The Slurpr WiFi aggregator promises "free" broadband -- and jail time

Oh my, the 5-0 won't like this one bit. Meet The Slurpr, a WiFi access point which aggregates up to six "available" (read: unprotected) 54Mbps WiFi channels into one bigazz, "free" connection. It's the latest invention by Dutch hacker, Mark Hoekstra and his new sidekick (or is it the other way around?) Boris. Of course, use of the Slurpr in its current incarnation will likely violate wardriving laws in at least few countries. So the inclusion of Mark's next feature -- 64/128-bit WEP-cracking -- could well land you in a Turkish prison. Still interested, Billy? Then head on over to Mark's site where you can pre-order the €999 / $1,347 box today.

[Via Bomega]

[humpty @ May 29th 2007 7:54AM]

How can embedded wep cracking possibly be legal anywhere?

[Richard Lai @ May 29th 2007 8:05AM]

"(of is it the other way around?)"

[LukeA @ May 29th 2007 8:08AM]

For that price you might as well just get a connection.

[aaronlh @ May 29th 2007 8:12AM]

Or even 6 of them.

[Aaron @ May 29th 2007 8:11AM]

At that price, you could have your own DSL connection for about 4 years.

[Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten @ May 29th 2007 8:17AM]

@LukeA: this is a one time investment. A 5 mBit DSL connection will set you back 15 a month. We are talking about a potential 324mBit connection for a one time fee. I'll take one! Oh, I already have one...

[Bryan @ May 29th 2007 9:10AM]

"We are talking about a potential 324mBit connection for a one time fee."

An ILLEGAL 324mBit connection...

[Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten @ May 29th 2007 10:04AM]

Yep, so maybe we can share a cell one day?

[craig @ May 29th 2007 10:43AM]

A 54 Mb connection achieves nowhere near 54Mb in throughput, especially when it uses a shared DSL or cable connection on the backend. If you think you're gonna get 300+ Mb from this device then you are a fool. I wouldn't expect this to work any better than buying my own DSL service and in the case of purchased DSL the bandwidth isn't stolen.

[darkstar @ May 29th 2007 8:16AM]

so it combines 6 connections??
that means theoretical surfing speed is 6x faster???
i get 1.5mbps now from comcast...

[Grizz @ May 29th 2007 8:24AM]

You only get 1.5 from Comcast? Damn that sucks.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/131655931.png

[MarkG @ May 29th 2007 9:04AM]

Hate to tell you this, but here in Paris 60 Mbit/s is normal. Should up to 100 Mbit/s by next year.

[fincan @ May 29th 2007 9:21AM]

FYI, American prisons are much worse than the Turkish ones.

[gfar @ May 29th 2007 9:27AM]

Everyone knows that if you can get a service for free through hacking you're a fool for not doing it.

There is a growing list of suckers, and it includes people who pay for the following: Satellite TV, movies, music, video games, and now internet.

I've paid plenty of money to lame ISPs that block torrent traffic, cap your monthly downloads, etc. I can't wait to stop paying for their services. I don't care if it means piggybacking someone else's fully paid connection either (or 6 of them...)

[Jeff @ May 29th 2007 12:19PM]

It's someones job to create and produce music, movies, television, videogames, etc. and you don't seem to justify stealing them too well. I myself am a software developer. Therefore i do not steal software. You are paying for a service to be rendered to you (games, entertainment, etc...) but you seem to think it should just be free. Do you break into your neighbors house and empty their fridge when you need groceries? The same concept applies. I don't understand where the idea came from that since now we have internet connections everything (including them!) should be free. Thats just simply not the case. Get a job and live within your means.

[Glucose @ May 29th 2007 2:36PM]

Now why couldn't it just be 10 dollars cheaper?

[Andrew @ May 29th 2007 10:05AM]

How easy is it to get information while stealing someones connection? I just think if its so easy for them to use 6 simultaneous connections, while cracking 64/128 bit encryption, why not just go the next step and view your online activity, information ,etc.

