[OpenWireless Tech] A small question about tracking

Todd Todd at chiwifi.net
Tue Nov 6 04:26:25 PST 2012


Can you describe in any detail the plan I laid out in that thread ?


On 11/06/2012 06:15 AM, Natanael wrote:
>
> I don't see what plausible alternatives have been described there.
>
> Den 6 nov 2012 13:07 skrev "Natanael" <natanael.l at gmail.com
> <mailto:natanael.l at gmail.com>>:
>
>     Besides the point. How do we otherwise create a global
>     standardized system?
>
>     Den 6 nov 2012 13:02 skrev "Todd" <Todd at chiwifi.net
>     <mailto:Todd at chiwifi.net>>:
>
>         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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