wireless scanning software?
 

I want to drive around my neighborhood with my laptop and see if there are any wireless networks I can connect to. Is there a program that will make this easier, and let me know when I am in range?

http://wardriver.org

I did not provide this link. And for future reference, the activity you refer to is called "wardriving". That may aid you in some Googling.

Commercial networks are beginning to pop up. T-Mobile has a paid service of about 2300 sites and McDonald's is supposed to be offering it in certain cities when you buy a meal. I think some Starbucks have it too.

Driving around town and attaching to someone's wireless network isn't illegal - it's a side-effect of how that technology works. Using it for illegitimate purposes is a problem.

Here are some pretty cool wardriving maps:

http://www.nakedwireless.ca/winudcol.htm Notice how many networks *aren't* WEP enabled -- you'd think it would be the other way around....
http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/wireless.html

It's real amazing how many people and companies have implemented 802.11b without securing their network! :confused:

Check some bars in the U.K.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/69/30750.html

They got broadband online... I never have to go to work again.

? Arises though, why do you wanna know? It's not enquiring minds, surely?

h4x0r?

www.netstumbler.com works fine :)

most wireless cards have a utility that shows you the available networks, at least my belkin and prism does. I setup a friends wireless at her home in hollywood and when we switched it on it displayed 4 available networks all non encrypted.

i'm on a tmobile wireless hotspot connection right now.

Win32
Netstumbler

BSD:
BSD-Airtools

Linux (and BSD):
Kismet

OS X:
Kismac

The problem with netstumbler is that it's active... People can detect you. Kismet is compleatly passive :) I use it on my PDA.