Wireless networks are being deployed around the world and making ubiquitous connectivity more the rule than the exception providing service (often free) to millions of users who suddenly need nothing more than a laptop and wireless card to get online. But getting online is only half the battle; getting the most out of wireless networking hardware and software remains far from obvious.Completely revised and expanded with over 35 brand-new hacks, just as many hacks completely overhauled, and the rest meticulously updated this new edition of Wireless Hacks brings you the knowledge of experts who apply what they know in the real world every day. Whether you're running Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X, you'll find practical techniques for extending range, increasing throughput, managing wireless resources, and generally making your wireless networking vision a reality.
Learn how to:Use Bluetooth, mobile radios, mobile data networks, cellular phones, Wi-Fi hotspots, GPS, and other exotic methods to keep you connected anywhereMake wireless devices do things the designers didn't intend and turn wired devices into wireless onesEmploy practical methods for detecting, analyzing, and monitoring your own wireless networks and those available to the publicExtend the range of your network, making the best possible use of the available radio spectrumDesign and build your own wireless access points and antennasSurvey and engineer long-distance network links spanning several milesUnderstand the security issues of wireless networking, and protect yourself and your users from unauthorized access and eavesdroppingWhether your wireless network needs to extend to the other edge of your office, throughout your large house, or to the other end of town, this collection of nonobvious, 'from the field' techniques will show you how to get the job done.
About the Authors
A long time supporter of FreeNetworks and DIY networking, Rob has written three O'Reilly books: Building Wireless Community Networks, Linux Server Hacks, and Wireless Hacks. After serving as sysadmin for the O'Reilly Network, he edited books for the popular Hacks series. He often presents ideas and projects at various technology conferences, and enjoys spreading the good word of open networks, open standards, and ubiquitous wireless networking.
Rob's current project is Metrix Communication LLC, providing wireless hardware and software that embodies the same open source principles he rants about in his books. He currently lives in Seattle, WA.
Roger Weeks has been living and working with computers since 1982 when he got his first Atari, and discovered a whole new world a year later with the purchase of a 300bps modem.
He is well into a second decade of network and systems administration, and has managed systems running Solaris, AIX, and the various flavors of BSD. Roger has been building Linux systems at home, in the enterprise and in the field since 1997. In addition he has managed large and small networks, from 25-node LAN to multi-campus LAN to international WAN, mostly using Cisco gear.
While he uses Mac OS X as a primary OS, he also has been known to use Windows, and will even admit, under pressure, to having been MCSE certified somewhere in the dark and dangerous 1990s. He even ran a Microsoft Exchange Server. Oh, the horror!
He is currently the senior network administrator for Mendocino Community Network, a small ISP in coastal northern California. MCN is owned by the local school district, and puts their profits back into the local schools. Roger is a coauthor of Linux Unwired and Wireless Hacks, 2nd Edition.



Rob Flickenger