[OpenWireless Tech] A small question about tracking

Todd Todd at chiwifi.net
Tue Nov 6 04:01:42 PST 2012


Typical end user does not care if the service they are using is not open.


On 11/06/2012 06:00 AM, Natanael wrote:
>
> Where are the commercial offerings that provide open source
> standardized platforms for automatic detection of and connection to
> free WiFi that also provides freedom of liability for the router owner?
>
> IIRC, Fon also uses VPN:s/tunnels for the secondary users that
> connect. But the platform ain't open, right?
>
> Den 6 nov 2012 12:55 skrev "Todd" <Todd at chiwifi.net
> <mailto:Todd at chiwifi.net>>:
>
>     How is what you mentioned any different then already existing
>     projects,
>     like fon, which btw also does not use VPNs.
>
>     So far you have suggested that this become massive enough to include
>     hardware manufactures and for it to be world-wide but at the same time
>     said these systems would not scale to city sizes.
>
>     Most importantly however is the fact that it makes no effort what so
>     ever to change any portion of the existing internet, only the way in
>     which people connect to it. It also does not it in any way impact
>     internet freedoms, instead it just shuffles around responsibility.
>
>     So I ask again, why should anyone give a crap if all you are doing is
>     trying to copy already existing and mature commercial offerings, and
>     making it more complicated and slow with throwing on some VPN crap ?
>
>
>     On 11/06/2012 05:46 AM, "Andy Green (林安廸)" wrote:
>     > On 11/06/12 19:37, the mail apparently from Todd included:
>     >
>     >> Why should anyone feel responsible for giving anyone else
>     internet, when
>     >> they are paying for out of their own pocket for it?
>     >> What do they get in return ?
>     >
>     > Well, the VPN thing is to try to reduce the "responsibility" to zero
>     > and eliminate that downside.
>     >
>     > They can throttle the leechers how they like as well, and / or QoS
>     > them down so the real user never even notices them.
>     >
>     > I guess it boils down to if they contribute, and there's a useful
>     > critical mass, then they are free to "be the leecher" when they need
>     > it.  For example, if you visit other countries, roaming rates
>     make it
>     > insane to casually use Internet on your SIM.
>     >
>     > This way, you might get a reasonable facsimile of continuous
>     internet
>     > connection for receiving email etc as you walk around a city.  Or if
>     > you are stuck in a hotel with expensive Internet, if there are other
>     > APs nearby you will be able to get by.
>     >
>     > Actually those are quite nice benefits that could appear
>     worldwide if
>     > this scheme took off.  For that, it would be ideal if AP
>     manufacturers
>     > included the support and enabled it by default alongside the regular
>     > WPA network so the AP owner's own traffic remains safe.
>     >
>     > And again the other part is that APs should be ready to be the VPN
>     > server for the owner when he is roaming.
>     >
>     > -Andy
>     >
>     >>> On 11/06/12 19:29, the mail apparently from Todd included:
>     >>>> On 11/06/2012 05:20 AM, "Andy Green (林安廸)" wrote:
>     >>>>> On 11/06/12 18:53, the mail apparently from Christian Huldt
>     included:
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> 2012-11-06 kl. 11:10 skrev Todd:
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>>> One thing note here is, most of the responses have been solely
>     >>>>>>> about
>     >>>>>>> "protecting the router owner" via throwing on varying
>     levels of
>     >>>>>>> VPN. As
>     >>>>>>> far as I can tell,  the average member of this list is
>     more worried
>     >>>>>>> about their continued ability to pirate then providing
>     ubiquitous
>     >>>>>>> wifi
>     >>>>>>> which is very disheartening.
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> I beg to disagree, IMHO this is about being able to
>     convince your
>     >>>>>> neighbor that
>     >>>>>> he/she can also share wifi without any immediate risks -
>     which there
>     >>>>>> are, at least in Germany.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> Exactly, same in UK.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> Since the VPN story includes trying to get the client's home
>     AP as
>     >>>>> the
>     >>>>> server, going out on the internet with the IP in the
>     client's name,
>     >>>>> this has nothing whatsoever to do with 'piracy'.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> You can see for yourself that the very few open personal APs
>     left
>     >>>>> seem
>     >>>>> to mainly be so by accident (SSID of "Netgear", etc), at least
>     >>>>> where I
>     >>>>> live and travel your average router owner "knows" that
>     unencrypted is
>     >>>>> dangerous even if he couldn't explain it in terms of his traffic
>     >>>>> being
>     >>>>> sniffable, he could tell you it's dangerous due to
>     possibility of
>     >>>>> other people exploiting it to his detriment.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> To get people to make the other decision, to offer anonymous
>     >>>>> access on
>     >>>>> their IP again, there has to be a story that definitively
>     counters
>     >>>>> this perception, a reason why something changed and it is
>     now safe to
>     >>>>> do so, and we might see (VPN-only) open APs become normal again.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> The only story I know that would convince me is VPN-only,
>     since it
>     >>>>> directly counters the "but the bad guy might use my IP" concern.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> -Andy
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>> The "bad guy might use my IP" argument is completely
>     irrelevant if the
>     >>>> IPs are not being assigned by the large ISP (IE.. comcast, att,
>     >>>> verizon,
>     >>>> etc..)
>     >>>
>     >>> I am not sure what scenario you are imagining, but the guys on the
>     >>> ground with compatible APs all around are exactly customers of
>     these
>     >>> kind of ISPs.  If you look at your scan list you will likely
>     see loads
>     >>> of WPA-protected private APs right now.
>     >>>
>     >>> If most of those normal people opened their APs for VPN-only,
>     because
>     >>> it was built-in to their APs, you could pretty much bank on
>     getting
>     >>> service whereever there was habitation, without any special
>     >>> provisioning activity.
>     >>>
>     >>> They already power their AP, have a live internet connection, are
>     >>> close by, etc...
>     >>>
>     >>> -Andy
>     >>>
>     >>
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>
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