Community poll forum: Using someone else's wireless network to access the Internet

At this time there's no specific law for it, to my knowledge, but people in several states (including California, Illinois, and Florida) have been fined an average of $250 for "theft of services." I don't know if anyone has been nailed in Wisconsin yet, or what their official position is, if they have one, but Wisconsin statutes 943.45 and 943.455 cover theft of telecommunications service and theft of commercial mobile services, respectfully, which would seem to cover using someone's WiFi service without permission. (All states have similar codes/statutes, though interpretation and enforcement varies.)

On the opposite end, some states, including New York, have pushed for laws requiring the securing of local networks and hotspots from unauthorized access. Failure to do so would result in a $250 fine as well. (So far I don't believe such has been passed, though most ISPs do have strict policies against the intentional 'sharing' of their services.) Whether or not such laws are passed, it's always in your best interest to secure your networks. Unauthorized access can not only lead to personal/private information being divulged, but you can be sued if someone else uses your unsecured network for illegal activities. (It traces back to you, not them!)

Finally, don't forget about the 'evil twin' factor, in which people set up open networks and hotspots for the purpose of getting people to connect and stealing their personal information. It's similar to phishing, except your sending the information to the legitimate website, but others are 'listening in' ('sniffing packets').

Hope this helps,
John

i would never use someone elses technolegy to get on the internet.i believe, it would not be fair to that person.i agree with nt.john wilkerson writes good blogs.i am not to good at it yet.are people allowed to post blogs in the different forums??? send me personal e-mail.

for the people who feel it is ok to rob their wireless connection.
I didn't know much about wireless when I first set up my network and I got hacked. Spent 3 months dealing with the throes of identity theft. I reported this to the police, they couldn't solve the crime. Then, my son came to visit and solved the crime, someone was accessing my computer through my unsecured wireless network!!!
Please people, secure your network. Don't store sensitive information on your computer, bank accounts, etc. I learned about this the hard way, and I hope you don't. And if you think the police are going to enforce the law regarding someone using your wireless network, guess again. The person that did it never was even spoken to, let alone charged until I hired an investigator who did all the work and pushed it.
Just a few words of wisdom.

I guess I didn't have to reply to your comment in order to ask this question, but from what you wrote I thought you might be able to answer it. Is there anyway of letting the owner of the unsecured network know that they are in danger, for example from rather ignorant fellows like myself who didn't realize what I was doing until the nagging feeling that something isn't right here led me to the brilliant idea to google it? And is there someway of doing it that wouldn't be a complete violation of their privacy? I kinda wanna apologize to the person I'm using right now. I guess I could start by disconnecting.

But in some areas of the US, it's explicitly illegal to use someone else's wireless network like this and can subject the user to criminal prosecution.

However, from a "How would I be exposed?" question. The owner of that network can easily see every piece of information you send over that wireless network.

Also, if you do heavy use of the network (i.e. music downloads, large file downloads, etc), you will slow the other person's network down so the other person may notice---and that other person may decide to turn it off or secure it.

Also, possibly, the other person may turn off his wireless network when he goes on holiday --- so it's not a reliable network.

Personally, I consider it at least a bit rude to use someone else's wireless network without getting their permission.

Accessing somebody else's private network is the computer equivalent to Breaking And Entering. Any law against it is certainly not stupid.

Hotspots like Panelas or Barnes and Nobles and Books a million are someone elses wireless internet and are for the patrons to use.

Rob

WiFi hotspots are still few, and unless you are able to plan ahead, you cannot access the 'net to find the next hotspot. So, in my travels with my RV I do look for and sometimes find an open connection to do mail.

Highwire

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-5630181-1.html is CNET's article about the Evil Twin issue.

-> With ready to boot CD's you can erect your own evil twin in minutes if you have the right hardware.

As such, I would only use wifi besides my own network if I am armed to the teeth and will never use a credit card or other financial transaction.

