WRT54G Firmware Hacks.

I Know there is firmware hacks for the WRT54G. My router is version 3 and my
firmware version is v4.20.7. I am looking for a firmware which can let me
see other networks in my neighbourhood and I want to be able to connect to
them also. Is it possibly to do thos with with a router, or just a wireless
network card? This is not for destructive purposes, I don't want to do any
harm, this is just for educational purposes.

Thanks.

"Raphael" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I Know there is firmware hacks for the WRT54G. My router is version 3 and my
>firmware version is v4.20.7. I am looking for a firmware which can let me
>see other networks in my neighbourhood and I want to be able to connect to
>them also. Is it possibly to do thos with with a router, or just a wireless
>network card? This is not for destructive purposes, I don't want to do any
>harm, this is just for educational purposes.

Educational my posterior. Welcome to the dark side.

What you want is DD-WRT version 23 SP1 01/23/06 at running in client
mode. Be sure to read the wiki install instructions before you turn
your router into a brick.

Client mode:
http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.ph..._Mode_Wireless
Actually, it's much easier than the minimal docs show. You go to the:
Status -> Wireless -> Survey
page. It displays all the available access points in the area. If
you click "connect" to any of them, the router magically switches from
access point mode to client mode and connects. Putting it back to
access point mode is a bit non-obvious, but since you're into
education, I'll leave it as an exercise.

However, we're not done with what can be done. The WRT54G can be use
as a Kismet sniffer that will show access points, those that don't
broadcast their SSID, and clients. Far more than what can be seen
with just a site survey. See Kismet and Kismet Drone.
http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.ph...t_Server/Drone

http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.ph...h_linux_server


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Look here in the forums for custom firmware:
http://www.linksysinfo.org/
I use HyperWRT on my WRT54GS.

I don't believe custom firmware is going to do what you want. Perhaps
NetStumbler would work for you:
http://www.netstumbler.com/

Lance
*****

Raphael thought carefully and wrote on 1/24/2006 6:50 PM:
> I Know there is firmware hacks for the WRT54G. My router is version 3 and my
> firmware version is v4.20.7. I am looking for a firmware which can let me
> see other networks in my neighbourhood and I want to be able to connect to
> them also. Is it possibly to do thos with with a router, or just a wireless
> network card? This is not for destructive purposes, I don't want to do any
> harm, this is just for educational purposes.
>
> Thanks.
>
>

Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>Client mode:
> http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.ph..._Mode_Wireless
>Actually, it's much easier than the minimal docs show. You go to the:
> Status -> Wireless -> Survey
>page. It displays all the available access points in the area. If
>you click "connect" to any of them, the router magically switches from
>access point mode to client mode and connects.

Screen shot of what the DD-WRT site survey page looks like.
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/dd-wrt-site-survey.jpg
For educational purposes only, of course:

You can also dive into the router with telnet and extract the same
info and more from the command line. See the scan option for the "wl"
command.
http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.php?title=Wl_command
http://www.linksysonline.com/content/view/31/44/

For example, from my palatial office:
wl ap 0 (turn off access point mode)
wl scan (scan for access points)
wl scanresults (display results)
wl ap 1 (turn access point mode back on)

SSID: "Mariposa's Art"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -89 dBm noise: -99 dBm Channel: 6
BSSID: 00:0D:88:BF:5A:97 Capability: ESS WEP ShortPre ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 6 12 24 36 9 18 48 54 ]

SSID: "CMS"
Mode: Managed RSSI: -75 dBm noise: -93 dBm Channel: 11
BSSID: 00:11:50:0C:92:F7 Capability: ESS WEP ShortSlot
Supported Rates: [ 1(b) 2(b) 5.5(b) 11(b) 18 24 36 54 6 9 12 48 ]
WPA:
multicast cipher: TKIP
unicast ciphers(1): TKIP
AKM Suites(1): WPA-PSK
No WPA Capabilities advertised

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Thank you very much for your responses. I'll go try these out. I tried
NetStumbler, but thats only if you have a wireless network card, which I do
not.

If someone does go wrong, whats the worse that can happen and can I save my
router from this?

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> What you want is DD-WRT version 23 SP1 01/23/06 at running in client
> mode. Be sure to read the wiki install instructions before you turn

While the Jan 23 and 25 versions fix the DHCP NAK issue, they break the
httpd daemon.
(Although it fixed httpd memory leaks)
When you try to save on the Administration >Management page, the
httpd crashes.

The Jan 25 version was supposed to fix the problem which started on the
Jan 23 version, but it seems that it didn't.

http://forum.bsr-clan.de/ftopic5335-15.html

25.01.2006: [actually includes fixes for both 23 and 25 - there was
never
a changelog entry for the 23 ]

0000653 DNSMasq as DHCP server NAKs lease renewal request - v23 sp1
16/01/06
0000386 Memoryleak httpd status page
0000589 PPPoE (standard) Connect on demand is broken
0000641 sp1: 13.&16.jan: All "Additional filters" turned ON by default

Raphael said the following on 1/25/2006 11:53:
> If someone does go wrong, whats the worse that can happen and can I save my
> router from this?

The worst that can go wrong with a firmware update is that you make your
router absolutely unresponsive. This is called "bricking" your router.

The HyperWRT site has some things you may try to unbrick the router:
http://www.hyperwrt.org/wiki/RecoverFromABrick

Lance
*****

Raphael said the following on 1/25/2006 11:49:
> Thank you very much for your responses. I'll go try these out. I tried
> NetStumbler, but thats only if you have a wireless network card, which I do
> not.

Jeff, whom I never knew was knowledgeable about the darkside, gave a
superb answer.

Lance
*****