Waltoid

Realtime Clientless Wireless Monitoring for Dummies

Did you know how simple it is to view unencrypted wireless network traffic flowing through the air? For the paranoid, and even the not so paranoid, the following is just one example of why to avoid using open wireless access points(or why to keep your transmitted sensitive data encrypted).

This short tutorial will show you how to view pictures, URLs, and chat clients going through your wireless router in real time.

The example below is setup for a laptop with an atheros wireless card. Interface names may be different if you try this with a laptop that uses a different chipset.

Also, for the example, the access point you are retrieving data from, must be unencrypted. (although it’s only one command different to set this up with WEP, assuming you remember your WEP key.)

1. Download and Boot to Linux

Download and burn backtrack Linux Beta 4 to a DVD using imgburn, or nero etc.

Insert and boot your computer from the DVD ( you might have to change your boot priority in bios)
Enter username: “root”
Enter password: “toor”
Enter command: “startx” and press enter to boot to kde desktop

Congratulations, you are now running Linux from your DVD drive

2. Collect your wireless routers mac address/Channel

Open a terminal(icon on bottom task bar) and enter the following commands(pushing enter after each)
airmon-ng stop ath0
airmon-ng start wifi0
airodump-ng ath0

You will now see a list of all the access points in the area. Find your access point in the list. Write down its mac address(bssid) and channel(CH). For the following example we will use 00:11:22:33:44:FF and channel 6.

3. Set network card to monitor all traffic on a set channel

Close the the terminal from step 1, and open a new one, enter the following commands

airmon-ng stop ath0
airmon-ng start wifi0 6 (replace “6″ with channel you received from step 2)

4. Repeat received wireless data through virtual interface for live monitoring utilities

In the same terminal from step 3, enter the command:

airtun-ng -a 00:11:22:33:44:FF -t 1 ath0 (use your access points mac from step 2)

5. Enable virtual interface

Open a new terminal, enter the command:

ifconfig at0 up

6. Start viewing traffic

Try entering the following commands in the terminal to view real time network traffic

driftnet -i at0 (this will display jpg pictures flowing through your access point)

urlsnarf -i at0 (this will display the URL of websites being browsed on your access point)

msgsnarf -i at0 (this should display AIM, ICQ 2000, IRC, MSN, or Yahoo Messenger live chats,)

Vancouver to Halifax for under $10 of electricity.

…Even i’m getting a little tired of posting eletric bike stuff on here

How much did your electric bike cost including tax/shipping?

$1987.10

from Ebikes.ca:

• $815.00 – Ezee Front Hub Motor, 20A Controller, twist throttle
• $115.00 – Cycle Analyst, Cycling Computer
• $46.50 – GST
• $17.00 – Shipping 17$
• Total from ebikes – $993.5CAD

from pingbattery.com

• $498US – 48V 16Ah battery
• $105US – shipping
• Total from pingbattery – $723.6CAD

from Costco

• $270 CAD Infinity Invader Bicycle(Recently changed to this bike from RM Pictured)

How can I build a very similar bike for less initial cost?

• -$115 Remove Cycle Analyst Cycling Computer
• -$270 Find a Free bike
• -$328 swap 48V 16Ah lithium battery for, 48V 8Ah NiCad
• Use an entirely different motor etc

You’re crazy, why would you throw down that huge amount of money on an electric bike?

• It’s a hobby for me
• Riding it is fun
• I don’t own a car so it’s handy for getting around town
• I’d rather have an electric bike than a 200lb scooter, with tiny wheels, stuck in traffic going up hillside etc.
• I’m not energetic enough to ride my normal bike everywhere.

How much does it cost to commute to work for a year?

Assuming

All: Ignoring all maintenance
Driving:10.6Km, 8.9Km/L(Civic 2006), $.95/L gas, 1500$ a year insurance, driving all 12 months of the year
Biking: 10.8Km, all 12 Months(yeah right, it’s freezing outside)
Bus: 10.6Km, 48$ a month bus pass

On Electric Bike:
$3.55 , (free if you charged at work) – $.0148(electric cost to bike 10.8Km) * 240trips

Driving a car:
$2135.9(8.9kmL / 10.6Km) * $.95/L * 240trips + $1500 insurance + $448parking

Taking the bus:
$576 – $48buspass * 12months

How far can the bike travel on a single charge?