But since it's great to get web information on the road, at the pub I'll use it but always be on the defensive.

Bob

Anyone who runs a wireless network unsecured is inviting you to share it. They might not KNOW they've invited you, and they might not want you to accept their kind invitation, but nevertheless...

It is NOT illegal to get online through someone else's wireless network; if it were, all those municipal wireless networks and public wireless networks in hotels etc. would be illegal to use.

It is SO easy to secure a wireless network, at least with WEP but WPA is really not that much of a trick, that there's really no excuse not to unless you really don't WANT to, or you're too inexcusably careless and ignorant for me to care what you think.

But one warning: If you DO use someone else's unsecured network you'd better have a software firewall like Zone Alarm installed, or you're right out there for them to see.

Don't sit and complain, do something about it!

I don't want to stir things up and I will never condone stealing, but.....

1) Don't leave your door open!
Forgot? That's your own stupid fault! There is always some one that will take advantage!

2) Let's keep this real, got the latest technology?
Learn how to use it! Can't be bothered?
That's your own fault!

Breaking and entering law!
The criminal act of entering a residence or other enclosed property through the slightest amount of force (even pushing open a door), without authorization. If there is intent to commit a crime, this is burglary. If there is no such intent, the breaking and entering alone is probably at least illegal trespass, which is a misdemeanor crime.

Should we all wonder about what is right? or what is just plain ignorannce?


My comments are not directed at any individual, and are meant to express my own feelings about this topic.

Kindest Regards To All

I am an IT guy, so I have more gear than most built up at home, but I offer up to 25% of my bandwidth to whoever needs it.
I've been a homeless college student, living in a van, for about a year throughout 2004. Lemme tell you, to a geek without a home for DSL, open wireless kept me sane and helped me roll through my hard times, determined to stay in school so I could get my IT job.
Yes, I could have done illegal things with my pirated internet. I simply didn't. The person driving their car down the street could swerve into that pedestrian for sick fun, but they, 99.9999% of the time, don't.
I also could have run cracks on the WEP keys at the time, but I actually NEVER bothered to. There were enough freebies that I was able to sit in my van playing FPS and strategy games late at night. I was able to Google my brain out on whatever subject I was concentrating on at the time; and I thank those (mostly uneducated and mentally lazy people) who gave me that opportunity.
I was alos responsible enough to only download images of Linux OS CD's late at night, while the connection was idle. Otherwise, they might decide to secure it to stop that stranger from interferring with their productivity. Mostly, I used business Acess Points, but more than one apartment complex had an open connection.
I know that criminal mischief is a potential problem. It always is. The advent of Wireless did not spawn criminal mischief. And it won't be the last thing abused and/or exploited for malice. It would be easy for manufacturers to make wireless routers where the wireless can be left open, but the route to non-you would be directly to the gateway, as I have done at home today.
Ideally, if all machines could be positively identified, allowing some of your AP bandwidth to be used by the kid walking down the street who'd rather surf his little PDA than kick pebbles, would not be such a bad idea.
I would love to see a network of folks who sign up for a free certificate of their ID on a central website. This ID, in turn, could be used as a "Library Card" of sorts, for any Access Points configured to use it. People could allow, say 10% of their bandwidth, just enough to allow friendly, neighborly access, to anyone who authenticated their ID for criminal discouragement purposes.
Any body wanna roll that out? I'm a networking guy and a fairly noob programmer... I can't do it myself!

In this day of high-speed cable and (not-quite-so) high speed DSL, it generally wont hurt if someone piggy-backs a little bandwidth. Most people are fairly honest, and the worst thing they'd do is hog your bandwidth for everquest or Linux images

So it's illegal -- so is speeding. But if the cops aren't out, we all do it! Just be smart, be courteous, and don't hurt anyone!

On the flip side, it is up to everyone to learn to be as secure with their digital information as they are locking their front door when they leave the house!