For those of you that happen to have an iPhone 3G or are getting an iPhone 3G-S this is a must read. (please note, links are provided for those that have no idea what I am referencing so they can find out)

As you all know Apple has recently upgraded the iPhone OS to 3.0, on the laundry list of features is Internet Tethering. AT&T claims not to support it but in fact it works like a charm showing up as standard iPhone Data usage. Now you may be thinking, I have a BlackBerry, I can tether with it if i pay $30/month, why is the iPhone so cool? Simple. Over the 3G connection on the iPhone 3G/3G-S you can be in a call with the handset or using a Bluetooth headset, you can be texting and using the internet on that nice MacBook. But not only can you do all that at the same time. You can take that shiny new MacBook, ans share the connection out to the Wireless and Ethernet adaptors (yes, both at the same time). Meaning you can connect 2 clients via the WiFi interface and 1 or more (would need a hub or switch) clients via the Ethernet interface. This means you can provide an internet connection to a decent sized group of people anywhere you go.

The iPhone 3G

Ok, I’ll admit it. I like Apple products. There is something to be said for a product that you can pull out of the box and have it work right with out having to read pages of manuals or spend hours trying to figure out.

When Apple first released the original version of the iPhone I thought it was a neat concept, but the iPhone 3G is a serious expansion of an already cool product.

The iPhone 3G comes out of the box with Bluetooth, WiFi, Edge, 3G and GPS transceivers, making it an extremely connected device.

This correspondence just in from Delegate Myers, the gentleman who has filed the Wi-Fi bill that I previously mentioned.

Dear Constituents:

Thank you for contacting me regarding House Bill 1377 Criminal Law - Unauthorized Access to Wireless Internet Service. I introduced HB 1377 during this session with the intentions of lessening the penalties for individuals whom unknowingly or accidentally access and/or use someone else’s unsecured wireless internet access. The bill was meant to protect the public from stiff penalties when there is proof of no malicious intent. The current law is not so kind and you the average unknowing citizen can be convicted of a felony! Unfortunately, the interpretation of the bill (by the media) was incorrect and citizens were given misinformation. As a result, the bill received an unfavorable report from Judiciary Committee by one vote.

Ok, on a recent trip from Alabama to Tennessee, a few of our staff decided it would be interesting to do a scan for any and all wireless networks that were passed on the trip. However this scan did not start until we were around an hour/hour and a half away from our destination.

Here are the results we gathered on our first run up I-65 at around 70mph.

(Please note that more scans will follow and will be done in localized areas at lower speeds).

A Florida man, a Illinois man, and a Michigan man have already been convicted in cases of accessing remote networks without prior authorization. Look at the links, and take careful notes. These Wi-Fi broadcasts are open. Free of any hinderances, except signal strength.

In today’s world, having a open network is, much to my chagrin, a serious threat to your personal information.

Today’s internet savvy teens think that they’re invincible on all fronts, not just on the road, and most of their parents don’t realize what their children are getting into.

  

 

 

The Latest Viral Threat?

I was reading a research paper some students from Indiana University had done this summer on what they called WiFi Epidemiology which made some interesting points.

First, they pointed out that the WiFi infrastructure around us is approaching a critical mass, where in some places, WiFi hotspots overlap to a degree sufficient to allow intercommunication.

Second, they suggested that malware and virus writers may soon begin to target WiFi routers, as the WiFi infrastructure has several very attractive characteristics, like carrying all that potentially information laden net traffic.

The British government, in all of their infinite wisdom, have decided that the act of casually using someone else’s unsecured WiFi access point is criminal, and are arresting casual users for Stealing Broadband Service.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but to me this seems to be utterly silly.