[Jon @ May 29th 2007 10:30AM]

A theoretical 324mBit connection ould be nice untill your neighbors lock down their connection.

[ElNotto @ May 29th 2007 10:46AM]

Pre-order for $,1347; you sure that's not a typo? It's just that looks awfully close to 1337...

[Sadettin @ May 29th 2007 10:58AM]

Mr.Ricker, I wish you've spent sime time in Turkish prisions so that you would see how bad a comparasion you have made. Your country has no better record that you can be proud of which we all have seen in the past 5 years that proves it. Please think twice when you make comments like that since you have such a broad readers all around the world. I am not being prejudice when I am reading your articles, and I accept the same from Engadget staff. Thanks

[Thomas Ricker @ May 29th 2007 11:37AM]

Sadettin, Thanks for the invite, but I don't live in America either. The use of "turkish prison" and "Billy" are both references to a book by Billy Hayes called Midnight Express.

Thomas

[Miguel @ May 29th 2007 3:54PM]

...

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahaha! Do you actually believe that? Oh, give me a second, hahahahahahahaha. Ha. Ha.

[Doug Brenner @ May 29th 2007 11:01AM]

IMHO the big advantage of this system is redundancy.

I have both 1.5M DSL and 6M cable, but this "aggregator" device would be worth it for me strictly as a backup for my alarm system (which uses the internet) since any professional thief would just cut the lines for my DSL and cable.

I can't imagine anyone getting arrested for leeching a neighbor's AP for the purpose of reporting an emergency. This is a legitimate use. And since all the AP's in my area are closed, integrated cracking would be most helpful.

[CJ @ May 29th 2007 12:13PM]

You need to get an alarm system which does not rely on physical media. Specifically, check out http://www.alarm.com and similar services. If you don't have WiFi coverage in your area, the system will use your DSL as primary, but will use its own cellular as backup.

Unfortunately, the law is not as Machiavellian as you make it out to be. It's never justified to break encryption, regardless of how noble your intentions are. Depending on the benevolence of your DA, and the spin on the media attention which the case gets, you may avoid criminal prosecution, but would still definitely be subject to civil penalties. Not worth it to me.

[Luis @ May 29th 2007 11:24AM]

well lucky ive never beeb to jail.

[gandhii @ Aug 6th 2007 5:49PM]

sadettin: I think you're being too sensitive....
I'm an american, and you don't hear me whining and crying every time someone insults my country, culture, government or.. cough cough... the speed of my internet connection.

[Tobias @ May 29th 2007 11:37AM]

I think that price is a little high. Actually, it's precisely ten dollars too high.

[JL @ May 29th 2007 1:00PM]

Thomas,

Some may be a little young to recognize that reference.
Loved Giorgio Moroder's track from the movie too - quintessential proto-techno!

[Sadettin @ May 29th 2007 5:41PM]

Thomas,
I apologize for criticizing you for specifically thinking that you were an American. My comments were not to be personal nor target any Americans. I tried to spread some general knowledge that I share. I am kindly asking for you to be little more sensitive with such events that has credibility issues on your future articles. Thanks for understanding.

[unbelievable @ May 29th 2007 11:48AM]

craig is completely right. speed between the "slurpr" and each AP is 54Mbits, but actual throughput is much lower cause it's capped by whatever cable/DSL/fiber throughput is. Plus, no one is taking into account that cable throughput varies on an hourly basis. And, each home's throughput varies depending on what traffic is already being sucked down. I mean you could be connecting to six homes where torrenting traffic is already running. That = little to no bandwidth.

I'm pretty sure the variability and the given jail time are enough to say that I'd pay for a $20 a month DSL or fiber line.

BTW, props to the noobs who are walking into this trap. /sarcasm

[sempernoctis @ May 29th 2007 8:27PM]

Usually (at least from my point of view) people generally steal WiFi for one of about three different reasons: mobility, anonymity, or service outage from their paid provider. In none of these cases is the cost effectiveness or the throughput really the issue. And yes, six wireless G connections (assuming for the moment that you have 6 different access points close enough to connect at 54Mbps without interference between them) will never give you 54 x 6 Mbps of actual transfer.

