Surfing an unsecured wireless network, and identifiable information?

Hello,





If i am surfing an unsecured wireless network through a router, what types of information can people access about me?





does my computer have information that is broadcast on the network (such as computer model, os, or even name of registered user), and can people access this? or will people only be able to know the IP that is associated with using the unsecured network?





if i connect to an unsecured network somewhere away from home, but then later return home and use my own secured wireless network, will poeple be able to track my computer use back to the use of the unsecured network (via any identifiable information)?





thanks for any help!

Surfing an unsecured wireless network, and identifiable information?
Yes, several identifying pieces of information about you will be transmitted and can possibly be stored.





Most people call it a "router" but that is the wrong term. "Wireless routers" are nothing but routers with an access point installed as well. AP's can be independent pieces of hardware or could come integrated into other hardware. Most "routers" these days have 3 different pieces of hardware in them; the actual router that connects the network to another outside network or the internet, a switch to let the hardware inside of the network communicate with each other more efficiently than a hub, and then you have the access point for wireless broadcasts.





I digress. To answer your question, if you log into the hardware directly, there will be a list of all the current users on the network. This will be called the "DHCP Client Table" or something very similar. This will be a list displaying the local IP address, MAC address, and the name of each computer on the network. Some hardware also comes with a security log installed so that you can see any previous login attempts.





To log directly into the router or access point, you simply find the default gateway. To do this, open up your command promt (if using XP, it is in accessories on your toolbar and is very similar to DOS) and type in IPCONFIG. It should show you your IP, subnet mask, and gateway addresses. Type the gateway address into your internet browser's address bar, and you will be communicating with the hardware itself, not over the internet. Gateway addresses come standard as 192.168.1.1, but if the person who set up the hardware has any clue of what they are doing, than they will change it to something different. If they have changed it, they've more than likely added a password protect on the hardware as well, but those can be bypassed fairly easy. 90% of the time people will leave the default password and username, which are usually a blank or something like user, admin, password, pass, password, etc.





Again, I digress. It is late. Please excuse me for going off on a tangent. Using the above methods to gain access to the origin of the wireless broadcast will allow you to see the table of all the current users on the network along with all network information as well. If you have the privileges, you can cause all types of havoc on the network and the hardware. I think that it is justifiable to do so, in my opinion, as leaving your network unsecured is like leaving your front door open and expecting no one to walk right in and steal your television.





Hope that helps!
Reply:No, they can't track or see you. They couldn't do anything to you anyway because they did not secure their wireless. People that don't secure their connections...will not have a clue about someone using their service. Enjoy





Cheers