Wireless Hot-Spot Issue

[Carl Pender]

With a wireless Hot-spot, does anyone know how the SSID problem is solved. What I mean is that a user must have the same SSID as the Access Point so as to be able to log-on to the internet. So do the users have to change their SSID so as to log-on to the network, or even be given a default web page where the user will enter credit card details etc.

The reason I ask, is that I am setting up a wireless LAN in my college and I was wondering how to overcome this problem.

Is there any way to have it so that everyone can log on to the Access Point, becuase I can control the iptbales so that a user can only get so far until they are authenticated.

Thanks again guys


Carl

[Icarus]

ummm...using Linux once the card is active you can
"iwconfig eth0 ESSID any"
to have it attach to the first access point it finds, as long as the WAP is set to accept "any" as a SID and not locked down at that point...

...am I way off on this?

[Carl Pender]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean (and I'm sure you don't understand exactly what I mean either :D ).

I have a LInux PC set up as a gateway, with an Access Point connected to one of the NICs. I want to set this up a 'spoof ' Hot-Spot in my college lab so that users with lap-tops will be presented with a default web page when they try to connect to the internet.

What I want to know is if there any way to configure the AP so that eveyone can receive data from it, thus bypassing the SSID function.

I have the gateway set-up so that no-one can get through the gateway unless authenticated(well nearly) so I can choose who gets onto the internet or who doesn't etc.

I hope this had made it a small bit clearer.

Thanks