[Carl Lumma @ May 29th 2007 12:08PM]

That's awesome.

[Blake @ May 29th 2007 12:58PM]

Hmmm Remember Physical Property != Intellectual Property

[Jeff @ May 29th 2007 1:01PM]

Blake i think you missed my point. Sigh. Forget it.

[Jonathan @ May 29th 2007 4:35PM]

it is within my means to pirate what i can't afford.

"Do you break into your neighbors house and empty their fridge when you need groceries?"

whats odd here, is that your analogy of stealing applies to what is needed. I will get what i need, even if i can't afford it.

now it's time to make an argument that the internet is so common place, that its becoming more and more difficult to live a life without it. soon, if not already, the internet will become a necesity for balance. once agian, i will get what i need, even if i can't afford it, be it internet, food, etc.

[Jeff @ May 29th 2007 4:46PM]

thats completely absurd. Stealing food to live is different. The example was one of stealing on an ethical principal in the first place. I don't know anyone who can honestly advocate that theft is not wrong. And lets ignore the fridge we are talking about straight up theft. Stolen Movies and Music are not even comparable to the "fridge" model. You don't perish because you don't have packets flying through your router. And i will be damned if you cannot live a life without the internet. Go get some sunshine.

[Big E Small e @ May 29th 2007 1:49PM]

Sadettin @ May 29th 2007 10:58AM
"Your country has no better record that you can be proud of which we all have seen in the past 5 years that proves it."

1.5 million Armenians murdered by Turks in 1915 would tend to disagree with that statement.

[Agra @ May 29th 2007 3:56PM]

Let alone the number 1.5 million Armenians is fake, let's compare it to 650.000 Iraqis, millions of vietnamese people, the whole native american race(these are the true americans, not the immigrants from europe), and it's not even possible to count USA's guilts. Well done, America, surely, a nation to be proud of.

[Sadettin @ May 29th 2007 5:41PM]

"1.5 million Armenians murdered by Turks in 1915 would tend to disagree with that statement."


See Big E Small e, you're missing the point by mixing the definition between a hatred and criticism. What I have done with my comments were to criticize what Mr. Ricker has said. However, it seems that you can't even make the balance between the two words by putting your hatred and prejudice before your thinking.I will not ridicule myself with you by arguing about what you have said, because that's not the subject of our discussion. Also, it is not the place the discuss that kind of a nonsense and false accusation.

[TomTheGeek @ May 29th 2007 2:26PM]

I had this same idea a while ago and even went so far as to buy a couple wireless card to try and aggregate just two connections. I tried for a little while but I thought it would be impossible to get working so I stopped. I would be really interested in the software that this box runs and whether or not you need specialized hardware to do this.

[- k E n - @ May 29th 2007 2:27PM]

cool, now we can get 6 jail sentences for the price of one!

[hoohoo @ May 29th 2007 3:33PM]

lose the six extra wired ports add a couple of usb2.0 for external mass storage, and be able to run a torrent app this would be a dream device. losing $1000 from the price wouldnt hurt either.

[offdutyninja001 @ May 31st 2007 11:33AM]

Agra: If you honestly believe that 650,000 Iraqi's were killed because of America/Americans, you're a moron. Take it from someone who's been living in Baghdad for the last 3 years.

Oh, and keep in mind that thousands of Iraqi's were being killed by other Iraqi's long before 2003.

I'm not even going to respond to the Vietnam comment, because you obviously have a very skewed opinion of America. But please, let us know where you hail from so that we can point out some of the injustices of your homeland.


As for the product, I agree, if you're willing to spend $1000+ for this device, just subscribe to your own connection. Seriously.

[koisok @ May 29th 2007 5:22PM]

Jeez. Turkish prison refference is from the nightmarish movie "Midnight Express", that even the actual author of the book felt was way out of line in its depiction of cruelty on the part of the turkish prison guards and such. Also he didn't bite anyones tongue. And was never raped (which would in fact be more likely in an american prison). And didn't kill anyone escapin. And didn't have a girlfriend. Very little of the language spoken in the movie is actually turkish either.

