how do hotels manage paid internet access ?

[DeeKnow]

okay i've been traveling a fair bit recently... most hotels I check into, offer wi-fi access.
as soon as i run my browser, it automatically goes to their signup page. you key in your room number and a password (which the receptionist gives you) and you are on.. for 24 hours.

I have been trying to figure out

a) how does yr pc/browser know to go to their login page when you fire it up?

b) how do they turn on access for you only for 12 or 24 hours (whatever you agree to pay for).. is it a cookie that expires??

Not trying to hack (my employer pays $150 for the hotel, and can afford another $10 for wifi access), just learn what's going on here

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: DeeKnow
okay i've been traveling a fair bit recently... most hotels I check into, offer wi-fi access.
as soon as i run my browser, it automatically goes to their signup page. you key in your room number and a password (which the receptionist gives you) and you are on.. for 24 hours.

I have been trying to figure out

a) how does yr pc/browser know to go to their login page when you fire it up?

b) how do they turn on access for you only for 12 or 24 hours (whatever you agree to pay for).. is it a cookie that expires??

Not trying to hack (my employer pays $150 for the hotel, and can afford another $10 for wifi access), just learn what's going on here

Any page you load is re-routed to their signup page, I believe.

 

[DeeKnow]

Originally posted by: mwtgg
Any page you load is re-routed to their signup page, I believe.

that's profound.... I know it's rerouted to their signup page... what i want to know is HOW??

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: mwtgg
Any page you load is re-routed to their signup page, I believe.

that's profound.... I know it's rerouted to their signup page... what i want to know is HOW??

The real question is how not to have it do that. (hack through:evil

Basically, for your ip, any requests sent to the routing device without permissio nare routed to an internal webserver of some sort that displays that page. Once your creditials are verified, then your ip is let through.

Through the marvel of technology, this can now be accomplished in one box.


That said, for security and efficacy, after you are authenticated, they would record your mac address, and then use dynamic mac filtering to give you an ip whenever you request it, but only one at a time. That way they don't have to keep tabs on you.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: mwtgg
Any page you load is re-routed to their signup page, I believe.

that's profound.... I know it's rerouted to their signup page... what i want to know is HOW??

proxy server

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Ameesh

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: mwtgg
Any page you load is re-routed to their signup page, I believe.

that's profound.... I know it's rerouted to their signup page... what i want to know is HOW??

proxy server

or one could use that terminology..

<----pissed that he wrote all that out and didn't think to write proxy

 

[RedCOMET]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster
proxy server

or one could use that terminology..

<----pissed that he wrote all that out and didn't think to write proxy[/quote]

but your post was so imformative.

 

[dmurray14]

I have wondered this for a long time, and have spent a great deal of time trying to hack them. I have no problem paying the 10 bucks or so, but I always wanted to be able to get around it. It seems its not strictly MAC or IP filtering - i have made my computer a mirror of an authorized computers MAC and IP address, basically becoming that computer, and still a no go. Is there any way around these things?

Dan

 

[DeeKnow]

so many geeks, but no real answers...??
come on, somebody must know how this works...

 

[keeleysam]

Try the networking forum...

 

[compnovice]

Little green men do it

 

[bigrash]

I wondered about that too. Like when I use my laptop at Starbucks or other places. I guess there's no way to work around it.

 

[notfred]

Your wi-fi card connects to a router. This router is supposed to send your data out to the internet, and then deliver data coming from the internet back to you.

The router checks to see if you gave it the proper password. If you did, it works just like you'd expect. If you didn't, it sends you data from the hotel's sign-in page instead of whatever you were looking for.

This is a simplifed explanation, but I don't see how this is difficult to understand.

 

[DeeKnow]

Originally posted by: notfred
Your wi-fi card connects to a router. This router is supposed to send your data out to the internet, and then deliver data coming from the internet back to you.

The router checks to see if you gave it the proper password. If you did, it works just like you'd expect. If you didn't, it sends you data from the hotel's sign-in page instead of whatever you were looking for.

