine that
is controlled by a small to mid-sized company or internet cafe. As you
undoubtedly experienced, an it department tends to only give the most
basic of rights to the common domain user (locked down desktop, run
only approved apps, only http access to the net, ftp if you are
lucky, ...). As the network layers on the pc are made completely off
limits and the direct network access (i.e. plugging in of router in
the ethernet socket) is not accessible due to the use of nac or nap,
the only place to tap into the net is from the top (layer 7), i.e. the
application and use the pipe ( = other six layers) already in place .
So after a bit of thinking I came up with following scenario:
assuming that on the locked down pc :
1) you can at least run your own application that can talk with the
network stack and read from a mem stick
2) you can plug in an usb stick that looks to the usb adapter as a
default memory stick
You could try the following:
1) use something like eye-fi (http://www.eye.fi/) with an sd to usb
adapter and plug it into the machine
2) the stick would be identified as a standard memory stick
3) your own laptop would talk with the eye-fi as it was a wi-fi router
and put his tcp packets on the stick like files
4) the app. on the pc would see those files appear, pick them up and
send them over the tcp stack of the pc onto the net
5) the returning packets from the net would be put on the memory stick
like files
6) the laptop would pick up those files and find the interpret the tcp
packets
and voila, you circumvented most security systems in place and offered
free wifi from any pc with an internet connection. I admit this would
be be rather slow communication, but more than sufficient for email
and blog syncing.
> As I see it, you want plug and play functionality, without any
> drivers. *You can't do that with a USB port. *You might be able to do
> that with Linux, which uses BTLD (boot time loadable drivers). *You
> can do it with ethernet, but only if the device were totally self
> contained (power, firmware, wireless client, DHCP server, firewall,
> etc) and all that is required is plugging the ethernet cable into the
> laptop ethernet port. *There are several portable "travel" wi-fi
> routers/clients that come close. *For example, the WTR54G:
> <http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_CASupport_C2&childpagena....>
>
I understand the need to use drivers, but if you install anything more
than a mem stick on most locked down machines you will run into
security restrictions and not be allowed to install the driver needed.
You should be fine with mem stick drivers however
>
> Unless I'm missing something here, there is no need for the client
> conencted radio to act as a router. *Routers connect two networks. *In
> the typical coffee shop, there is only one network.
>
true, but that one network is not open to your laptop, so you need to
create a new one, based on the coffee shop one, for that you would
IMHO need a router.
>
> There are automatic connecting wireless (software) clients available.
> They do SSID scans, and try to connect to anything and everything it
> finds. *My Verizon XV6700 cell phone does that. *It's an ugly, slow,
> error prone, and insecure process, that methinks is a rather lousy
> idea. *However, I will admit it's convenient. *If I were evil (well, I
> am evil, but don't let that bother you), I could setup a virtual
> access point in a coffee shop, and just wait for such clients to
> connect to me. *I would then pass the traffic on to the real access
> point. *This is called "man in the middle" attack, and is a common way
> to sniff passwords. *It's also fairly difficult to detect unless you
> know the MAC address of the real hotspot wireless access point.
>
the scenario I described assumes a cabled network with a pc available.
Unfortunately there still are not a lot of wifi hotspots to be found
in SE Asia (except for the bigger cities, which I like to avoid when
travelling)
>
> >Also for snooping this opens up a whole new line of
> >attacks.
>
> Yes, but not new. *Man in the middle has been around for quite a
> while.
>
again true, but just imagine what you could do if you have 1 minute
access on ANY corporate pc (inserting the usb stick + starting the
program as a service) => wireless access on network level to the whole
corporate network.
how to turn a pc in a wireless router without the use of drivers 
Linear Mode
