Wardriving WiFi involves driving around to locate wireless networks using a laptop, phone or gaming system. It can be legal but may be invasive and piggybacking on networks can be illegal. Similar practices include warbiking and warwalking.
Wardriving WiFi® is a process by which a person physically drives around an area trying to locate wireless networks within the region. This can be done using a laptop computer with a wireless network adapter, a portable video game system, or a mobile phone, or similar device. While the act of locating such networks may not be inherently illegal, depending on the region where wardriving occurs, there are some legal issues. Wardriving WiFi® is typically performed to document available wireless networks in an area, and this may be done purely for knowledge purposes or to attempt to piggyback on a network.
The term WiFi® wardriving comes from the popularity of WiFi® technology in most early 21st century wireless networks and the similarity of the practice to wardialing. Wardialing is a term coined in the late 1980s and early 1990s to refer to the practice of using a computer with a modem to dial hundreds or thousands of telephone numbers looking for lines connected to a modem. The practice became particularly popular following the release of the film WarGames in which the film’s protagonist looks at telephones to find modem connections.
Wardriving WiFi® typically involves a somewhat similar process, but rather than sitting at a fixed location dialing to find modems, a wardriver physically walks around looking for wireless networks. This can be done individually or with the assistance of someone else and can be a fairly harmless process. In general, a wardriver can simply document wireless networks, including open and password-protected ones to “map out” the networks in an area. This often includes open networks intended for use by other people, and wardriving WiFi® can be used to find such networks and help others find them too.
While wardriving WiFi® is not inherently illegal in many areas, it can be considered invasive and there is little legal precedent for the practice. Piggybacking, the act of not only finding a wireless network but also using that network, can be illegal in some areas and while the two terms are often used interchangeably, they are not necessarily the same. There are also some practices similar to WiFi® wardriving, including warbiking and warwalking that are performed while cycling or walking through a neighborhood or small town.
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