Getting SID or carrier APN on Windows Mobile - General Questions and Answers

I'm new to WM programming and I'm trying to access a bunch of information like signal strength on CE devices. I've found some of the information I need through the TAPI and RIL APIs, but I haven't managed to find either the SID or APN (e.g. wap.cingular).
I thought both of those would be pretty easy to get, but I haven't had any luck finding them.

In case anyone is interested in the answer to my question - it looks like I had a couple of misunderstandings.
First - I was having trouble finding the SID because I now understand that SID is not used on GSM devices. GSM devices have a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC). Both of these are available via the RIL_GetCurrentOperator() call.
Second - maybe APN is specific to GPRS? It's available via the RIL_GetGPRSContextList() function.

Related

Mobile tracking system using GSM

Hi,
I am a MSc Student, I have decided to implement a Mobile tracking system using GSM, not using GPS as a proof of concept. Since I am new to this subject, can some one point me to a right start point.
thanx
Ganesh
I think this has been done before:
http://www.navizon.com/
Thanx for the reply,
I forgot to tell one other othing. My project, not only find the location of the callee. If I receive a call from a person I should know where is he calling from. I know that I cannot pin point without a GPS, atleast if I can get a redias from the nearest cell tower.
If I can get a database of all the Cell ID and their GEO location, can I do something with that ?
ganesh
I think the operator will only tell your handset the caller's caller ID in the form of phone number instead of cell ID. It's kind of intrusion of privacy if an operator does that.
Frankly, if the operator really does that - you won't need to research it right now - someone must have exploited it long time ago
See also the POLS project on SourceForge:
http://pols.sourceforge.net/software
even if some sendt that info i doubt all do
as it's not an official part of the std.
Is'nt this illegal???
Thanx for everyone replied,
I got soem sort of a info.
ganesh
the only thing which could be illegal is that the cellphone operators send
that info to the call reciever which is why i say that for those very legal reasons i doubt all operators send it and it's not a native part of the gsm std

identify if IMSI catchers were used with field test?

Hello all
I've been reading this forum for some months now and i like the windows'es and informations i've found here on my Hermes device
But now i have some questions on using the often integrated tool field test.
I've found out that with the IMSI-catcher (german wikipedia as one of the sources), that are more and more often used semi-legal by the police(here in europe there are a lot of 'GA-90' devices sold to the police and other institutions), it is possible to listen to phone calls(man in the middle attack), by just 'emulating' the strongest phone-cell in the area, to which the device connects instead of connecting to the provider's cell.
I also read that it would be possible to find out if there was an imsi-catcher device active in the area near you or not. The only thing needed is a special monitor software (field test?) that observes the MNC(Mobile Network Codes) behavior(appearently you need 2 handy's from the same provider with the monitoring software running).
But they didn't explain exactly on which behavior you should pay attention.
Since I could use 2 windows mobile devices to test this out, I am searching for more detailled information on this subject, and the first place that came in my mind was xda-developers
I allready did search this forum for the subject imsi catcher, and the only thing I've found is this.
google result
so one person who tries to change hies imei number, and another one who doesn't seem to know exactly what an imsi catcher can do.
Is here anyone who knows more?
I know that where I live, there are pple who make abuse with IMSI-catchers(catching calls without the permission from a judge or similar, or even one time someone listening to his girlfriends phone calls to see if she's cheating(and she did and that was the reason he left her))And yes this one was a young policeman who told that to his friends and even was proud of it.
I also dislike the fact that the handy, instead of the encrypted one with the provider's cell, has an non encrypted connection to the imsi catcher(if not there would be no possibility for a listening man in the middle attack).
I also read about the cellphones from http://www.cryptophone.de/
Appearently they do allways have encrypted conversations even through an Imsi-catcher. But if that would be true, the other side will need the same handy to decrypt it again. Because it has to encrypt, the allready encrypted data traffic with the provider's cell, if not it can't allow any protection against IMSI -Catcher devices. I also ask myself if, depending on where u want to use it, the 2nd encryption could produce a to huge phone traffic that could result p.ex. in a robot voice...
Anyone who could light me up?
Or is there any software able of reencrypting the encrypted transfer on windows mobile devices?technically it should be possible(2nd phone dialer installed so you choose the normal one for normal calls and 2nd one for calls with pple who also have this software installed on their phones)perhaps not with an 256 bit encryption but perhaps with a 128 or 64 bit encryption...
BTW, if there would be anyone able to programm such a hot piece of software for windows mobile devices I wouldn't have any problem to donate him with paypal, and i suppose other pple would do the sameAnd no I don't wanna replace that by Voip or skype via HTC...
Thanks in advance
Patrick
So no one who knows more about this?
I would be very happy if i could at least test if they're really used that often as they say they are(where i live).
And since i could try it in different major 'cities' over here, i suppose catching a imsi catcher soon or later
I'm quite curios if all the pple, telling that there is a lot of abuse with these machines, are right, or if that's all nonsens...
It would be nice if a warning icon could be integrated into Windows Mobile or the dialer to indicate that a call is not being encrypted. Read the Wikipedia entry for IMSI-catcher for more info. I'm guessing CDMA is largely unaffected since the hole seems to rely on the UMTS spec's backward-compatibility with GSM.
I'd also like to note that Skype is the way to go for true endpoint to endpoint call encryption. You know, if you're a gangster or something and need to brush off the popos. It would be interesting to investigate whether the WM6 integrated VOIP stack requires authentication/encryption.

