WarDriving: Drive, Detect, Defend, A Guide to Wireless Security

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Reference for the True Wardriver
Review: If you are looking for something to help you break into other peoples wireless networks, look somewhere else. This is the first book I have read about wireless security that doesn't fall into the trap of trying to scare people. Instead, the authors methodically show you how to secure your wireless network. The authors also present a wealth of information on the tools used by the true Wardriver. If you are not a linux guru but want to use Kismet, this book is for you. If you want to learn to use the latest version of Netstumbler, it's in there. Plus, the history of organized Wardriving chapter is one of the coolest I have ever read. If these things are important to you, buy this book. It's great.

Rating:
Summary: A decent book on a narrow but relevant topic
Review: If you want to learn how to wardrive using Kismet or NetStumbler (and variants), "WarDriving" is for you. The book does a good job debunking certain myths, such as the prevalence of "warchalking" or the widespread use of "Pringles can antennas." I found the practical advice, like disabling the TCP/IP stack on Windows prior to wardriving, especially helpful. The authors constantly advocate a professional mindset towards wardriving and do not suggest unethical use of insecure wireless networks.

"WarDriving" suffers from several drawbacks. The book was written by multiple authors, and the lead author failed to remove redundant material. For example, ch. 3 repeats the advice and instructions found in ch. 1 regarding disabling Windows' TCP/IP stack. Ch. 3 also gives virtually the same advice on assembling wireless equipment, including more screenshots of gear and discussions of NetStumbler found in ch. 2. All of this should have been consolidated.

I did not find the majority of screen captures in the various "installation" chapters helpful. Why take up 1/3 of a page with an essentially blank screen capture that only features the "su -" command? All similar information could have been presented as inline text. Many other screen captures offered fonts that were too small to show meaningful details. For example, many of the Kismet shots in ch. 6 are mostly blank screens with small text stuffed into the top or corners. The author should have resized his terminal with capturing the screen in mind.

Technically, I found the book accurate. I was not happy to see MAC defined as "machine access code" in the first half of the book and as "media access control" in ch. 10. (The second expansion is the norm, although Asante oddly uses the first.) Although the book covered Kismet, NetStumbler, and derivatives, it did not feature bsd-airtools or defensive measures like Snort-wireless.

Ch. 8, "Organizing WarDrives," was my favorite. While the majority of the book offered installation and configuration guides for networking equipment, ch. 8 provided original, helpful advice on conducting formal wardrives. It's one of the better pieces of "hacker history" I've seen in recent years. Ch. 8 alone supports the idea that wardriving is a legitimate activity not solely done by "black hats."

If you want to learn how to wardrive, this book will help you. The book could have been half as long and half as expensive if it had consolidated redundant material and replaced many screenshots with equally relevant text. Moving beyond advice on proper equipment configuration would take this book to the next level. Information on detecting and responding to disassociation attacks or simple unauthorized use of the network would be welcome in a second edition.

Rating:
Summary: The perfect book to get you started in wardriving...
Review: Target Audience
Individuals who are interested in searching out wireless access points and defending their own wireless networks against unauthorized use.

Contents
This book covers the subject of wardriving (searching for wireless networks) and securing your wireless network. The chapters include:

Learning To WarDrive; NetStumbler and MiniStumbler: Overview; Operating NetStumbler and MiniStumbler; Installing Kismet in Slackware Linux 9.1; Installing Kismet in Fedora Core 1; Attacking Wireless Networks; Basic Wireless Network Security; Advanced Wireless Network Security; Index

Review
The hacking concept of exploring technology is something that has always appealed to me. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't spend time cracking networks and breaking into things. It's more of a fascination of "what's out there". And of course, with the advent of wireless networks and the affordability of the hardware, there is a lot more "out there" out there! That's where the concept of wardriving comes in... Surfing the airwaves to see what networks exist. This book will teach you what you need to know to join in this phenomenon.

In many ways, this book is a guide to running some common wardriving software. Once the hardware needs are covered in the opening chapter, the authors start to go into packages such as Kismet, NetStumbler, and MiniStumbler. They do cover software for both Linux and Windows, so you can benefit regardless of what OS you prefer. Interspersed throughout the book is the technical details that will fill in the gaps to the basic "how to" information. Examples of this type of detail are sidebars on active vs. passive WLAN detection, disabling the broadcast beacon, and troubleshooting GPS problems. Once you get the software installed, you'll learn how to map your results for future reference.

