The inimitable Rob Flickenger reports something of a breakthrough; NoCatSplash on the Linksys WRT54G.
The Broadcom-based, WRT54G 802.11g Router ($120), does not support wireless bridging or repeating but it does use a tiny embedded Linux system. Rob has reduced his Community LAN software (NoCat) small enough to run on the router’s internal Flash ram. That means no computer is necessary to run Rob’s popular “free” public Wi-Fi software. Just plug the modified Linksys box into a DSL line and you’re good to go.
* What is it?
This package will turn your Linksys WRT54G access point into a NoCat open portal. This means that users will be presented with a “splash page” of your choosing, and must click a button before they can access the network from your AP.
It supports virtually all known web browsers on any platform, and requires no Javascript or special client side tools.
For more details on how NoCatSplash works, try this: http://nocat.net/download/NoCatSplash/
* Will it break my access point?
This version of Splash54G runs out of the system RAM on the access point, and does not attempt to touch the flash. To revert to your previous settings, just cycle the power on your AP.
I don’t believe it’s possible to permanently damage your AP without fiddling with the flash, but that said, use this software AT YOUR OWN RISK.
* Requirements
To use this package, you’ll need the latest wrt54g tools package from CJ Collier: cj.colliertech.org/swn/.
Also, this has only been tested to work with US Firmware v1.30.7.
More information on wrt54g tools is available at: seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/Wrt54gTools.
The ongoing saga of Linksys’ exploitation of the Linux kernel are partly chronicled here:oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/3659
