[GreenKeys] Wiping out your neighbor's reception

[Richard M. Gillingham]

Yup.  Stumbler shows me at least two quite strong APs (besides my own) that 
I could access if I were of evil disposition.  I know one is my next door 
neighbor, but the second, and occassional others I've no clue.  Their names 
of course are defaulted to the manufacturers names (D-Link, LinkSys, etc)

Gil, W1RG
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Foust" <jfoust at threedee.com>
To: <greenkeys at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 9:16 AM
Subject: Re: [GreenKeys] Wiping out your neighbor's reception


> At 02:43 PM 4/20/2005, Tim McNerney wrote:
>>The modern equivalent wiping out your neighbor's TV reception,
>>I'm sad to say, can be perpetrated by anyone.  Since the 2.4GHz
>>ISM band is unlicensed, and the FCC is too busy catering to
>>corporate BOPL interests seemingly intent on wiping out ham
>>reception (oops, that's a rant for another day), all your neighbor
>>has to do is to buy a cheap cordless phone, and he can wipe out
>>your entire investment in 802.11b "WiFi" equipment.  And, though
>>I could be mistaken, practically speaking, I don't think
>>there is anything you can do about it, except maybe knock
>>on all your neighbors' doors offering to buy them new phones.
>
> WiFi is spread spectrum and that alone reduces the effects of
> contention.  You also have a choice of 11 channels, three ranges
> of which are not overlapping.  Yes, other unlicensed equipment can
> stomp on your signal, but you have a few options.
>
> As any ham knows, the simplest antenna can make a big difference.
> Even those rubber duckie antennas are 2 dB.  A little panel might be 6 dB. 
> Even using a seemingly highly directional 19 dB panel
> in the right spot in your house might do the trick.  There are plenty
> of lobes that make it less directional than you think.  Access
> points and laptop wireless cards are available in 30, 100 and
> 200 mW varieties.  Don't expect the cheapest to work best.
>
>>Actually, maybe you guys know...  What sort of equipment might
>>one use to figure out which neighbor is the "perp"?
>
> There are several sniffer programs for PCs or handhelds that
> show signal strength in dB as measured by the wireless chipset.
> NetStumbler is one.  Wander around until you find the right house.
>
> I'm a WISP, a wireless Internet provider.  My biggest problem in
> the last year has been the 200 mW to 400 mW access point / routers
> that SBC was giving away to DSL customers.  Many people didn't
> even know they were radiating.  They are lighting up entire
> neighborhoods all in the name of reducing tech support calls
> because people would find null spots in their house at 30 or 100 mW.
> Or they'd call to complain they couldn't use it in the backyard.
>
> I even had a guy two doors down who had explicitly asked NOT to get
> the wireless router (for security purposes) yet they shipped him one,
> with a password set to his street address.  He didn't believe he was
> stomping on my 100 mW / 15 dB broomstick until I showed him
> the sniffer.  He was knocking out the neighborhood.
>
> - John
>
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