Wireless access landing page requiring paypal payment?

[Thresh]

Hey folks, I'm the only one in a downtown college complex with money to afford internet. It's pretty fast, too... (One of the fastest Verizon FIOS packages) I was wondering if anyone knows a way to open the network up, but when accessing the net, redirect to a paypal payment page. All in all I'd just be asking for a fraction of what they'd be paying for their own ISP. I don't use the net much here at home, but when I do, I enjoy the fast speeds. So I'm willing to "rent out" some of the bandwidth for a little reimbursement (as long as all of this isn't TOO much of a project). It would also be nice to limit the amount of folks on the network and allocate bandwidth, just to make sure it doesn't get bogged down and everyone gets their share. I'm in a Desktop Support role with an a+ certification, so techy advice is welcomed! I also have a spare PC if needed for a server. Thanks all!!

 

[Lexluethar]

Setup QoS and filter MAC addresses, only allow access to specific MAC addresses, one's that you are okay with sharing the net with.

 

[I am confused2]

Thresh Simple answer, 'pay as you go' hotspots are eary to set up, DEPENDING on the type of main router that you are using.

Also, how big of area you plan to cover will require additional equipment.

You will need a paypal account and then you need to setup a CC processing account thru someone like authorize.net.

You also need to have a static IP from your internet provider for stability of the system.

As for number of users and bandwith, you have to remember that all 2gig access points will only connect at 54mbg and the more users you have that will slow the flow of traffic.

When using a hotspot, the user connects to a access point, and a signing page comes up that will allow either a pasword or to "pay" and at that time they will get an IP from your router and then they will either be 'jumped' to their home page or they will click on their home page.

I run three 'pay as you go', hotspots and one of them I cover a square mile.

These have been up and running for five years and I have never had a problem.

You can contact me directly for more info at cabletech03/hotmail.com

 

[PP Mguire]

Easier way to do this is setup your guest account and make the SSID something like "dorm ### $10 a month" and change the password every month to make sure they pay.

 

[duffman667]

As stated before you need to figure out how much coverage you need. I don't think one AP will cover the whole complex but then again I don't know the size of it. The easiest way would be what PP Mguire said. You can even get an App on your smartphone with the external credit card swiper in case they don't have cash.
Last setup like this I did I used a cheap linksys router with DD-WRT v24 firmware that connected to www.engagehotspots.com servers for all my customers money needs. All you have to do is create a management account with them so you can manage guests and charge them your 10$ rate or whatever and when a customer pays it is automatically routed to your bank account (I believe their daily charge for an account is like .30 cents so not much overhead). Granted you would want to have 2 SSID's. One for your private use and the the public one.

 

[DistraughtSysop]

I was wondering if anyone knows a way to open the network up, but when accessing the net, redirect to a paypal payment page.

What you're talking about is setting up a captive portal. It does take some work to properly configure.

Easier way to do this is setup your guest account and make the SSID something like "dorm ### $10 a month" and change the password every month to make sure they pay.

^^^

I'm not sure that it would be worth the hassle of setting up a captive portal and anything else you might need unless you're going to be making a profit on this. I'd also rather not leave an open network that just anyone can connect to - you'd still be allowing access to your network even if internet is blocked. As already mentioned, you also don't want too many users on your network at once.

 

[PP Mguire]

What you're talking about is setting up a captive portal. It does take some work to properly configure.



^^^

I'm not sure that it would be worth the hassle of setting up a captive portal and anything else you might need unless you're going to be making a profit on this. I'd also rather not leave an open network that just anyone can connect to - you'd still be allowing access to your network even if internet is blocked. As already mentioned, you also don't want too many users on your network at once.

When I did this I had 4 people on my guest account paying 10 dollars a piece so I was only paying 30 bucks for a 50Mb connection.

 

[DistraughtSysop]

When I did this I had 4 people on my guest account paying 10 dollars a piece so I was only paying 30 bucks for a 50Mb connection.

A good deal for everyone involved, I'd say.

Plus, I'd feel better about being able to knock on the door of someone on my network as opposed to just hoping that there isn't some scumbag downloading kiddie porn or something.

 

[PP Mguire]

A good deal for everyone involved, I'd say.

Plus, I'd feel better about being able to knock on the door of someone on my network as opposed to just hoping that there isn't some scumbag downloading kiddie porn or something.

Yea torrent sites and other questionable sites were denied. I had a huge list of denied access sites. I figured if anybody actually complained about certain things I would consider calling the police (on obvious things) or be like hey just pay for your own internet that starts at 45/m.