How to automatically authenticate to a wireless network?

October 15, 2010 11:47 PM

Please help keep my laptop connected to a wireless network that requires hourly authentication.

At my place of work there is a wireless network I can connect to but I have to enter a username and password every hour and click on an "accept the certificate" page, once this is done I can stay connected until the hour is up. I am looking for an automated script or similar that will detect that the network is down and go through the connection motions for me.

I am using windows XP and am fairly competent, with some programming skills, but so far the solution has eluded me! All I know about the authentication is that it is "powered by Nortel Networks"

As a secondary problem I am unable to connect my iPod touch to the network at all...

posted by Morsey to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

I don't know the technical solution, but it sounds like you're trying to defeat the purpose of the hourly authentication. There may be a good reason for this seemingly annoying process, or it may just be Mordac, Preventor of Information Services at your work too. In any case, bypassing it is probably a security violation in your office. How serious a thing that is depends on your office.
posted by MtDewd at 3:39 AM on October 16, 2010

Oh, and the iPod. At my office, the wireless used MAC Address Filtering. (Past tense- new policy is, No Wireless.) The only devices that can connect are on a list. If you can talk the wireless admin into adding your iPod's MAC address (and assuming it's not against the rules), then you should be able to connect.
But probably not.
Sorry.
posted by MtDewd at 3:45 AM on October 16, 2010

Seconding MtDewd: while I don't do hourly, I do only give out the id/username/password of the wireless as needed, and have been known to change it.

Your best bet is talking to your admin to find out the reason why, and make a business case why you need this turned off.
posted by Old'n'Busted at 7:17 AM on October 16, 2010

Response by poster: I'm afraid the hourly authentication is a byproduct of "that's the way it's set up and we don't know how to change it" - and I appreciate your concern as to why it is there. The admin doesn't know how to do much to be honest, I'm would be capable of managing it myself but that's not my role in the company and the last thing I want to do is to take ownership of the problem.

Aside from telling me that I shouldn't do it, and assuming that I am not prepared to go down the road of changing the server-side situation - are you aware of any solution?

As for the iPod - there is no MAC filtering, there just seems to be a problem with the iPod resolving the network enough to be able to get to the authentication page.
posted by Morsey at 7:41 AM on October 16, 2010

Best answer: In all honesty, the admin needs to learn how to do their job. I've worked at places where the admin was like yours, horribly wrong fit (in one case, the guy was a music graduate, and was famous for shit like sticking a screwdriver in a live power supply and stringing 8 hubs in a row because they were cheaper than switches).

That being said, there are three ways that you can do this, escalating:

1) Talk to the admin and either show them how to turn this off or mitigate it. Basically, make them learn about their system(s). Be a mentor, but don't solve their problems for them. Will make things better, and bonus win, make you a star with others. Seriously worth considering.
2) One Windows automation program that gets a lot of airtime on Lifehacker is called AutoHotkey. It might do what you want. Never used it. Will not solve your non-windows problem.
3) Utter Dick Move: plug in your own wireless router to the network, harden it with a masked non-obvious SSID, a long username, and even longer password, and pick the best encryption that both your devices want. Jack this in as a NAT device so that you can get out to the world, but nothing gets back. Hide it under your desk, don't tell anyone. And no, I haven't done this, why are you looking at me like that?

For #2 and #3, check your workplace regs to see if they have anything against stuff that volatiles network security and access. Depending on your workplace, could result in termination. Not kidding about this at all.
posted by Old'n'Busted at 6:54 PM on October 16, 2010