The computers my school lets us use in the library or anywhere else all have wired Internet connections, so they always have their thumb on us. Of course, some website are blocked with their customized installation of iPrism.
Naturally, all the students want to get around this filter. I'm not too concerned about getting past it, but more or less getting through it.
Areas of the building do have a wireless router, and I treated those as my targets.
Months ago, a student in my class had passed in a test using OpenOffice (a free Linux alternative to Microsoft Office, for those that don't know). My teacher, not having the software complained to the student that the file could not be read. I stepped in and explained a bit of OpenOffice, and let them know I had the installer on my USB drive (being a geek, I keep all my tools close at hand).
At that point, it was too easy. The teacher let me use his computer, I installed OpenOffice-- and ran the password recovery tools I mentioned in my Student Survival Kit.
The computer I ran the code on was hooked up to a BELKIN USB Wireless Adapter. Jackpot.
Most computers in the building were set to restore to factory settings on their local hard drives each night, so only the files on each person's personal network drive are saved. This technique obviously cannot be used on computers using the wireless internet; the password must be saved so the users of these computers can access the web.
So, the password for the router he was hooked up to was mine, easy enough. But, that router was located in the math wing; an area I did not spend much time in. It was clear I needed to grab the passwords for the other routers in the building. So, that became my task up until now.
Take note, the password is practically useless for normal Internet users. Their setup is through a layer of routers. The ones the teachers use are the in the first layer; they all belong to a parent router that holds the Internet filter. Even with the key, you can't access the web.
The other networks I could see were not on computers that I saw daily; I really had no idea where they were. I actually walked over the building and looked for computers that were not hooked up with Ethernet cables. I'd look for routers, and anything else that looked interesting. I'd sneak in closed rooms that had the lights off and no body inside-- that was the only time I'd say I felt malicious.
I realized it today. I didn't have to bother with the only routers; I'd only be disappointed at how much time I had wasted (I am disappointed as it is, it took me a couple months for this to finally hit me).
Almost every single router in the building has the same password.
It makes sense; if a faculty member wanted Internet in one place, they should be able to get it everywhere else. Almost like a 'master key.' I guess they never expected a student having the password. Since the routers are scattered all over the place, I practically own the building.
Except for the fact that this is all useless. I can't access the Internet, so why bother with all these passwords, and random hex values that let me onto the network?
The ports.
I can (S)FTP to nullshell, so I can get work done at school. I have not tried to telnet or ssh yet, but it's definitely on the list.
I am even more curious about the router configuration page. Could I access localhost? Would I be able to change things, do they have a password on each router's setup? Or is the default, 'admin' 'admin'? There is a lot I can see with this.
I plan on sshing back home, to nullshell or any other computer, and then running the internet from here. That way-- no filter, no history, no nothing. I leave no evidence behind.
No, I don't want to hack the school, or do anything malicious, I just want to get out of their clutches. I am a Linux user; I have a strong belief in freedom.
It's not like I try to go to bad sites or anything at school, the filter is just so. . . inconvenient. I will be trying to work on some code at school, or download some software I need, or even research something, and a website will be blocked.
I just want to be out from under the school's thumb.