WiFi internet access that has additional authentication

Question

My university launches Wi-Fi authentication in a two-step process. First, you connect to a Wi-Fi network, and then, when you open a web browser, you need to enter additional information about yourself in order to access the Internet.

1) The university system has some way of determining whether the device has been previously authenticated (therefore, it does not ask you for credentials each time), how is this done? Is this by MAC address?

2) Suppose I try to start a home server that does not have a web browser. How can I get on the Internet? Do I need to install a web browser to go through the second stage of authentication?

Answer 1

The two-step process you are talking about is called the Captive Portal:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_portal

The technology of the captured portal makes the HTTP client on the network see a special web page (usually for authentication purposes) before using it on the Internet. The connected portal turns the web browser into authentication devices. [1] This is done by intercepting all packets, regardless of address or port, until the user opens a browser and tries to access the Internet. At this time, the browser is redirected to a web page that may require authentication and / or payment, or simply display an acceptable usage policy and ask the user to agree. Captive portals are used in many Wi-Fi hotspots and can be used to control wired access (for example, residential buildings, hotel rooms, business centers, "open" Ethernet connectors).

Answer 2

First: Yes, it is very likely. In the end, the MAC address is the only "reliable" authentication method available in the world of networks. However, it is also very likely that they use some kind of cookie that stores authentication information.

Second: a university server home server, huh? As I understand it, this server can never be accessed from the outside, no matter what you try, for a simple reason: clients from the outside have already turned away at the gates of the university. There is no way to accommodation. You need to ask the university network administrator to forward the port of your home server to the computer on which the home server is running. On the other hand, you do not need to authenticate yourself, as this is only applicable if your application establishes a connection. The server is waiting for incoming connections, so all this is good.