"public" wlan's controlling browser?

[jjd228]

set up my laptop at a starbucks the other day, a Tmobile wireless connection was available... when i ran my internet browser, my default homepage was overridden and some Tmobile website was displayed telling me that i needed to buy time in order to use the wlan. fine. my question is HOW do you force someones browser to go to a certain page like that?

[danielk]

I don't know for sure, but I would say it's done with dns. Any home page you enter, will do a dns lookup for the IP address of that page. All they have to do is instruct their dns server to always give out their home page as IP address.

[jjd228]

hhmm.... well, i was thinking more along the lines that they have a domain set up and logging on to their LAN sets up the usual domain variables. i.e., profiles, homepages using some form of group policy maybe...

[danielk]

nahh, group policies and such are all windows networking variables, that would require an actual logon to a domain controller etc... not likely. There is a standard way of doing what you are talking about, it's done in hotels around the world, you plug in, and are automatically re-directed to their page until you pay for the service. I worked for an ISP in illinois, and their competitor wired several apartment buildings, you could plug in and access the internet, but after you downloaded a certain amoung, like 10mb, it shut it off, and redirected you to a sign up page.

[JimGeier]

In public hotspot deployments that I've been invovled with, we used an access controller (e.g., Bluesocket, ReefEdge, etc.) that sits between the access point and the ISP connection. When you raise your browser, your homepage URL request goes through the access point and hits the access controller. The access controller notices that you're not yet logged into the system and redirects your browser to the login page by sending back the html of the login page rather than your homepage. In other words, the access controller intercepts your call for a paticular website and instead returns somethine different (the login page). Once you log into the system, the access controller will let you browse any site.