Device enables long-distance Wi-Fi connections

A researcher has made a device that can transmit WiFi signals at a frequency of 900MHz. That gives it a range of several kilometers, and that should make people who use it more difficult to trace.

It concerns the so-called Proxyham, which consists of a Raspberry Pi motherboard with a number of antennas, Motherboard reports. One of the antennas is used to connect to a conventional wireless network, such as a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Then two more antennas have been built in that can communicate on a frequency of 900MHz, something that is also used for some telephone networks, for example. The intention is that the Proxyham acts as, as the name suggests, a proxy between the network and the user.

Because it broadcasts on 900MHz, the signals from the Proxyham can be picked up from several kilometers away. According to the maker, who goes by the name Benjamin Caudill, the signals can carry up to 4 km. Anyone who wants to communicate with the Proxyham will therefore need a 900MHz antenna that is connected to the Ethernet port.

According to Caudill, the Proxyham provides additional privacy for users. Anyone who tries to find out the location of a user will see the IP address of the device, while a connected user can therefore be within a radius of 4 km around it. Caudill wants to sell the Proxyham for a price of 200 dollars, which is about 180 euros. He hopes to be able to lower the price to 150 euros in the long term. The Proxyham will be demonstrated at the Def Con meeting in August.