Leeching bandwidth

Q.

Is there a way to determine if a particular location has a Wi-Fi hotspot?

A.

You could go searching for nearby wireless networks using a Wi-Fi-capable device such as a laptop, PDA or a handheld gaming console. Trolling around for wireless internet is called 'Wardriving'. An extensive software catalogue for wardriving on various platforms is available online. Notable examples include NetStumbler for Windows (stumbler.net), Kismet for Linux (kismetwireless.net) and KisMAC for the Mac OSX (trac.kismac-ng.org). However, it is quite umbersome to sniff out Wi-Fi hotspots with an open laptop ,n one hand and plenty of portable Wi-Fi-capable devices such as the Apple iPhone and certain mobile phones that can do the job equally well. Applications like Stumbler for the iPhone and Barbelo (darkircop.org/barbelo) for S60 3rd Edition devices such as the Nokia N95, N82, etcetera can use a phone to detect 802.11 networks. Often, it is possible to connect to public and open wireless networks that belong to restaurants, cafes and the like, but it is also likely that you will discover open Wi-Fi networks which belong to private organisations and individuals and which are not meant be accessed by all and sundry. It is inadvisable and unethical to piggyback on a private network and definitely illegal to delve beyond just internet access while connected to any network - even if the computers and files on the network are visible and accessible. Remember; just because you can, doesn't mean you should.