So far it seems my bike can go between 40Km-50Km if it ends up back where it started. It can not go 40Km if it is uphill the entire way.

Can I take the bike to Paul Lake on a single Charge?

Yes, Paul lake is only 20.66Km or so from my house (gmap-pedometer.com). I’ll put this theory to the test soon after it gets warm out.

Do you have to peddle it?

In this city you can’t really make it too far without have to add some peddle power. Yes, you can make it move without moving the peddles, it has a thumb throttle. If you build your bike way above the street legal limit you would not have to peddle.

Can I adapt my current bike or will have to get a new bike?

Unless you really don’t want a project, I’d strongly suggest buying a kit and putting it together yourself. It can take some time to configure things nicely, but it’s worth it.

If it’s a really simple setup, and everything fits nice, it’s possible to have it up and running in an hour or so. Quite often it will take you longer and some trips to the bike store/ home depot.

Don’t expect to put a kit on your nice bike and swap it back and forth between electric and non electric. This is very time consuming.

Is it street legal?

The legal limit for an electric bike is BC is 500Watts and 32Km/h on flat. My bike can run up to 40Km/h on flat and 900Watts peak. It can be manually set to lower values using the cycle analyst cycling computer. Sometimes a 500W motor really doesn’t seem like it would be quite enough kick for the hills in Kamloops

BC Regulations

Is it financially worth buying?

If you are already paying money for a car, probably not, but it might still be worth it for the entertainment value.

Can i try your electric bicycle?

Sure why not, send me an email and bring your own bike helmet. This is assumign i get my cheap Costco rear wheel straightened out and adjusted first.

There are also some stores on tranquille that sell prebuilt bikes that you could probably test ride.

I have more questions

Check the ebikes.ca FAQ or send them an email.

Ask me here, or send me an email.

Here is the first test data I have from my new electric bike configuration.

This is the path I took to work through riverside park. It may not be the most direct, but it avoids riding around stinky traffic. It is 5.7Km,  mostly uphill, with a few flat parts.

Stats for the ride to work:

• Energy Used: 2.976Ah
• Distance: 5.7Km
• Max Speed: 50.1Km
• Average Speed: 21.8Km
• Duration of Ride: 15:50

Charging:

• Time to recharge battery: 1hour 20minutes
• KWh used charging battery: .19
• Price to charge battery: 1.22 cents (6.44cents per kwh)

Bike:

• Motor: Ezee front hub with disc 8.3lb
• Frame: Rocky Mountain Fusion 2007
• Battery: LiPo4 16Ah, 48V, 17lb
• Controller: Ezee 20A controller

Why doesn’t the City Of Kamloops make public transit free? It’s a simple concept, and an easy way to reward those who decide to take the bus every once in a while. It would even benefit people not taking the bus, as there would be less traffic and more parking available for vehicles.

The BC Carbon tax of 2.4 cents a liter is persuading very few people to change their driving habits. $1.08 extra per fill up is not enough to persuade anyone. It’s a nice idea, but not nearly as effective as it should be.

If transit tolls became free, each house would only have to pay approximately 97$ in additional fees on their annual property tax. This is equates to about $37, or 18 bus rides per person, per year.

Currently, to have full access to transit for a year, it would cost a local resident $576 in fees. With a toll free system, it would only cost them approximately $37 a year.

Possible pros of free transit:

- Price of taking transit becomes very economic

- No more hassle of buying a bus passes, getting UPass stickers, or having correct change

- Less traffics on the roads

- More available parking

- Less air pollution (less scum to breath in, walking or biking)

- May become progressively more convenient (more riders may eventually = more frequent bus trips)

- Less stress for drivers (no more dealing with people who have not paid, forgot passes etc.)

Possible cons of free transit:

- Those that take less than 18 bus trips a year would pay less with a toll system

- More stress for drivers (more passengers to deal with)

- Overcrowding of buses

Available Stats For Kamloops 2006:

30705 Dwellings (1)

80,376 Residents (1)

$2,980,213 Collected from passenger tolls and passes (2)

2$ Toll per bus trip

(1) http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/dd/facsheet/CF325.pdf

(2) http://busonline.ca/corporate/munsys/pdf/act_06_07_cust_conv.pdf

On Jan 4th, I ordered a 48V 16Ah Electric Bicycle Battery from China. I’ve always found waiting for shipped goods an exciting experience, as you never quite know exactly what day they are going to show up.  Two weeks later, and I’m happy to report, the goods have arrived.

