Ok, so I rent from a guy who refuses to allow me to buy broadband for the house so I'm using our neighbors' signals to do my internetting. Problem is that there is only ONE signal that isn't secured (I'm trying to keep this as legal as possible). The only place in the house that I can get a decent signal is in the very corner of the house where I presently am. The connection owner doesn't know I'm connecting but that's their fault. The router I'm connected to is a Linksys WRT54GS with firmware v7.5. I am using D-Link DWL-630G PCMCIA Wireless card. I have full access to all of the router's settings if need be. So, my question is... How can I increase the signal strength so that I can be more free roaming with my laptop? Are there any settings I can change within the router to say...tradeoff performance for broadcast distance? I live in pretty rural northern Minnesota, USA and the person's router I'm connecting to has NO security enabled so I don't think they'd be affected by any changes I make. Regardless, it's their fault that their network isn't secured and by not securing it they're asking the whole neighborhood to connect. Thanks guys!
As far as i know, connecting to a network you don't have permission from the owner is still illegal. Just a warning!
It's their fault that their house is robbed empty because they left the door unlocked... It's their fault that their car is stolen because they left the keys in the ignition... It's their fault that all the apples from their tree are stolen because they left the tree unprotected... It's illegal.
Its their fault the keys were in the car, I was allowed to take it by that logic... lol, sorry I had to. You can try buying a usb stick that acts as an antenna, get a usb cable to put it by a window or something. edit: boo glider beat me with my example.
I'm not worried about the legality. I live in rural Minnesota. A person who obviously doesn't give enough of a hoot to protect their wifi connection, isn't going to monitor who actually connects, and it's not like they can pinpoint who I am, because anyone who had that kind of knowledge about intercepting my data would know how to secure a friggin router. Can I get some honest help though, rather that posting beside the point of this thread please?
cantenna, pletty of DIY plans out there but you need to point it pretty dam direct at there router. Being that your in the states there are many crazy laws, however i cant help but think this is wrong in some way. Did the landlord give a solid reason why you cant install broadband?
You can put an wireless access point in client mode and let it connect to the network, and tap a wired signal of of it... Or get a repeater bridge... Still, it's illegal to do so, and wetter you live on the moon or down town Moscow doesn't matter... If you don't mind legal things, why don't you just get broadband installed at your own home, regardless of what your landlord wants?
+1 for both points. But yeah, we have a wireless extender at my house to get the internet across both halves of the house, however the extender is connected via ethernet to the original router.. I would be unsure that you can connect wirelessly and then pass that on. Also, the signal from the second access point would only be as strong as the signal it could pick up, which still isn't ideal. Cantenna does sound good though. Also, I'm 99% sure this is totally illegal.
It has less to do with legality than it does morality. Why not show your neighbor that their connection is unsecured and offer to fix it for them. Then tell them your situation. If they are just casual surfers/emailers I bet they'd be happy to share the connection with you, and even more so if you split the monthly bill.
if you offer to share the connection they'll be a lot more likely to help setup their system so that you can get a decent signal.