This is a simplifed explanation, but I don't see how this is difficult to understand.

i doubt it's as simple as that... how would it know from the password that my 24 hours are up, for instance??

 

[Shawn]

Anyway to get around that? My school's ISP works the same way and it's annoying. I wish I could automatically log in.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: RedCOMET

Originally posted by: Goosemaster
proxy server

or one could use that terminology..

<----pissed that he wrote all that out and didn't think to write proxy

but your post was so imformative.[/quote]

So was Ameesh's.

 

[MadPeriot]

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: notfred
Your wi-fi card connects to a router. This router is supposed to send your data out to the internet, and then deliver data coming from the internet back to you.

The router checks to see if you gave it the proper password. If you did, it works just like you'd expect. If you didn't, it sends you data from the hotel's sign-in page instead of whatever you were looking for.

This is a simplifed explanation, but I don't see how this is difficult to understand.

i doubt it's as simple as that... how would it know from the password that my 24 hours are up, for instance??

I would think that the room no. and the password you authenicate through the proxy server and from the proxy server setting reroutes to their default website or intranet. Your room no. acts as a user account which is set to keep alive for 24hrs and this may be done on the gateway or some sort of active directory scheme. Most hotel uses wi-fi access points that maybe connected to a wireless gateway (bluesocket) which can do what I described above all in one unit.

 

[GeekDrew]

Yeah... I've never personally done something like that, but I can see how it would easily be possible... just have it check your current permission set (based on IP & MAC & whatever else), always send you to an authentication page if you aren't authenticated.... just like a <shock> PROXY SERVER!

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: notfred
Your wi-fi card connects to a router. This router is supposed to send your data out to the internet, and then deliver data coming from the internet back to you.

The router checks to see if you gave it the proper password. If you did, it works just like you'd expect. If you didn't, it sends you data from the hotel's sign-in page instead of whatever you were looking for.

This is a simplifed explanation, but I don't see how this is difficult to understand.

i doubt it's as simple as that... how would it know from the password that my 24 hours are up, for instance??

You don't think that this big box of magic can't set expiring passwords? Hmm. No wonder you don't get it.

 

[revnja]

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: notfred
Your wi-fi card connects to a router. This router is supposed to send your data out to the internet, and then deliver data coming from the internet back to you.

The router checks to see if you gave it the proper password. If you did, it works just like you'd expect. If you didn't, it sends you data from the hotel's sign-in page instead of whatever you were looking for.

This is a simplifed explanation, but I don't see how this is difficult to understand.

i doubt it's as simple as that... how would it know from the password that my 24 hours are up, for instance??

It's probably linked to the IP they give you and/or your MAC address. After 24 hours, your IP lease expires, and you're not let out to the public internet, and directed to their internal page.

 

[vi edit]

a) It's running either through a proxy or a dedicated hotspot device that has the access management software built into it. When you first access the device it plugs in a default gateway via DHCP and that gateway(proxy or hotspot device) automatically pushes the page at you when you lauch IE.

b) probably done by MAC address, it just has a table set up on the router/hotspot device that is associated with the MAC addy on your wireless/NIC devices and it expires after a certain amount of time.

 

[bryantp]

Originally posted by: adambooth

Originally posted by: DeeKnow

Originally posted by: notfred
Your wi-fi card connects to a router. This router is supposed to send your data out to the internet, and then deliver data coming from the internet back to you.

The router checks to see if you gave it the proper password. If you did, it works just like you'd expect. If you didn't, it sends you data from the hotel's sign-in page instead of whatever you were looking for.

This is a simplifed explanation, but I don't see how this is difficult to understand.

i doubt it's as simple as that... how would it know from the password that my 24 hours are up, for instance??

It's probably linked to the IP they give you and/or your MAC address. After 24 hours, your IP lease expires, and you're not let out to the public internet, and directed to their internal page.

The above comment is right on. I have worked with similiar setups and this is how all of the sites managed users. Your MAC address (the most secure type of Wifi connection) is how your access is defined.