The book is also beneficial if you're a network administrator. There is substantial information on how to take steps to make your network less susceptible to discovery and intrusion, as well as what you need to do to improve the encryption capabilities of your network. It is somewhat disturbing to see how many wireless networks are set up with default level access and no encryption. The authors take great pains to distinguish between the discovery of access points and the actual use of them. So while you may think that they are advocating illegal activity, they are actually making sure that you can be a wardriver without breaking any laws.

While generally I like the book, there is something that irritates me about it. They use a lot of screen shots related to the installing and operation of the different software packages. While that might be useful for installing the Linux software if you're not a penguin-head, it borders on overkill for Windows software. I really don't need to see screenshots to know to press Next after the install splash screen and the directory location. Once you're running and configuring the software, that's different. It's a minor point in the overall quality of the book, however.

Conclusion
If the concept of wardriving is something that appeals to you, this is a good one-stop book to get started. Furthermore, if you run or are responsible for maintaining a wireless network, you'll need to know this information in order to secure your network against unauthorized access.

Rating:
Summary: Everything you need in one place - no searching the net
Review: This book literally contains everything you might need to know to successfully engage in WarDriving. Starting from the most basic setup of homemade components to purchase and use of commercial ones it is one of the most thorough books available today on the subject. The authors wisely start out the book with defining what WarDriving is and what it is not. They define WarDriving as moving around a specific area and mapping the wireless access points for statistical purposes. It does not include actually accessing these points without prior permission. As such, the purpose of WarDriving is to raise awareness of the security issues related to wireless networks.

The first section of the book covers setting up both a laptop and a PDA for WarDriving purposes. This includes important general concepts like antenna types and their advantages and disadvantages, and connecting antenna to a wireless NIC. It also includes very specific information like specific NIC cards that work well and are conducive to the connection of external antennas and the like.

Once your hardware is set up you have to turn your attention to appropriate software. The authors detail both Windows and Linux software (free and commercial products) available to discover access points. It includes how to use NetStumbler, MiniStumbler, and Kismet to locate wireless LANs, the various options, and how to interpret the results. These are very detailed chapters and explain both the concepts and actual product use very well. Each of these chapters ends with additional software available to actually map the access points.

The final section of the book covers the details of attacking wireless networks. It includes information on finding cloaked points, hijacking, man-in-the-middle attacks, defeating MAC address filtering, and even attacking encrypted networks. In addition they include the details of enabling security on several specific models of Linksys and D-Link access points. The last part of the book covers advanced security information including configuring WiFi Protected Access, Wireless Gateway, VPN setup, RADIUS, and LEAP.

This is clearly one of the best books available on the subject of WarDriving. It provides a thorough examination of the subject, detailed explanations and instructions, and pretty much everything you need to know in this area. "WarDriving, Drive, Detect, Defend" is a very highly recommended book for anyone interested in wardriving.

Rating:
Summary: Good book for hackers and enthusiasts
Review: This is a great book for Wi-Fi enthusiasts, and people who want to secure their wireless networks. Not only does it have a chapter on wireless security, the entire book is a guide to how to find and exploit networks. So by reading the book you are learning how to exploit and how not to have your network exploited.

Chapter one is a solid introduction to wireless networking, the hardware the protocols and the software. Chapters two and three cover Windows installation and using Netstumbler. Chapters four, five and six cover installing and using Kismet stumbler software on Linux. There is no coverage for Mac OS X.

Chapter seven is about mapping the wireless access points in your area using GPS. Chapter eight is about the culture of WarDriving (driving around looking for Wi-Fi access points). It's the most interesting chapter in the book and exposes the true hacker nature of the piece. Chapter nine is the attack chapter of the book, where you learn how to crack into secured networks. Easily the most controversial chapter. Chapter ten is the opposite of nine, you learn how to secure your network. And the last chapter covers advanced options.

The book is a good buy for Wi-Fi user enthusiasts who want to WarDrive effectively. For Wi-Fi administrators it's probably worth the look since it may help you figure out how people will attempt to exploit your network. For the amateur end-user just looking to hook up at Starbucks I would recommend O'Reilly's Wireless Hacks. It's a little more end-user oriented.