WiCanFi
Campus Wi-Fi Automation
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🛡️ 100% Client-Side Local 🔓 Open Source (MIT License) ⚡ Zero-Knowledge Privacy

Frequently Asked Questions & Security Assurance

Everything you need to know about how WiCanFi safeguards your credentials, keeps your data private, and automates captive Wi-Fi connections transparently.

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If WiCanFi saves you time from repetitive campus Wi-Fi logins, give us a star on GitHub! It takes 2 seconds and helps fellow students discover the tool.

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🛡️ Is WiCanFi safe to use with my campus Wi-Fi credentials?

Yes, 100% safe. WiCanFi is built from the ground up on a strict Zero-Knowledge Security Architecture:

🔒 Where are my credentials stored?
Your student ID / username and password are saved only inside your browser's private local sandbox (chrome.storage.local). They exist solely on your physical computer and are never synced to any cloud database or remote analytics server.

When logging in, the extension communicates directly and only with your college's official captive portal gateway (http://172.16.16.16:8090/). No intermediary server ever intercepts or touches your Wi-Fi credentials.

👁️ Can the developer or anyone else see my college ID and password?

No, absolutely not. Neither the developer, the college administration, nor any third party can see your saved password.

WiCanFi contains zero backend database tracking for passwords. You can inspect the source code in Notepad or open Chrome DevTools (press F12 ➔ Network tab) during a Wi-Fi login: you will observe that credentials are exchanged directly between your browser and the local campus gateway.

💻 Who created WiCanFi and where is the source code?

WiCanFi was created by Aabhas Katiyar as a public, open-source campus utility to solve the daily frustration of Wi-Fi session timeouts during classes, tests, and labs.

🔗 Official GitHub Repository:
https://github.com/AabhasKatiyar/wicanfi
Author Profile: @AabhasKatiyar

The project is released under the MIT License. That means it is free forever, completely transparent, non-commercial, and open for community audit and contributions.

⚠️ Why did Windows SmartScreen say "Unknown Publisher" or "Windows protected your PC"?

When running Update-Windows.bat, Windows Defender SmartScreen shows this prompt for two harmless technical reasons:

  • Batch files cannot be signed: .bat scripts are plain text files. Microsoft's Authenticode digital signing technology only works on binary .exe or PowerShell files, not batch scripts.
  • $500/year Corporate Certificate Fee: To prevent the "Unknown Publisher" prompt, Microsoft requires an Extended Validation (EV) certificate that costs $400–$600 per year and requires incorporation paperwork. Non-profit student projects do not buy corporate enterprise contracts.
⚡ How to run safely in 1 second:
On the blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, click "More info", then click "Run anyway".
The updater immediately strips the web mark from all files so subsequent runs never trigger SmartScreen again!
🌐 Does WiCanFi track my browsing history or internet activity?

Never. WiCanFi only checks whether your device is logged into campus Wi-Fi.

Its Chrome Manifest V3 permissions are strictly scoped to college portal domains (http://172.16.16.16:8090/*) and Google's standard 204 connectivity endpoint. It does not possess permissions to monitor websites you visit, inspect search queries, or view personal traffic.

⚡ How does the auto-login automation work?

Here is what happens behind the scenes in milliseconds:

  1. When your laptop joins campus Wi-Fi (e.g. TAGORE, APJ, etc.), the network controller intercepts traffic and sends a captive portal redirect.
  2. WiCanFi's background worker detects the gateway within 800 milliseconds.
  3. It submits an authenticated HTTP request using your locally saved credentials directly to the gateway's login API (mode 191/192).
  4. Once the campus server replies with a successful session token, the portal tab is automatically closed to keep your browser clutter-free!
🔑 How do I change or completely delete my saved credentials?

You have full, instant control over your data at all times:

Click the ⚙ Settings gear icon in the extension popup. From the Settings Hub, you can change your student ID/password, toggle Auto-Login off, or click "Clear Saved Credentials" to instantly delete all saved data from your browser.

🔄 How do I update to new versions when bug fixes are released?

Updating takes less than 10 seconds:

  1. Click the ⤓ Download / Check for Updates icon in the extension header.
  2. If a new version is detected, click [ Update Now ] or run Update-Windows.bat.
  3. Go to chrome://extensions (or edge://extensions) and click the circular Reload (↻) icon on the WiCanFi card.