Share hotels wireless connection

I would like to be able to share a wireless connection in a hotel room
between two laptops.
The laptops can be connected wireless or wired. I do not want to mess with
ICS.

I found these two products which can create a wireless connection for the
laptops:
LINKSYS WTR54GS travel router
Apple AirPort Express

Are there any other options available for connecting the laptops wireless
and what kind of devices will I need if I want to hook the laptops up with
ethernet cable to the wireless connection on the hotel? I would think there
is some kind of wireless to wired converter available out there? (Wireless
is preferred though)

In addition to this I got in my home a computer in an area with weak signals
from my wireless network. If any of the solutions for the above, could be
used in my home, when I'm not traveling, to get stronger signals to this
computer or connect it with cable, then it would be the perfect solution.

Thanks
Mike

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:37:53 -0400, Mike M wrote:

> I would like to be able to share a wireless connection in a hotel room
> between two laptops.

It's not what you asked for but it is simpler and requires nothing special.

Just download MacMakeUp freeware for Windows and set BOTH PCs to the SAME
MAC address. http://www.gorlani.com/publicprj/mac.../macmakeup.asp

Then, hook to the hotel wireless with one laptop.

When you want to switch to the other laptop, just disable the wireless
connection on the first laptop and enable the wireless connection on the
second laptop.

The network can't tell the difference so both work - just not at the same
time.

IMHO, I don't think bad anything will happen if both are on the connection
at the same time but I never tried it because I'm a scaredy cat.

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:37:53 -0400, Mike M wrote:
> In addition to this I got in my home a computer in an area with weak signals
> from my wireless network ... to get stronger signals to this
> computer or connect it with cable, then it would be the perfect solution.

Jeff Liebermann would know this better than me but one thing I suggest is
Network Crumbler (basically a hacked network stumbler that allows both
netstumbler and wireless zero to work at the same time).

Netcrumbler will show you the signal strength of all the local hidden
wireless networks. For example, in my neighborhood, there are dozens of
access points, and netcrumbler orders them from weak to strong, allowing me
to choose unused channels and ssids.

Good luck!

"George D." <georgeya@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0mRli.10638$bz7.1470@newssvr22.news.prodigy.n et...
> On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:37:53 -0400, Mike M wrote:
>> In addition to this I got in my home a computer in an area with weak
>> signals
>> from my wireless network ... to get stronger signals to this
>> computer or connect it with cable, then it would be the perfect solution.
>
> Jeff Liebermann would know this better than me but one thing I suggest is
> Network Crumbler (basically a hacked network stumbler that allows both
> netstumbler and wireless zero to work at the same time).
>
> Netcrumbler will show you the signal strength of all the local hidden
> wireless networks. For example, in my neighborhood, there are dozens of
> access points, and netcrumbler orders them from weak to strong, allowing
> me
> to choose unused channels and ssids.
>
> Good luck!

So how do they share the hotel wireless to two laptops with that?

* Get a wireless router that has Client Mode and can share it via it's
4-port LAN switch. And if you add an Access Point (or another wireless
router) you can share it wireless as well. This can be done with
after-market firmware like DD-WRT.

Might cost you $150 or so, and some time to flash firmware on one of them.
But then you have a neat "kit" that can share any WiFi anywhere with 3 wired
laptops and a few wireless laptops as well. Then you truly will be
Crumbleavable.

(No Kraft Crumbles were damaged in the processing of this posting.)

---
Alan Spicer
* http://telecom.dyndns.biz/ (Main Site)
* http://www.marinetelecom.net/ (.net mirror site)
* http://alanspicermarinetelecom.com/ (.com mirror site)
* http://www.wifiyacht.net/ (Yacht WiFi Main Site)
* http://www.mymarinewifi.com/ (Marine WiFi .com mirror site)
* IPv6 http://[2001:5c0:8104::1]/
*
* 954-683-3426 Business Mobile
* 866-977-5245 Toll Free 800#
* 954-977-5245 Office
* skype:alanspicertelecom

"Mike M" <nothing@nothing.com> hath wroth:

>I would like to be able to share a wireless connection in a hotel room
>between two laptops.
>The laptops can be connected wireless or wired. I do not want to mess with
>ICS.

