Wireless Hacks Author: Rob Flickenger Pages: 286 Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates ISBN: 0-596-00559-8 Summary: Tips and tricks for Wireless networking Review Date: 16 October, 2003

With the proliferation of wireless networking over the past year, it has become easier and easier for even the most budget-minded geeks to afford wireless gear for their homes, offices, and neighborhoods. Rob Flickenger's latest, Wireless Hacks expands upon his previous book on the topic, Building Wireless Community Networks, and takes its reader by the hand on a fast-paced run through a large assortment of hacks related to wireless networking.

What's a hack? In this context, a hack can be a trick, a recipe, a piece of advice, a clever configuration or a nifty tool. Little odds and ends, bits and pieces of information all dedicated to solving a problem or filling a need when working with wireless networks.

From the back cover we find that the book is targeted towards the intermediate to advanced wireless user, and I found that definitely to be the case. Some of the hacks use a _lot_ of technical jargon, and assume a fair amount of background knowledge from the reader. You should probably already know how to get a wireless link up and running to really benefit from the book. But don't let that be a deterrent if you're a newby. It's still a fun read, and provides a lot of ideas for the inquisitive and creative mind.

The book is very readable, (all the Hacks series books I have read would, like their venerable ancestor, UNIX Power Tools, make for great bathroom books). Each hack is self-contained, and can be read in just a few minutes. You can read the book straight through, or browse around, find what interests you and go from there. Most hacks have references to other hacks in the book, so reading it can be like browsing a web page sometimes. Many hacks also have references to further sources of information on the topic covered as well.

There are hacks here for UNIX/Linux platforms mainly, but all you Ti/Al-Powerbook zealots will find plenty to lick your lips over as well, with several of the hacks devoted to wireless networking with OS X. There's even some for the Windows users as well. Many of the hacks (since they deal with hardware) could be utilized on any platform. Well, ok, you might have a bit of a hurdle to get your Pirouette cantenna hooked up to your vintage Apple ][c, but the book makes for a good breeding-ground of ideas for those so inclined.

The book is divided into several chapters, each devoted to a particular topic. Each chapter contains a number of hacks related to that topic:

• Chapter 1, "The Standards", covers the alphabet soup of wireless protocols
• Chapter 2, "Bluetooth and Mobile Data", covers Bluetooth technology (need to use your Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to act as a modem for your laptop in a pinch? If only those phones weren't so pricey...*sigh*)
• Chapter 3, "Network Monitoring", is all about finding out what's going on on the local network, including various ways to sniff traffic, broadcast network services, perform network discovery, and analyze traffic.
• Chapter 4, "Hardware Hacks", gets down to the metal discussing topics ranging from boosting signal strength to building your own access point from micro form-factor hardware to cabling and antenna guides.
• Chapter 5, "Do-it-Yourself Antennas", describes various ways to build your own antennas all the way from Pringles cans to milled aluminum wave guides (Don't forget to use ventilation when soldering ;-).
• Chapter 6, "Long distance Links", offers tips on setting up, well, long distance wireless links.
• Chapter 7, "Wireless Security", dispells the vendor-propagated myths of WEP 'security', and gives practical advice on how you can avoid the guy next door from sniffing your private traffic (not that you'd have anything to hide, of course...).

Throughout the book there is a lot of information repeated from Building Wireless Community Networks, as well as a few hacks copied over from Linux Server Hacks, but all together it makes a very useful collection, and a nice addition to O'Reilly's Hacks series.

Overall rating: 8/10