Secure Wifi hosting and consuming

[HucksleyWethershire]

I don't have internet at my place yet. I was thinking of encouraging other tenants to setup wireless hotspot software but then I wonder, is that really secure for either of us?

Is there any off the shelf software that would allow the wifi provider to charge money, the wifi providee to pay money, and neither of them be able to hack the other (within reason ofcourse)?

On second thought, i'll probably just offer cash for their password but the question remains valid I think. It would be sweet if everyone had wifi providing software to charge $$$. I bet we'd have wifi everywhere.

[UAirLtd]

I'm using a WRT54GL with DD-WRT, and it comes with this feature: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Chillispot I haven't looked into it, but it might be worth looking at.

And there's also Fon: http://corp.fon.com/en/

In the UK, BT used to run Openzone which is similar, basically if you're a BT internet user (and you don't opt-out for it), your home's wireless router broadcasts a second secure (I hope) network that other BT subscribers can connect to, basically BT are leveraging their millions of internet users across the country to set up a comprehensive network of hotspots (broadcast from peoples' homes). I think they've recently teamed up with Fon as well: http://www.btwifi.co.uk/help/about-bt-fon.jsp

[k-ww]

why not just get two wireless routers - one connected to a hardwire ethernet port off the first, the first direct connected to your internet provider supplied [cable] modem? each of you can set up the password of your own router by direct connecting to it during setup.

[leadacid]

I've used the LaFonera firmware to do this in the past. Worked fairly well, and you (as the host) can charge a small fee to let guests use your WiFi.

http://corp.fon.com/us/

Years ago I got Fonera's WiFi hotspot for crazy cheap (less than $10, iirc) and put OpenWRT on it a few months later. When I was running the stock OS, it worked pretty good, no complaints really.

[Quin]

If you don't trust the other person on wifi, you need the router to block communication between you both. Some routers have this, my netgear WNDR3400v2 calls it "wireless isolation" and it's a simple check box in the config menus. It acts as a firewall between each separate wifi user and between wifi and wired (which is why my neighbor got the wifi password in exchange for cash). It also blocks wifi users from talking to the router, so they can't change the setting.