Laptops are cumbersome for wardrivers, so Kevin Rose opts for the Linux-based Zaurus SL-5600 handheld. Here's why.

Kevin Rose - personalities pageThere's something very rewarding about wardriving. Whenever I'm driving around with my laptop and hear the familiar gong of Net Stumbler discovering a new wireless access point, I get a shot of adrenaline. If you haven't tried wardriving, I highly recommend it.

Wardriving is a blast, but the one drawback is that you have to carry around your wireless laptop. Laptops are sometimes a bit bulky, so I decided to get something smaller and more portable. I landed on the Sharp Zaurus SL-5600.

Pocket-size hacker helper

The Zaurus SL-5600 is my handheld of choice. Why? Because it runs Linux natively without any modifications. The popular line of HP iPaq handhelds is nice, but the iPaq requires you to delete the Pocket PC OS and reflash with a special iPaq Linux distro. This works just fine, but it requires a bit more technical expertise.

Once you've purchased the Zaurus SL-5600 (or SL-5500), you need to purchase a wireless card. This will allow you to access any 802.11b network. My recommendation is the Socket Low Power WLAN card. It works great, and it fits into the built-in CompactFlash (CF) socket without any adapters or dongles.

Hacking on the go

Now it's time to install some software. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of ported Linux applications at your disposal. My favorite Wi-Fi discovery/sniffing software is Kismet.

But don't stop at sniffing software. Console tools, emulators, servers (Apache with PHP), you name it, it's probably been ported. After installing various consoles, Telnet/SSH clients, packet sniffers, and wireless discovery tools, you'll be equipped with an ultimate mini-hacking device that fits in your back pocket.

Stock up on Zaurus wares

Here are some great places to find software for your Zaurus. Happy (legal) hacking!


Watch Kevin Rose and Dan Huard's short films and post to their forums at thebroken.org.