# Public WiFi Hotspots in Ontario



## MacGenius (Nov 13, 2001)

You know, I've been working downtown in Toronto and I always have my iBook with me.

You'd be surprised how many 802.11 networks are unsecured...

I was able in many cases to set a network location to DHCP, pick a network and start surfing. In some cases I was able to just log in to someone's share and see their files! 

*Scary*

Folks, secure your networks out there. There are people who are not as nice as me.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

The lack of WEP has concerned me as well... I occasionally do "war drives" of downtown Halifax, and have yet to find a network with WEP turned on.

I'm currently spending the holidays in Toronto, on the York University Campus. Have been enjoying (as I type this!) their campus-wide WiFi network, which is available in pretty much all public spaces, the library, and the food court area + York Lanes shopping area.

York's network also does not have WEP enabled, but they use a Virtual Network Client (VNC) to secure communications. 

Question: Is a VNC sufficient protection? Is that why people aren't turning on WEP - they're using VNCs, which don't show up on our sniffers?

M.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

According to this article Bell Canada is trialing a new hot spot service in Toronto, Kingston and Montreal.

Currently it is free, and should remain that way until they determine a pricing scheme.

--PB


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## MacGenius (Nov 13, 2001)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CubaMark:
*The lack of WEP has concerned me as well... I occasionally do "war drives" of downtown Halifax, and have yet to find a network with WEP turned on.

I'm currently spending the holidays in Toronto, on the York University Campus. Have been enjoying (as I type this!) their campus-wide WiFi network, which is available in pretty much all public spaces, the library, and the food court area + York Lanes shopping area.

York's network also does not have WEP enabled, but they use a Virtual Network Client (VNC) to secure communications. 

Question: Is a VNC sufficient protection? Is that why people aren't turning on WEP - they're using VNCs, which don't show up on our sniffers?

M.*<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


VNC is not a security protocol. Its a graphical management prototcol. Think of Timbuktu but free and its runs on more than Macs and Windows.

I use it to maintain OS X, Linux and Windows systems. See this site for more info:


http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/


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## Ohenri (Nov 7, 2002)

Does anyone know where these spots are?


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

MacGenius, thanks for the clarification...

Got my acronyms mixed up. I meant VPN (Virtual Private Network).

Silly me...

M.


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## jfpoole (Sep 26, 2002)

CubaMark wrote:
"Question: Is a (VPN) sufficient protection? Is that why people aren't turning on WEP - they're using (VPNs), which don't show up on our sniffers?"

Traffic on a VPN will show up on a packet sniffer (provided, of course, you're sniffing the link the VPN traffic is travelling over), but you won't be able to make sense of it because it's encrypted. True, you could crack the encryption used, but it should be a lot stronger than the encryption used by WEP (if it's not, get new VPN software).

So, if you're using a VPN, then you don't really have to turn on WEP (although it's still a good idea).


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## jfpoole (Sep 26, 2002)

MacGenius wrote:
"You'd be surprised how many 802.11 networks are unsecured..."

Indeed; if you don't have a chance to wardrive in downtown Toronto, you can always have a look at this map.


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## jfpoole (Sep 26, 2002)

Ohenri wrote:
"Does anyone know where these spots are?"

According to an article on Slashdot, the access points are in places like airports, train stations, and bus stations. Union Station has a couple, and I'd imagine they're scattered throughout Pearson, too (although I was in Pearson last month (T2) and I didn't get any WiFi signal).


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I hear that Bell maybe setting up service hot spots in Phone booths, not unlike the phone companies in Britain have been expirementing with.

Once the Trial is over, they may require MAC address registration (a la Telus DSL) for access, but no one really knows at this point.

--PB


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## M. Warren (Jan 4, 2002)

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CubaMark:
[QBI'm currently spending the holidays in Toronto, on the York University Campus. Have been enjoying (as I type this!) their campus-wide WiFi network, which is available in pretty much all public spaces, the library, and the food court area + York Lanes shopping area.[/QB]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow, good to know seeing as I am a York student who is awaiting the delivery of a new iBook w/ Airport. Its great to be able to connect anywhere on campus...too bad one can never find an available seat!


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