Warchalking is the drawing of symbols in public places to advertise an open Wi-Fi network. Inspired by hobo symbols, the warchalking marks were conceived by a group of friends in June 2002 and publicised by Matt Jones who designed the set of icons and produced a downloadable document containing them.

What is war chalking in networking?

Warchalking is the drawing of symbols in public places to advertise an open Wi-Fi network. ... The word is formed by analogy to wardriving, the practice of driving around an area in a car to detect open Wi-Fi nodes. That term in turn is based on wardialing, the practice of dialing many phone numbers hoping to find a modem.

What is the purpose of war chalking?

Warchalking provides information about the type of wireless connection being used, which may be open node, closed node or wired equivalent privacy (WEP) node. This may attract hackers and make them aware of the Wi-Fi hot spot and its security. Hackers may use this information to attack the Wi-Fi network.