How to hack the Hilton hotel wifi

Posted by vinhboy on Monday, October 5th, 2009 in Internet.

Ok, this is not really a “hack”, it’s just a fun trick to get free wifi.

I was at the Hilton hotel this weekend and the cost for 24-hr of wifi internet was $9.95.

So what’s a web developer to do? Open firebug. hilton

Look at the screenshot, do you see the 9.95? Yup, some idiot coded the price into the HTML…

Ok, let me change that to 0.95 instead. Submit form.

Did it work? Yup, my receipt shows the internet charge at 0.95 — You can change this to anything you want. You can even give them more money if you wish.

But there you go, free wifi at the Hilton.

I did a similar thing the last time I stayed at a Holiday Inn. Last time, I viewed the source and found the username and password in the source. I used it to craft a post that authorized me for access.

Let me know if you’ve had similar success =)

6 Comments

  1. Alessandro Zamai Says (November 11th, 2009):

    Hey Vinh,

    I tried this hack out today, worked perfectly!!! I input 0.0 for the price, and it changed it so that the price showed as complimentary!

    Worked great,

    Thanks!

  2. Toni Lee Says (January 9th, 2010):

    Hi Vinh…I was searching around tonite for costs of WiFi at a Hilton where I will be exhibiting for 4 days during the upcoming week. Was hoping WiFi was free…wishful thinking! GOSH…everything is so expensive at this California Hilton…what a racket…what a ripoff!

    I am NOT super computer savy but I manage; however, I have a quick question…how would I access the screen with the HTML re: WiFi cost et al? Is there a drop down or menu bar from the room’s main logon on screen (via room’s t.v.) whereby I might gain access to the HTML? Could you please advise???

    Thank you in advance! Toni

  3. Michael Says (February 12th, 2010):

    Is Firebug Freeware?
    I really got pissed the last time I stayed at Hiliton for $220 a night. They had the balls to charge me additional for Wi-Fi.
    Any help would be appreciated.

    Mike

  4. Limao Luo Says (April 10th, 2010):

    Firebug is a Firefox extension, so not only is it free, but, like Firefox itself, is open source, so no trial periods, extra-feature editions, or any of the hassle that freeware has.

  5. fred Says (May 20th, 2010):

    does it work with a negative price? :-)

  6. Ben Says (July 19th, 2010):

    Does anyone know if this is still working or if they have fixed the loop hole?

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