The “gift” I received was packaged with care, and many layers of bubble wrap. Everything is in perfect condition with no dents etc.

You’ve really got to wonder how a 17lb brick of chemical cells, with electronics, and wires hanging off it, makes it through customs so fast. Wouldn’t you take a second glance if you were loading this onto an airplane?

I soldered on the charge and discharge connectors, repackaged the battery in a couple of layers of bubble wrap, and shoved it in an old floppy disk container. This should give it some protection from if when i crash my bike. Testing of the battery/ebike will commence when the temperature outside gets to above -5. If you add the 30km/h I’d be riding at, on a day like today, it would “feel like” -33C.

CHDK is feature rich, open source software; it runs on many canon cameras. Once installed on a camera, a user has a plethora of new features at their fingertips. My cheap canon a590 was recently added to the list of compatible cameras, so I decided to give it a whirl.

The first feature I attempted to use was the “intervalometer,” for time lapse photography. The idea is that you can program your camera to take pictures at set intervals, for a set amount of time. Using this intervalometer script, I set my camera to take a picture every 15 seconds, until the batteries died. The canon a590 with 2AA Sanyo Eneloop Batteries lasted about 4.5 hours. Once the batteries died I turned all my pictures into a small movie using free software.

Unfortunately my choice of scenery was less than ideal, but you’ll get the idea. Pointing the camera at moving clouds, attaching the camera to a bike handle bars, or pointed at a sunset would all be more entertaining.

Here is 4.5 hours of boring compressed into one action packed 30 seconds of boring:

Using the free program Autostitch, it is simple to convert many small photos into one large picture. This is handy anytime you are trying to take a picture of a view, or large area, but can not fit everything into just one frame.

1. Find a wide open / High up area.

2. Most cameras have a Panama mode, if you can find it on your camera, enable it. This will lock your camera’s exposure at the same rate for the entire series of photos you are about to take. If you can not find this mode, and you don’t know how to use manual settings, set your camera to auto and hope for the best.

3. Point your camera at the left most point that you would like to capture and take a picture. Now move your camera slightly to the right and take another picture. The idea is to overlap some of the previous picture so that there will be no gaps. Continue taking pictures until you have captured the entire area of interest. Remember, more data is better, make sure to overlap all your pictures so there are no gaps. The Autostitch software will automatically merge the overlapping areas.

4. Download the pictures from your camera to your computer. Download and run Autostitch.exe from Here

5. Open Autostitch, then click File > Open > Select all the pictures in your image set by dragging a box around them, or buy holding down the shift key while using the arrow keys. Once all pictures in your set are highlighted, click OK

6. Autostitch will now automatically make a file called pano.jpg in the directory that your pictures were selected from. You may then wish to crop the output photo using any image editor.

This picture was taken from Celarain Light House on Cozumel Island. It is made out of 8 individual photos taken with a Canon a590.

Today I finally made the decision to order a P3 Kill A Watt Power Meter

I’ve casually been searching for this handy gadget since I found out about it many years ago. You’d think it would be available at Home Depot, Canadian Tire, or Home Hardware, but I’ve had no such luck. The best place online I could find to order the elusive Kill-A-Watt was newegg.ca .

Considering the high price of this “toy”, (37$ including tax and shipping) it would be a little ridiculous for the average consumer to order his own. Instead I’d be glad to lend it out if anyone was interested in borrowing it for a week or so.

Blurb:

Feeling environmentally conscious? Worried about rising fuel and electricity costs? Cut down on those costs and find out which of your appliances, lamps and computers are actually are costing you the most! Just plug them into the Kill-A-Watt electricity usage monitor and it will tell you how efficient they are. The Kill-A-Watt’s easily-readable LCD display measures consumption by the kilowatt-hour, just like the electric company.

Calculate electrical expenses by any period while checking the quality of your incoming power by monitoring the voltage, like frequency and power factor. Now you’ll know if it’s time for a new appliance, or whether new items touted as “energy saving” are actually doing their job.