GNSS Internet Radio and Built in GPS

Hello,
I am new to the forum and also the owner of an HTC Fuze. I have been playing around recently with the GPS on the phone and got me thinking. I live in NY and we have a CORS network of gps base stations that are fed by the use of ntrip.
I was wondering if their was any way to use the gps signal on my phone and the connection to this CORS network to give me sub inch accuracy on my phone...then not sure what I would do with it then. But I do live on a farm and I would like to see some type of precision agricultural use.
I guess I need a way to have the GPS on the phone talk with the GNSS internet radio and then give me spot on guidance and such.
Please let me know your thoughts or if I need to explain better.
Thanks,
Clayton
bump
bump. Any ideas? Anyone
Great idea cwrisrey !
That will save the cost of a geodetic device, which is many times the cost of a Fuze. Further, it will lead the accuracy of the buildin GPS into millimum class.
Not dig into this further, would you go further to tell these:
Is that CORS data encrypted?
Is that accessible through public internet or VPN?
Is there copy right or intellectuall property right issue involved? (I don't think so, but better make it clear first)
Once again, great idea. Please do remember to update this thread once you got any progress. Thanks.
More info
Hello wg5566,
This site would probably answer alot of your questions clearer than I could:
http://www6.nysdot.gov/spiderweb/frmIndex.aspx
* Is that CORS data encrypted?
-I don't believe so, I think that it is just a form of compression, to distribute across the internet.
* Is that accessible through public internet or VPN?
Yes, the NYS CORS anyway. It accessible from the public internet (although they require you to register with them) But I believe there are other free streams. I also believe it was modeled after being able to be sent threw GPRS.
* Is there copy right or intellectuall property right issue involved? (I don't think so, but better make it clear first)
-I believe the ntrip is based on a GNU, I think the source code is available. http://igs.bkg.bund.de/index_ntrip_down.htm
Windows CE version:
http://www.ilmb.gov.bc.ca/crgb/gsr/downloads/installGNSS.CAB
Please, let me know your thoughts...
Thanks,
Clayton
My fast thoughts:
First make sure there is no satisfied freeware currently available for WM.
If so please ask a moderator to move this to the development & hackings section. And Add tyis sentence on the title: Call for developers for revolutionary GPS app!
I'm sure somebody here can develop this. You know the geodetic device was invented many years ago with very weak profiles comparing to current WM devices. The hardware on our phone should be capable to deal with these calculations, and the WM Pro platform should be capable to support such an app. Anyway it should not be a biggy for many masters here. But it is a biggy for gps users with high accuracy demand for any reason.
Edit: Did you try install that wince cab on your phone? I think some of WINCE apps can just run on WM. Please backup your data first.
Edit2: I tried to install it on my device, at first it did not show up in start menu, then I found the cab just put files and shortcut in the folder names in French. But there is no registry involved in the cab. Only three files. And then program UI itself is in English. Just run the executable from the folder will go right out of the box. So please try it. I did not try to connect & loggin yet, due to not registered account.
Edit3: Looks like the cab is only access the data from internet, convert the data format and export the data, but we still need a geodetic/gps software to process/use the data.
Disclaimer: I attatched these three files for the only purppose of exchanging software developement infomation. Anybody if download it please do not use it for any purppose other than this. Thanx.
Some thoughts on the subject
Hi All,
The idea of using NTRIP to make a Windows Mobile GPS device sub-meter accurate crossed my mind. After some research I found this thread.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any software capable of doing this. My idea is that it should be possible to accomplish this goal, using a combination of existing tools (which would be really cool!).
As wg5566 notes, there is a (WM) tool called GNSS Internet Radio, which is capable of downloading NTRIP corrections. It turns out this software works, but does have some flaws. Someone wrote another open source tool which is better (?), but unfortunately it isn't built for Windows Mobile (see: http://lefebure.com/software/).