Well, if you don't want to use ICS, then I guess various proxy servers
and local NAT programs aren't going to work.

>I found these two products which can create a wireless connection for the
>laptops:
>LINKSYS WTR54GS travel router
>Apple AirPort Express

I have a WTR54GS travel router, that's going to a customer in a few
daze. Works nicely and does what you want. The two laptops will go
to the WTR54GS with CAT5 cables. If you travel, don't forget the
cables.

There are some other travel routers available:
<http://www.jiwire.com/wi-fi-travel-router-buyers-guide-best-travel-routers.htm>
<http://www.3com.com/products/en_US/detail.jsp?tab=features&pathtype=purchase&sku=3CRT RV10075>
<http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=203404>
<http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=346>
<http://www.wiflyer.com>

>Are there any other options available for connecting the laptops wireless
>and what kind of devices will I need if I want to hook the laptops up with
>ethernet cable to the wireless connection on the hotel?

An "ethernet wireless client bridge" *MIGHT* work. See below.

Well, if each laptop has built in wireless, then it might be possible
to connect both of them to the hotel system using the same account
login and password. I've only tried this once, and it did work.
However, I've been told that most turnkey hotel hot-spots look for
multiple logins and drop one of the connections. The one and only
time I tried that, it dropped the *FIRST* connection, which is rather
odd.

>I would think there
>is some kind of wireless to wired converter available out there? (Wireless
>is preferred though)

A wired to wireless converter is called an "ethernet wireless client
bridge". See the list of probable candidates in the FAQ at:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#Wireless_Ethernet_Bridges>
Most of these will allow you to bridge more than one MAC address. You
would connect the wireless bridge, to a simple ethernet hub or switch,
and then CAT5 to your two laptops. The problem is that the hot spot
might decide that these are independent connections, each with their
own MAC address. It also has the problem of loging in twice with the
same account. I would give this scheme about a 25% chance of working.

>In addition to this I got in my home a computer in an area with weak signals
>from my wireless network. If any of the solutions for the above, could be
>used in my home, when I'm not traveling, to get stronger signals to this
>computer or connect it with cable, then it would be the perfect solution.

Sorta. The right answer would be to either install a 2nd access point
somewhere near our weak signal area. Lots of options here ranging
from a repeater or range extender (which I detest), a WDS repeater,
which is somewhat better, or just CAT5 between the two access points.

You can also play with the antennas at both ends:
<http://www.freeantennas.com>

The travel routers tend to be quite universal. You can use them at
home exactly like in the hotel, except that you would position it for
the best signal from your access point. Some can also act as a
repeater, or a WDS bridge. Lots of options, and plenty of things to
try.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"George D." <georgeya@gmail.com> hath wroth:

>On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:37:53 -0400, Mike M wrote:
>> In addition to this I got in my home a computer in an area with weak signals
>> from my wireless network ... to get stronger signals to this
>> computer or connect it with cable, then it would be the perfect solution.

>Jeff Liebermann would know this better than me but one thing I suggest is
>Network Crumbler (basically a hacked network stumbler that allows both
>netstumbler and wireless zero to work at the same time).

Not me. This is the first time I've ever heard of Network Crumbler. I
eventually found NetCrumbler at:
<http://www.chroniclesofawardriver.org/How-To_Hack_NSv0.4.0_Enable_WZC.html#NetCrumbler>
Why would I want WZC running at the same time as NS?

>Netcrumbler will show you the signal strength of all the local hidden
>wireless networks. For example, in my neighborhood, there are dozens of
>access points, and netcrumbler orders them from weak to strong, allowing me
>to choose unused channels and ssids.

