Solutions Fast Track

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The Origins of WarDriving

• WarDriving is the act of moving around a certain area and mapping the population of wireless access points for statistical purposes and to raise awareness of the security problems associated with these types of networks. WarDriving does not in any way imply using these wireless access points without authorization.

• The term WarDriving refers to all wireless discovery activity (WarFlying, WarWalking, and so forth).

• The term WarDriving originates from WarDialing, the practice of using a modem attached to a computer to dial an entire exchange of telephone numbers to locate any computers with modems attached to them. This activity was dubbed WarDialing because it was introduced to the general public by Matthew Broderick’s character, David Lightman, in the 1983 movie, WarGames.

• The FBI has stated that WarDriving, according to its true meaning, is not illegal in the United States.

Tools of the Trade or “What Do I Need?”

• There are two primary hardware setups for WarDriving:

  1. A laptop computer

  2. A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

• In order to WarDrive, you will need:

  1. A wireless network interface card (NIC), preferably with an external antenna connector.

  2. An external antenna of which two types are primarily used:

     1. Omni-directional antennas are used to WarDrive when you want to pick up as many access points as possible in all directions.

     2. Directional antennas are used to WarDrive when attempting to pinpoint particular access points in a known location or direction.

  3. A pigtail with the proper connectors for use in attaching your antenna to your wireless network card.

  4. A handheld GPS capable of NMEA output.

  5. An external power source such as a power inverter or cigarette lighter adapter is beneficial.

Putting It All Together

• When using Windows operating systems, you should disable the TCP/IP stack to avoid inadvertently connecting to misconfigured wireless networks.

• When using a Pocket PC or Windows CE, you should set a non-standard IP address and subnet mask to avoid inadvertently connecting to misconfigured wireless networks.

• Because the tools for use in the Linux operating system use monitor mode, no additional configuration is necessary.

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