I’m back in the US and back on the road — ths time, though, on wheels, not in the air. Recorded in the TravelCommons “mobile studio” (a ’95 Chevy Blazer), this podcast talks about security risks of hotel Internet access, the hassle of replacing forgotten things while on the road, and, in the latest edition of Classic Travel Stories, fun times in really small towns. Also, a response to a listener’s question regarding in-flight mobile phone usage and Internet services. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.
Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #10:
4 comments on “Podcast #10 – Hacking Hotel Rooms; Fun in Really Small Towns”
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Curiosity question: what VPN software/setup do you use OR which ones have you had experiences with (good or bad.) Great topic by the way. Also applies to coffee shops or any other easily accessed networks. Security is something so many people just ignor because they think it doesn’t apply to them OR it’s beyond their level of technical understanding so they basically give up on it. The tv hacking is also something interesting to ponder – hopefully hotels, the larger chains at the very least, will take some time in the future to really take a look at security issues they are creating.
Hilary Baumann
Mark – Listened to this on the way down from Taipei to Singapore this afternoon. Very interesting stuff on the hotel hacking. I recently picked up a D-Link (DWLG730AP) travel router. I have been reading about these lately on FlyerTalk.com and a few other places. There are a few other brands out there and you can even use an Apple Airport Express. The D-Link gives you the ability to 1) set up as a wifi router 2) set up as a regular wifi access point 3) use as a client if you don’t have built in wifi on your laptop. It does provide WEP and another level of firewall security. Just plug into the LAN connection at the hotel and you are pretty much good to go with a “in room” secure wifi connection. Other uses include sharing one ‘paid’ hotel connection with your traveling companions or in a meeting environment. We had a meeting in Seoul this week with around 50 people. There was only one wired LAN connection and a crappy wifi setup. I used the travel router on the wired LAN and disabled the WEP so the other 50 folks could get on line.
PS – SQ is now offering Connexxion on there new Airbus 380’s. Was not on the flight down to Singapore today from Taipei, but I am sure it is on the SIN-LAX as well as the SIN-JFK non stops.
That’s a good thought — you get the convenience of WiFi plus the protection of a separate firewall. I find that configuring the software firewall within WinXP SP2 is a bit fiddly. I have a spare D-Link WiFi router somewhere in the basement. I think I’ll stick it in my regular travel bag.
Quick note. WEP is better than nothing but it’s easily cracked. Airsnort or WEPcrack are easy to find and download to crack wep. WPA is still secure. If you’re buying something new look for WPA.
If your tech inclined and want to play around with an old unused router, it looks like there may be some open source firmware to upgrade older routers (partiularly linksys wrt line) that claim to support wap (openwrt.org – but I haven’t tried this yet.) D-link gives you a list of open source firmware they don’t support (but may be an option for upgrading an old router if there isn’t an official upgrade.)
Just wanted to mention this.
–Hilary Baumann