EFF Releases Wireless Router Firmware For Open Access Points 56
klapaucjusz writes:
The EFF has released an experimental router firmware designed make it easy to deploy open (password-less) access points in a secure manner. The EFF's firmware is based on the CeroWRT fork of OpenWRT, but appears to remove some of its more advanced routing features.
The EFF is asking for help to further develop the firmware. They want the open access point to co-exist on the same router as your typical private and secured access point. They want the owner to be able to share bandwidth, but with a cap, so guests don't degrade service for the owner. They're also looking to develop a network queueing, a minimalist web UI, and an auto-update mechanism. The EFF has also released the beta version of a plug-in called Privacy Badger for Firefox and Chrome that will prevent online advertisers from tracking you.
In Germany (Score:3, Informative)
we have freifunk. They develop such software. It also bypass the so called "störerhaftung" (disturber liablility), which makes people liable for anyone that used their hotspot as long as they cannot prove they secured their wifi as much as they could.
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How does it bypass that?
Buffalo DD-WRT routers please (Score:2)
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If you are running ddwrt, then it's trivial to configure this. What the fuck is there to "port"?
Moron.
Just relax now, the nurse will administer the morphine soon.
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Buffalo Routers that run DD-WRT please! I'm sorry I don't have time to do the port...
Yes,
From the EFF page..
'..Currently the software runs on one specific model of hardware (the Netgear WNDR3800) ..'
from the Cerowrt page..
'..To minimize the effects of hardware dependencies, we have chosen the Netgear WNDR3700v2 or WNDR3800 as the sole hardware for the experiments. Note: The WNDR3700v3 and v4 models that have recently appeared on the market do not work with CeroWrt; purchase the WNDR3800 if you want to be future-proof...
Quick check on the WNDR3800, it's been EOL'd by Netgear, and isn't that
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I'm sorry but Buffalo routers are fscking GARBAGE. I've purchased god-knows-how-many routers for clients and myself and I bought into the hype about how Buffalo routers are so wonderful and they run DD-WRT and they aren't like other brands. BULLSH!T. They are crippled by weak azz wifi and no matter how many times I factory reset (60, 60, 60) the settings from my previous configuration persist. Called their "tech support" line and was told that the features that I PAID FOR were unsupported and that they were
Can't wait for the cops to bust down my house (Score:1, Interesting)
because some pervert tried to download child pornography!
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Why did someone mod this guy down?
Illegal use of your access point could have serious consequences (unless it somehow confers Common Carrier Protection of Interneting +4 which I'm unaware of)
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The 'fraud squad' already contacted me about credit card skimming traced to our home internet, whereby someone had hacked our wifi in a drive-by usage. They suggested we change our password but you wonder how secure WPA2 is anyway...
The local ISP, Telstra, is said to soon be trialling nationwide 'free wifi' to ADSL2 customers by offering a free modem with segregated wifi. So I wonder what firmware they plan to use.
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Why did someone mod this guy down?
Illegal use of your access point could have serious consequences (unless it somehow confers Common Carrier Protection of Interneting +4 which I'm unaware of)
And how many Starbucks owners do you see in federal prison?
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Starbucks owners have a lot of money and are incorporated with the state.
Most people aren't in that category.
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If the EFF wanted to be really cool they could make their router firmware set up a transparent proxy so that the anonymous users are routed onto the TOR network. Their Internet access would be slower, but it couldn't be traced to the owner of the router. Also, increasing the size of the TOR network would increase the amount of anonymity it offered.
WFA-UNAUTH-TLS (Score:1)
WFA-UNAUTH-TLS
Just gonna throw that out there.
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> WFA-UNAUTH-TLS
For those wondering WTF that is:
Seems to be a TLS protocol standard for clients to talk to an open wifi access point but still encrypt the traffic over the air to prevent snooping ala firesheep. [wikipedia.org]
liability? (Score:2)
So if you're sharing your wi-fi with the public at large and someone commits an "Internet Nasty" while connected via your router - who is criminally liable?
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You could roll over to their house, connect to their access point and GNAA the fuck out of slashdot to get their IP banned.
Oops.
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So if you're sharing your wi-fi with the public at large and someone commits an "Internet Nasty" while connected via your router - who is criminally liable?
As lawyers, this is a bonus for the EFF. The innocent party who owned the wifi and shared, who gets caught up in all the legal nastiness is good for their donations and publicity.
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So if you're sharing your wi-fi with the public at large and someone commits an "Internet Nasty" while connected via your router - who is criminally liable?
No kidding. I don't see the EFF offering to indemnify any users.
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So if you're sharing your wi-fi with the public at large and someone commits an "Internet Nasty" while connected via your router - who is criminally liable?
Who's liable when they roll into the parking lot of the local Best Western and do the same thing?
Making it public is what makes you immune. If it's not public, then you're verifying that all activity from your IP is your own. Making your connection free for others to use re-anonymizes your IP address.
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Making it public is what makes you immune. If it's not public, then you're verifying that all activity from your IP is your own. Making your connection free for others to use re-anonymizes your IP address.
Firstly, running an open wifi point would be against my TOS
Secondly, being in breach of point the first, the police would then turn your argument round on it's head...running a public access point sir?, must be trying to bury your illegal traffic in amongst everyone else's..You're fuckin' nicked, me old beauty!
immunity my arse...you do realise that the upstream monitoring logs and classification of the traffic which led them to you in the first instance will then be produced in a court of law against you,
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The fact it's usually traceable back to you?
A lot of those free wifi things require actually staying at the hotel where they'll happily give you a login and password (tied to your account, of course).
Though, I welcome the move - no more bandwidth limitations! I mean, the problem with all the wifi provided by ISPs Is you have to log into them and they often charge your account for bandwidth.
But if you can have fr
Re:The point? (Score:4, Insightful)
Do you really trust your mobile telco much more than a random wifi router?
I dont.
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> What I don't get is why on earth you'd want to give any of your internet bandwidth to the public if you're living in a private residence.
> I see absolutely no benefit to me in running one.
I do it because it costs me nothing to help out someone.
> What's the point of 4G and shit like that if in the end you're sill relying on peoples' free wireless access points?
Indeed. What is the point of paying for 4G by the bit when you can use free wifi instead?
I think you've answered your own question.
Re: The point? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's called sharing. The world would be a better place if more people did it.
Obsolete before it was released. (Score:2)
That's cool, but the only hardware it officially supports is End of Life.
WNDR3800 http://support.netgear.com/pro... [netgear.com]
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Other than reduced availability for sale I don't think being end of life should really matter you would not get support from netgear on a custom firmware.
I just feels to me like the EFF wants to reinvent the wheel here. There are already routers/firmwares out there that support multiple wifi ssid's just make one of them a guest id public or not.
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Other than reduced availability for sale I don't think being end of life should really matter you would not get support from netgear on a custom firmware.
This isn't about Netgear support, the point is that by choosing a target system that you can now only get on the used market (and, from my cursory check this morning, it isn't exactly a common model you see coming up regularly, at least, here) they've (EFF) immediately scored an own-goal by putting off people who might want to try this out by making an apparently stupid choice of base distro and target hardware.
A quick check of the spare routers I have currently doing nothing, Linksys, d-link, trend, tp-lin
EFF strikes again... (Score:2)
This is just another spammer and net criminal enabler. The EFF has long fought against efforts to end spam. Encouraging wide-open net access with no accountability is just another step down that road.
The EFF: enabling spammers since the 1990s.