Oddball sighting of a wifi network name....

As many of you all know, I am currently cursed with a really slow dail-up connection. However, I do like to post some fishing pics and videos on the fishing forums I'm a member of. To accomplish this, I take my laptop to any one of a number of unsecured wifi nodes that I've found.

Saturday, I went off to upload a quick video to my youtube channel. I pulled up next to a Taco Bell (best free wifi in my town), bought a snow-cone, and proceeded to boot up and log on.

I opened up the icon for wifi networks, and noticed a weird network name. One of the networks was named, and I kid you not, "FBI Surveillance Van". What the frak?!?!?!?!

I captured a screen shot of it, and may post that.

I'm trying to figure out if it was legit (trust me, I was looking for an unmarked van, or ANY vehicle, wrapped or unmarked, that looked like it could house some kind of surveillance operation), or if it's possibly just someone playing a joke by having a wireless router running within range of a known free wifi hotspot, and naming that connection something funny. That particular network was secured.

My first guess would be that it is a fake. I doubt the FBI would be that obvious. In addition, here in NYC one can buy T-shirts that look just like police issue. Lots of other official looking garb. With that said the funny name strikes me as just that, a funny name.

Of course, three is the "hiding in plain sight thing. (Band strikes up the Twilight zone theme)

Good catch. I seriously doubt it is really the FBI, just someone wanting to be sure no one tries to connect to their network. You can set up wireless connections so they do not advertise, thus the MiFi networks which some phones put out / connect to only the phone owners devices. I suspect the FBI would use something more along those lines. They sure would not advertise like that. Networks can easily be named anything your heart desires so I would not put to much credence in any WiFi Network name.

I wonder about the legality of a name like that, impersonating an officer or something....

They sell T-Shirts with the NYPD and FBI logo on them.

Adillo303 said:

They sell T-Shirts with the NYPD and FBI logo on them.

Click to expand...

and Santa suits....... okay, Andy, ya got me. lol