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Free WIFI Internet Access Blocker

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 1:32 pm
by myWIFIzone
You can now block freeloaders that use your WIFI zone to access the internet without your permission. Our free software runs on W2K and XP machines and installs in minutes. You can download the Beta version from http://www.myWIFIzone.com. Comments are welcome.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 1:42 pm
by Thorn
myWIFIzone wrote:You can now block freeloaders that use your WIFI zone to access the internet without your permission. Our free software runs on W2K and XP machines and installs in minutes. You can download the Beta version from http://www.myWIFIzone.com. Comments are welcome.

Not to be overly suspicious, but you're new here so no one knows you, and this looks a lot like a phishing exploit and/or spam. What I find especially worrisome is the fact that a command window is open for 'up to five minutes' for a 'driver install.'

My comfort level would be increased a lot if you'd explain how it works. Is the software free of crap like spyware or other types of "phone home" software?

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:12 pm
by streaker69
From Site wrote:No - myWIFIzone is not designed to work on wireless network running WEP or WPA. It is designed for site operators that do not want the hassle of configuring these security applications.


Hassle? It's a hassle to configure such things? More like it's a hassle because people choose not to read their owner's manual. I can't see why I would want to install yet another application to "manage" access to my wireless network when the AP is perfectly capable of doing it.

Sounds to me as though it's just a software MAC filter that any decent AP has already built into it. Plus it relies upon the machine it's installed upon to be running 24/7 costing money the user money in utilities whereas a single AP barely costs anything to run.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:19 pm
by Airstreamer
Thorn wrote:Not to be overly suspicious, but you're new here so no one knows you, and this looks a lot like a phishing exploit and/or spam. What I find especially worrisome is the fact that a command window is open for 'up to five minutes' for a 'driver install.'

My comfort level would be increased a lot if you'd explain how it works. Is the software free of crap like spyware or other types of "phone home" software?


Sounds like it's time to put a sniffer downstream and see what kind of traffic is going on in the background, just to make sure.

(Kind of like when Real Networks got caught with their pants down around their proverbial ankles a number of years ago?)


Steve

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:21 pm
by streaker69
FAQ wrote:One way is by selling advertising. We redirect your WIFI visitors to a web site that promotes products and services of interest to the mobile user. In fact, when you install myWIFIzone, they can't navigate to anywhere else. Rest assured that no inappropriate advertising is used. We guarantee it!


So how about those people that would get this software and not want to see the ad's? Is there a way to OP Out of the ad's? Just what I want with my internet connection, more advertisements.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:58 pm
by theprez98
We don't want any!!!

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:01 pm
by brwrdrvr
/me pulls out the gun specially made for adware

PULL!!

/me fires

*direct hit*

This sounds like an upfront adware program that you actually install yourself. Instead of the program doing it under your nose or trying to fly under the radar. I say burn the wich at the stake. I can't see having a secondary program running the AP when (if installed correctly) it will doit by itself.

This is just another sorry excuse for a script-kiddie to get his/her program out there. If you want to re-invent the mouse trap at least make it a better one. :mad:

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:18 pm
by theprez98
Thorn wrote:Not to be overly suspicious, but you're new here so no one knows you, and this looks a lot like a phishing exploit and/or spam. What I find especially worrisome is the fact that a command window is open for 'up to five minutes' for a 'driver install.'

My comfort level would be increased a lot if you'd explain how it works. Is the software free of crap like spyware or other types of "phone home" software?


And after his driveby, probably won't be coming back, either.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:13 pm
by streaker69
According to my capture file from Ethereal, during the installation this program does phone home. More information to follow.

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:23 pm
by theprez98
You don't need to set up complicated firewalls or WEP/WPA software.


Any decent AP has a firewall built-in, its not complicated. Same with encryption.

What you do need is for your computer to be running all the time for this to work, unlike the MAC filter built into an AP. Therefore, your computer has just been redesignated "the world's most expensive mac filter."

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2005 8:28 pm
by streaker69
I have it running on a machine I don't care if it gets trashed. I just popped up to let me know that access was detected from a particular IP. What's funny it's an IP that is a real world IP, not a machine that would possibly be on my network or trying to connect to my AP. I didn't acknowledge the pop up so now that IP is gone and as far as I can tell there is no log of messages received. So far this program ain't looking too promising.

Addition: I'm letting this Ap run all night with Ethereal capturing packets. So far what I've seen is the real world IP that popped up is the Ad server that this thing is supposed to redirect you to. Not sure why it would have popped up as an attempt at access. I'll make the capture file available for you guys if I can delete all the stuff related to my network out of it.

What's funny is there's a URL in the payload of those packets for which I got the alert. The URL doesn't work.

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:03 am
by Thorn
Streaker, keep us posted. If this is an adware or other type program, myWIFIzone may have picked the wrong forum to post about this program.

I'm very concerned that s/he/it hasn't replied to my original inquiry.

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 5:03 am
by Starpoint
myWIFIzone wrote:You can now block freeloaders that use your WIFI zone to access the internet without your permission. Our free software runs on W2K and XP machines and installs in minutes. You can download the Beta version from http://www.myWIFIzone.com. Comments are welcome.



Hmmm smells "phishy" to me

But I agree.. a good MAC filter, turned off SSID broadcast and WEP/WPA implemtation will keep out 99% of the dweebs..

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 2:59 pm
by SignalSeeker
Lets vote;

( ) Leave it alone
(X) Bin it!

They are phishing, s/he/it is a one-hit-wonder.

Justin

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 3:14 pm
by streaker69
Results from lastnight's run. It did accidently catch my wife accessing our wireless this morning while I was still in bed. She ran upstairs and woke me up in a panic because she was suddenly redirected to the redirection page. She thought her computer had be hijacked, when I guess in reality it had been in a way.

Here's the issue that I saw with it.. Well at least what she told me happened. When she tried to check her email and authentication box popped up and was populated with her email name and possibly her passwordk, but that was hashed out. Apparently there is some pop3 proxy running in the software as well. When she tried to browse, she got the redirection page. I'm not sure why she got the authentication box. There were at least 4 odd IP addresses listed in my ethereal logs relating to this software. I don't think I would really trust it as I cannot really tell what kind of data is being sent to those addresses.

I think this should be treated as any other unsolicited spam thread and be binned. If the author isn't going to come back, he/she/it should be banned.