More searching revealed a (dead?) project on codeplex: SharpGPS. It's an unfinished demo. It does however seem to be designed to do exactly what we're suggesting in this thread.
My idea: Completing the WM version of SharpGPS with parts of GNSS Internet radio / lefebure NTRIP client should result in a tool that's capable of upgrading a WM devices' gps signal to sub-meter accuracy through RTK/DGPS corrections over NTRIP.
Any ideas / suggestions about this?
It's already been done for the commercial market
Land surveyors, construction companies, and farmers use RTK GPS and RTK GNSS correction services on a regular basis. Some are free and some are paid subscription. They can be either NTRIP protocol with casters or individual TCP or UDP connections. Examples of software available are Carlson SurvCE and MicroSurvey. Read Carlson's support site for how they deal with the data flow using such networks on SurvCE (Windows Mobile and CE).
I have worked in land surveying using such equipment, and it generally requires dual frequency receivers, RTK corrections, and high quality antennas to achieve 1-2cm 95% CI horizontal precision. The current GPS chips in cell phones are only single frequency and so the best you could expect under ideal conditions is 2'-3' precision using some form of differential correction like WAAS or beacon or DGPS via NTRIP. Under average conditions, the precision will likely be in the 10-20' range. The dual frequency receivers take care of the large errors caused by radio waves traveling through the ionosphere.
Due to the limitations of batteries, antennas, and space for more chips in cellphones, the future of location accuracy will likely include some combination of GPS/GLONASS and cellular radio signal frequency timing calculations from cell towers. True Position, with its U-TDOA technology, is one example of measuring the time differences of cell phone radio waves using cell towers with known coordinates. Rumors (from surveying journals) have it that there are current patents in place that can allow for sub foot precision using such methods when sufficient cell towers are present for multilateration.
Has anyone found success on this topic? WM or Android...
Would be very interested, since there is a free NTRIP feed available in Switzerland... anyone?
*bump* it up
Been there still trying. Problem is no carrier phase off internal gps.
Grimli said:
Hi All,
The idea of using NTRIP to make a Windows Mobile GPS device sub-meter accurate crossed my mind. After some research I found this thread.
As wg5566 notes, there is a (WM) tool called GNSS Internet Radio, which is capable of downloading NTRIP corrections. It turns out this software works, but does have some flaws. Someone wrote another open source tool which is better (?), but unfortunately it isn't built for Windows Mobile (see: /lefebure.com/software/).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lance lefebure is a really cool guy I'm sure he wouldn't have any problem building a wm version but it is going to takea lot more than that to get rtk to a cell phone.
Very good ,thanks.
Ed hardy bikini said:
Very good ,thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are confused just ask questions and I will do my best to answer them. I am in the ag industry and deal with RTK networks and different ways of connecting them and tons of different gps units on a daily basis.
Look at this:
http://stakemill.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/ashtech-mobile-mapper-100-supports-esri-arcpad-10-0/
and this:
http://www.ashtech.com/-2359.kjsp?RH=1272644205746&RF=1270806507068
Is that still a phone !?
wg5566 said:
Look at this:
Is that still a phone !?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope PDA with support for external GPS with a builtin reciever that even sees glonass satellites (russian constelation). That was made specifically to do RTK mapping. It does have a GSM radio for data to connect to the cors.
Phone positioning using CORS
To perform a CORS (Network Reference correction we need a GGA stream from the GPS in your device. This allows us to remove the anomalies and provde the correction stream. As phones use a sirf II chip or similar they do not have input capability to output the NMEA stream to achieve this.
This one works great! it will connect to an Rtk receiver and get the nmea string from it or will use the internal GPS to be able to register on the CORS network. It will then stream the corrections over Bluetooth to a receiver or even a repeater radio. It won't however correct the internal GPS. http://antrip.dyndns.biz/Home/DownloadTrial

