A Guide to Wardriving and Detecting Wardrivers

Computer users have been deploying 802.11b wireless access points in homes, offices, and schools without any regard to the security of these devices. The overall coolness and convenience of wirelessly accessing the Internet from the office cafeteria or from the next bedroom in the house has distracted most users from taking measures to protect themselves against potential digital threats. Meanwhile, a new activity has taken form: Wardriving. Participants of this activity assemble their rigs of hardware and software with the intent of cruising streets to find your wireless access point. They share their results and plot the location of your wireless access point on a map - it's probably listed on a web site right now. This paper will discuss the components needed to construct a wardriving rig and suggest methods for detecting wardrivers as they drive past your wireless network.