Connecting to my wifi hotspot (madwifi driver)

dave`2005 · 05-10-2006, 01:17 PM

Hi all,

The last time i got into the business of getting my laptop working with my wifi router my pcmcia card wasnt that good, and i made a complete mess of the config files, i got another card recently thats supported by the madwifi driver and was wondering what the best way of setting it up is. The laptop is picking up the signal in kismet, the konsole commands i can remember (iwlist, iwscan) dont seem to work now. I remember the files are in /etc arent they?

Security Mode: WPA-PSK
WPA-PSK Encryption: TKIP
WPA-PSK Version: WPA

Any help appreciated.

Alien Bob · 05-10-2006, 01:55 PM

Does this help you? http://madwifi.org/wiki/UserDocs/Distro/Slackware

Eric

cwwilson721 · 05-10-2006, 01:58 PM

And try to get it working first without any security. (It can add to the problems. You can enable after you get the connection working)

Old_Fogie · 05-10-2006, 02:31 PM

Eric and cw helped me out a ton w/those drivers here:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=427767

Also I have a netgear card and netgear router and I can use the broadcast SSID off in my router flawlessly with Eric/madwifi's. But I recommend too like Eric that you get it working first then try it out. I do use the WPA-TKIP encryption with strong pass. I wish I could do AES tho

Another thing to consider once you do get it all done is segregating your network based on this theory I learned over here at http://www.ezlan.net/shield.html

I actually want to take an old pc and turn it into a slackware-router and use it for that, and then VPN. It's on my to-do list.

dave`2005 · 05-13-2006, 08:55 AM

Thanks for the help.

Went through that guide at the madwifi site (trying to get the wifi going withouth encryption first as suggested). Everything seemed fine until i did the

Code:

/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 ath0_restart

after doing the editing to the files, but i get:

Code:

/etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf: line 226: 00:09:5B:98:E7:E8: command not found
/etc/rc.d/rc.inet1:  ath0 is 'BEBOX'

The only thing on line 226 is the mac address 00:09:5B:98:E7:E8. It looked to me that on the guide, that was where it was in their pic. If it doesnt go there where should i put it? I tried removing it completely but still no wifi access. Any ideas?

cwwilson721 · 05-13-2006, 09:23 AM

Try this first:

Code:

iwlist scan #should show the AP info
ifconfig auth0 up # Begin the auth0 interface
dhcpcd auth0  # Get an address

It should work then. If not...

dave`2005 · 05-13-2006, 07:01 PM

I got the wifi going without encryption and continued following that guide. Downloaded wpa_supplicant and have filled in my details mostly but havent tried it, i have a few questions but just to refresh your memories heres the part of the wpa_supplicant.conf:

Code:

# WPA protected network, supply your own ESSID and WPAPSK here:
network={
  scan_ssid=0
  ssid="my_ssid"
  proto=WPA
  key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
  pairwise=CCMP TKIP
  group=CCMP TKIP WEP104 WEP40
  psk=your_psk_here
}

My questions are, what is the "scan_ssid=0" for?

Now my ssid and psk are in there is it ready to go for WPA-PSK? (i dont know what the other lines do)

Would it be better to use WPA2? (i noticed my router supports it)

I read the readme but couldnt seem to find the info.

Any help appreciated.

dave`2005 · 05-14-2006, 12:41 PM

Ive given up on wpa-psk encryption, followed the guide and couldnt get it going. Went through the debugging section and still no joy

Ive chosen 128-bit WEP on the router instead. In the rc.inet1.conf i can see quite a few settings, can someone tell me what line i need to add to my section please:

Code:

# Config information for ath0:
IFNAME[0]="ath0"
IPADDR[0]="192.168.1.100"
NETMASK[0]="255.255.255.0"
USE_DHCP[0]=""
DHCP_HOSTNAME[0]=""
GATEWAY="192.168.1.254"