Glowing Hobbit Sword Helps You Find Unsecured Wi-Fi 67
Molly McHugh writes By disassembling your plastic Sting and incorporating the Spark Core, a tiny Wi-Fi development kit, you can hack the toy's light and enlist it to show you when you are near an unsecure network. The best part about this hack? It only requires two things: a Spark Core and a replica Sting with lights and sound, like this one."
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> And walking around with it gets you arrested and held for psychiatric evaluation.
If it doesn't get you shot outright.
Re:And walking around with it ... (Score:4, Interesting)
But what about the 2nd Amendment?
The right to bear arms includes swords as well as guns. Swords were more common when the constitution was written.
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But what about the 2nd Amendment?
The right to bear arms includes swords as well as guns. Swords were more common when the constitution was written.
Doesn't mean you can carry it drawn. There is a huge difference between waving a drawn sword around and having a large knife in your belt.
Still, I guess the safest is to avoid doing it, especially while being black.
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Re:And walking around with it ... (Score:4, Funny)
Seriously, does anyone want to look more like a geek?
Excuse me ma'am but you seem to be lost. You are currently in Slashdot. If you're looking for Facebook, it's down the hall and the third door on your left.
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with a lawsuit from the owners of the IP
Re:And walking around with it ... (Score:5, Insightful)
No politics... no script kiddie bullshit.. not a random person's blog post..
Just fun hacking for no good reason other than to do it. That's why most of us are here!
Re: And walking around with it ... (Score:1)
Yes, this. This is more like the Slashdot of 1999, when turning stuffed animals into USB ports with creepy glowing LED eyes was something people did.
Re:And walking around with it ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Why, exactly, are you on a site with the motto "news for nerds"?
Seriously, why would people whine about this? It's a cute little hack, and people are... ahem, up in arms over it. Live a little. Laugh a little. Stop trying to be "grown up". Are you 16 or something, and trying to appear older? Trust me, when you get older, you'll have enough of that in your life. Things like this will make you smile, even if you personally don't wish to make it.
Stop trying to tell others how "adult" you are.
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One does not simply walk around in public with a glowing pointy object.
That's actually Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer's other attribute, when he gets horny.
Wouldn't that wear out the battery pretty fast? (Score:2)
This thing would never go out. I mean, is there pretty much anywhere you can stand that doesn't have at least an HP printer ad-hoccing away?
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When I go out in the field behind our house, the Wifi signal is gone. Even halfway out into the dogyard the Wifi is barely there at all. Our wifi or the neighbor's wifi. It's gone.
I'd hate to live anywhere so busy that there was ubiquitous wifi signal. Here we have jackrabbits and sometimes at night howling coyotes. And possums, of course. Always stupid possums out rambling around in the dark.
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That you're fat.
Great. (Score:5, Funny)
Now you can run around in your hobbit-con costume saving the world from unsecured wi-fi, while trying to throw the token ring back from the fire from which it came.
Saving It? (Score:1)
The click, it does nothing (Score:2)
"like this one" loses impact as a close when there is no 'this' to behold.
But can it detect trolls? (Score:3, Funny)
I mean seriously, unsecured WiFi is one thing, but it's the trolls I need to worry about.
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I mean seriously, unsecured WiFi is one thing, but it's the trolls I need to worry about.
I hear sunshine takes care of trolls, if you can get them to come out of their mothers' basements during the day.
At least the sword glows blue when the MAC address begins with 4f:52:43.
Side benefit (Score:4, Funny)
It also identifies virgins.
Re:Side benefit (Score:5, Funny)
I was going to say it is effective for defending the owner's virginity. But more or less the same idea.
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I find it sad that people still criticize geeky behaviour for being uncool and preventing you from getting laid, as if being a dudebro that gets laid with superficial women was all life was about.
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criticize geeky behaviour for being uncool and preventing you from getting laid
Well, if that was your goal to begin with: Mission Accomplished. Well done, sir!
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If it's a sword from the fall of Gondolin and forged by the elves of that time, it is already several thousand years old and definitely a rarity. Most swords will have gone rusty by that time, so I for one wish to learn the elvish technique for making stainless steel which maintains a cutting edge for thousands of years despite abuse by trolls and everyone else.
Not very original (Score:3)
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They sell "the core" themselves. (Score:1)
"An overly simplistic diagram, and isn't a totally accurate" but more can be learned at our web page....
Can you say ripoff? I knew you could.
False positives (Score:5, Funny)
That doesn't sound very safe. People will be thinking they've found unsecured wi-fi and then get themselves ambushed by orcs they weren't expecting.
Or... (Score:1)
Or you could just use one of the dozens of Apps for Android or Apple that shows that and much more info about the nearby hotspots.
Why do people re-invent the wheel - poorly?
Black Slashdotters (Score:1)
I quite like seeing stuff like this ... (Score:2)
I knew a guy in college that would have liked this (Score:2)
At the time, he was always running around in a ninja outfit. But this idea would have been just enough to get him to change costumes. Hint: If you're older than 12, you might want to consider wearing this getup strictly in your own house!
One that detects women? (Score:1)
Public, not unsecured (Score:1)
Why not use a Canary WiFi detector? (Score:2)
Hello,
For something a little less conspicuous, a Canary WiFi [canarywireless.com] detector might be a better choice if, for some reason, one couldn't just walk around with a smartphone or tablet.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
Yes, but can it... (Score:2)
...find fields of gold?
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Hah. No, but carrying a large knife does very adequately suggest, "Don't stand so close to me."
Best part/worst part (Score:2)
The best part about this hack? It only requires two things: a Spark Core and a replica Sting with lights and sound, like this one.
The worst part about this hack? Ah, who am I kidding, you all know exactly where I'm going with this.
What about cops? (Score:1)
sonic screwdriver (Score:2)
Oh.... (Score:2)
Isn't that precious! (Sorry, couldn't resist)
Gets published... Where? (Score:2)
This prompts Sting to join the network and publishes a message: "{YOUR WI-FI NETWORK} has been vanquished!"
Looking at the code snippet,
Spark.publish("vanquished",name); // Feel the Wrath!
Where exactly is this published? Sure does not appear that it would be anywhere that the owner of this supposedly-vanquished network would see it.