Nope. Netstumbler doesn't do that, with or without the patch. Turn
off SSID broadcast and Netstumbler doesn't see it. NS is an active
sniffer. The way NS works is that is transmits a probe request, which
is answered by all access points with their SSID, except for the one's
set to not broadcast their SSID. Some wireless clients, like the one
that come with Netgear WG511 v2, will show hidden access points, but
with a blank SSID. Of course, Linux based Kismet shows everything
including wireless clients. It's a passive sniffer that doesn't
require a response and simply extracts the SSID out of various
connect/disconnect packets.

However, we're getting way off topic here. Netstumbler is a good tool
for optimizing the location of a wireless client. Move the antenna
around and tune for maximum. If SSID broadcast is off in the wireless
access point, turn it on temporarily for the duration of the test.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:41:19 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> Of course, Linux based Kismet shows everything
> including wireless clients. It's a passive sniffer that doesn't
> require a response and simply extracts the SSID out of various
> connect/disconnect packets.

Kismet looks like a great suggestion. Googling for Kismet and Windows, I
find Kiswin32 is available on Windows too ... so I might try Kismet out on
Windows and let you know if/how it works ...

http://www.renderlab.net/projects/wrt54g/

"George D." <georgeya@gmail.com> hath wroth:

>On Fri, 13 Jul 2007 23:41:19 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> Of course, Linux based Kismet shows everything
>> including wireless clients. It's a passive sniffer that doesn't
>> require a response and simply extracts the SSID out of various
>> connect/disconnect packets.
>
>Kismet looks like a great suggestion. Googling for Kismet and Windows, I
>find Kiswin32 is available on Windows too ... so I might try Kismet out on
>Windows and let you know if/how it works ...

It bombed for me. It runs under Cygwin. If the wireless card driver
does not allow a promiscuous or monitor mode, then Kismet will only
show traffic to and from the machine it's running upon.

>http://www.renderlab.net/projects/wrt54g/

That's Kismet Drone, which turns your WRT54G into a sniffer. If
you're going to sacrifice a perfectly good WRT54G for the purpose,
it's much easier to install DD-WRT firmware and use the supplied
utilities. DD-WRT v23 SP3 comes with WiViz installed, which is not
the best, screws up badly with more than about 20 machines, but does
sorta work, sometimes, maybe:
<http://devices.natetrue.com/wiviz/>
<http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wiviz>

You can also do quite a bit with telnet and the "wl" command.
<http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wl_command>
For example:
telnet 192.168.1.1
login: root
password: xxxxxxx
wl ap 0 (turn off access point mode)
wl scan (scan for access points)
(wait about 15 seconds)
wl scanresults (display results)
wl ap 1 (turn access point mode back on)

SSID: "linksys"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -84 dBm noise: -98 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:0F:66:E2:F7:09 Capability: ESS
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 18 24 36 54 6 9 12 48 ]


SSID: "2WIRE549"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -78 dBm noise: -89 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:0D:72:D3:9B:D1 Capability: ESS WEP ShortPre PBCC
ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 22 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]


SSID: "2WIRE934"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -79 dBm noise: -89 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:12:88:D9:84:B9 Capability: ESS WEP ShortPre ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]


SSID: "moo"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -84 dBm noise: -98 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:13:10:EA:0B:97 Capability: ESS ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 18 24 36 54 6 9 12 48 ]


SSID: "2WIRE073"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -84 dBm noise: -89 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:14:95:08:42:41 Capability: ESS WEP ShortPre ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 6 9 12 18 24 36 48 54 ]


SSID: "linksys"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -93 dBm noise: -89 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:13:10:7A:6A:30 Capability: ESS WEP ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 18 24 36 54 6 9 12 48 ]

Note that it shows two different access points with an SSID of
"linksys". Also note the number of 2Wire wireless routers using
insecure WEP encryption. Time to yell at the neighbors (again).


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558