What Is War Driving?

War driving is a term used in wireless technology. It involves the use of a moving vehicle, which could either be a truck or a car, to search for wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks. To detect a Wi-Fi network, war drivers use a Wi-Fi-equipped computer system, such as a laptop computer or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

Until 2002, this term was also known as WiLDing, which is the acronym for Wireless LAN Driving. LAN stands for Local Area Network. The term WiLDing, however, never became a popular word and is not used anymore. It was coined by the Bay Area Wireless Users Group (BAWUG) from San Francisco, California in the United States.

Many war drivers also use global positioning system (GPS) devices to measure the location of the network area found and log it onto a website. Antennae can either be bought or built, and may vary from omnidirectional to highly directional.