GSM, Cell ID tracking by operator or big brother

Hi everyone
I read a lot about tracking mobile phone with the Cell ID and neighbour Cells via GSM service [1]
the GSM protocol can initiate a scan of the neighbor cells and their signal strength which leads to a position accuracy <100m
Does someone know more about it?
second using silent/stealth sms to receive cell id [2][3][4] (no English infos found you got censored? ) google translate if you don't speak German...
this special sms type does not show any information on your handset, its silent! So you can't detect when you receive one.
On which level of the phone is this behavior handled? Baseband/Radio or the OS?
As example on Android you get the kernel source and all the source of the standard apps running on it. Probably a way modify the way it reacts if it is in this part of the code.
The Radio/Baseband is NOT?[needs clarification] open source, so no chance here?
Is there a way to detect this behavior?
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_localization#Handset_Based
[2] http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Message_Service#Spezielle_Nachrichtentypen
[3] http://www.heise.de/mobil/artikel/ueberwachung-per-Mobilfunk-222789.html
[4] http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meld...ung-wird-zur-Massendienstleistung-130253.html
Hi mopodo,
just FYI, "silent sms" can be sent wia WM, a tool called "Hush SMS" allows this.
And there is no information carried via this SMS back to the originator.
Cell-ID based tracking can only be done by the owner of a cell tower, i.e. the operator. And since this requires lots of time, they (regularly) only do this on request of the prosecution.
But I do not know more about this topic, the above information is what I (supposedly) know about this.
Regards
Zuzler said:
Hi mopodo,
just FYI, "silent sms" can be sent wia WM, a tool called "Hush SMS" allows this.
And there is no information carried via this SMS back to the originator.
Cell-ID based tracking can only be done by the owner of a cell tower, i.e. the operator. And since this requires lots of time, they (regularly) only do this on request of the prosecution.
But I do not know more about this topic, the above information is what I (supposedly) know about this.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try to read more about CITA and ECITA : enhanced cell id timing advance hahaha
ghassen32 said:
try to read more about CITA and ECITA : enhanced cell id timing advance hahaha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the forum! Tell us a little on what you know about CITA?

[Q] Get available wifi networks (interop/pinvoke?)

Hi everyone,
I need a list of all available wifi networks, but it seems Windows Phone does not allow that.
I don't need to submit the app to the marketplace. Thus, an interop/pinvoke solution would also be okay. Is there any possibility to get such a list? Does anyone have more information about that? It would also be great to get the signal strength of the networks.
Thanks in advance!
MSDN is your friend:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg159330.aspx
Not the simplest API I've ever seen, but it looks possible. OpenHandle->EnumInterfaces->GetAvailableNetworkList->CloseHandle. You might also want to use RegisterNotification and Scan before calling GetAvailable.
To write native code that can do this for you, and make it callable from managed code, see Heathcliff74's guide: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1299134

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