Wardriving involves using a laptop or wireless device to locate open wireless internet connections and record their locations. It is not unauthorized use of the internet service, which is called piggybacking. Wardrivers use software and GPS to locate access points and catalog data for personal use or internet directories. Legality varies by location and software used. The term “wardriver” originated from “wardialer” in the movie WarGames. Other terms include warbiking, warwalking, and warjogging.
A wardriver is a person who uses a laptop or wireless internet device to locate open wireless internet connections for the purpose of recording the locations of wireless access points. This practice is usually done while driving or operating a moving vehicle.
Contrary to popular belief and media usage of the term, a wardriver only collects information about the location of wireless internet connections. Wardriving does not imply unauthorized use of the Internet service. A wireless Internet finder who accesses the service and uses it without permission is called a piggybacker.
This practice is often used to locate free Wi-Fi for personal use or to catalog available wireless internet connections for an internet directory or website. Although wardriving can be done slowly and inefficiently using basic internet research on an internet-capable phone or laptop, an experienced wardriver usually uses software designed specifically for wardriving. Wardriving software is available for a wide variety of laptops, smartphones and other devices that receive wireless internet. Wardriving software packages include WarLinux, Kismet and iStumbler. In addition to wardriving software, wardrivers often use global positioning systems (GPS) to more easily locate and record the location of access points.
Questions with the legality tend to plague wardrivers, because wardriving is often viewed as unauthorized network access, and many communities have made unauthorized access to a network illegal. Wardriver defenders argue that wardriving is not unauthorized use of the network; it’s simply a matter of cataloging data about available wireless connections. While a wardriver does not access or use a network while cataloging, performing the practice may still place the wardriver at risk of arrest and prosecution. Determining whether wardriving is legal depends on local laws and can often depend on whether the software seeking the connection communicates directly with the device during the search.
The term “wardriver” is a play on “wardialer”, a term that originated in the 1983 film WarGames starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. In WarGames, a wardialer dials many random phone numbers with a computer, hoping to find a working modem with an active connection. Internet research on the go is not limited to four wheel motor vehicles. While “warriving” can be used to refer to the act of searching for and recording wireless access locations on a bicycle, conducting such a search on a bicycle is usually called warbiking. Wireless Internet searches conducted on foot are called warwalking or warjogging.
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