Help me share internet goodness.....
July 2, 2012 3:21 PM   Subscribe

Wifi to wired internet: I have access to an open wifi network where I get a forced login page where I have to enter a password and I can access the internet (like starbucks except I only enter a password not a username). I want be able to share this connection.

I have the option to bridge the wifi and ethernet ports of my computer (under Windows 7) and connect the cable to a router BUT my main question is:

Can I get a wifi repeater or extender which can do this without my computer being involved? ie can I programme it to enter the 'password' at the first 'page' that opens up in my browser?

If not, do you have a link to a step by step guide to bridging (do I use a crossover cable or a standard cable?)
posted by london302 to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)
 
Maybe you can use Microsoft's ICS instructions but switch sharing wireless from a wired connection to a router, to sharing a wired connection from a wireless connection to a router.

You'll need a crossover Ethernet cable if you're plugging two devices together and if either of your two computers' Ethernet ports does not support Auto-MDIX. Apple computers have had this for a long time, but I don't know about the state of current Windows hardware — maybe this is no longer an issue.

If your computer's Ethernet hardware does not support Auto-MDIX and you don't have a crossover cable, you can plug a cheap four-port switch between the two computers (Netgear makes these for like $20-40, but a crossover cable is cheaper). The switch will do the "crossing-over" for you.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:55 PM on July 2, 2012


Otherwise, if your hardware supports Auto-MDIX, you can use a "regular" patch cable between the two computers.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:56 PM on July 2, 2012


A suitable Access Point will include "client mode," which is what you'll plop your pw into and have that AP connect to the existing one. I'm not sure if there remains the possibility of a separate pw for the AP client vs. those who connect to the AP client, nor whether the nag page can be bypassed at all. Is this like a coffee shop downstairs who you figured out never changes their pw?
posted by rhizome at 5:12 PM on July 2, 2012


If you can get a wireless bridge setup, such as a DD-WRT compatible router, you can have it join the wireless network, and then provide NAT for anyone on the wired side.

You will still see the portal the first time you log in from the wired connection, but once you log in, any other devices on the wired connection should go through fine. The wireless bridge hides all future connections behind the same hardware address of the bridge box (the same way it can share an internet connection for a cable modem, etc), so the portal things all the traffic is coming a single physical device that has previously been authorized access.

The downside is, these portals usually have an expiration time, so you might have to enter the password in every X hours from one of the machines from behind the bridge. It's some more scripting, but there are pointers in the right direction here on how to configure the dd-wrt to autologin the device into the captured portal for you as well.
posted by mrzarquon at 5:15 PM on July 2, 2012


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