In general strapping 5 lbs of hashish and flying out of istanbul is a bad idea, but the same could be said for dallas.

As for the product, this is rather stupid. I hope anyone dumb enough to steal their neighbor's wifi is bright enough to roll their own, but in any case WEP and open connections will soon be a thing of the past, making this thing a rather ugly brick.

[Casey Annis @ May 29th 2007 6:44PM]

This board isn't capable of passing probably more than 30Mbps - 40Mbps at the extreme, the 400Mhz Mips 4k processor tends to stall out when processing much more than this. Also any advanced queuing they would have done in the system as well as EQMPG Rules (Equal Cost Multipathing Gateway Rules) would cause even more overhead so the realistic bandwidth drops down more like 24Mbps. The board could achieve more with the Nstreme2 or Nstreme protocols enabled, but since these are proprietary they would be unable to communicate with any standard 802.x signaling.

In fact you can find the basics for this script setup at http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/ECMP_Failover_Script

I configure and consult on this gear every day as technician at http://wisp-rotuer.com, an equipment provider for WISP's (Wireless Internet Service Providers.) If you want a similar setup for less cash give me a call. It would just cost you the hardware and the $100.00/hr consulting fee. It would take less than an hour probably, maybe two at the outside. Bottom line looks somewhere around $600.00 to $700.00.

I think you my want to do some research into this little box before anyone drops $1,300 on it. I know what hardware they are using and it's nothing more than what we do every day here at work. They are using the following gear to accomplish this trick: All Mikrotik Gear (http://www.mikrotik.com) & Routerboard gear (A Mikrotik Company).

Part List:
RB532-4 Single Board Mips 4k Computer: x 1
- Includes Mikrotik Lvl 4 License

RB-564 Daughter Card: x 1
- Adds 6 Ether Net Ports and 4 Mini PCI ports as an expansion card for RB532-4

RB52/CM9 MiniPCI 802.11a/b/g combo cards (Just a Guess) x 6

RB5-Indoor-Large Enclosure: x 1
A bent Aluminum powder coated case with ground, designed to house the RB532-4 and Rb564 Daughter board snuggly.

IN24-5 Rubber Duck Antennas: x6

A Power Supply My Guess 48v or 56v: As the mini pci cards will suck up some juice. The board will distribute up to 6watts I believe between the gear in the Revision 5 Board.

[fubar @ May 29th 2007 6:49PM]

Wait, so the Turkish prisons/Billy thing ISN'T an Airplane reference...?

[Big E Small e @ May 29th 2007 7:27PM]

One death is a tragedy, but a million deaths are a statistic - J.Stalin

Sadettin if you don't think it's the place for politics, don't bring it up and then cower when someone calls you on it, you just don't understand English as well as you think you do, there is a definate difference between what you actually wrote and what you now claim to have meant. So I can forgive you for your ignorance I suppose.

It's become so fashionable to vilify Americans, even someone as liberal as I can get fed up with it. Yes we know, Bush is a destructive moron, at least he's not YOUR leader, we are stuck with him.

This all got started from a simple joke about a Turkish Prison, I actually thought(incorrectly) that it was just a reference from the movie "Airplane" - "Do you like Gladiator movies... Ever been in a Turkish Prison?". *You* made it into a prejudiced rant about America.

So take it easy. After all, Turks, Germans, English, French, Spanish, Christian, Muslim.... You all have a long history of doing some really horrible things to your fellow man, so don't go prancing around with this holier than thou nonsense.

[mikeyd @ Nov 14th 2007 10:46AM]

Well, this has been informative and refreshing. And you know, Turkish prisons ARE legendary. Midnight Express was a good movie. And the Armenian Holocaust DID happen. I don't know why modern Turkey won't admit it. Let's face it, the Ottomans could be right b@$tard$. But then, can't we all?