What do you say to people who steal wifi?

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Hayabusa Rider
I think the concept of theft is ridiculous, as long as nothing malicious is done. It's like someone standing around while you play the radio. Their stealing your music? If you turn on a light and they see with it they are stealing too?

Bah.

Well we'll see how it pans out. From what I've read (mainly lawyers who specialize in technology/internet/privacy) it is illegal and will be prosecuted more and more.

 

[purvinv]

donate to the red cross the cost of a descent ISP bill

 

[lobadobadingdong]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: Modeps
An unsecure wireless network is a public use network.

That's up for debate.

it's like saying because my car isn't in a garage and you have gas money you can take my car without me knowing.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Xionide
I would ask them to get the new metallica cd for me.

High five!

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Drakkon
most cities in the US have a "theft of services" law...whereby it is illegal to obtain services for yourself when you know are availible only for compensation
I think its pretty cut and dry that is what wifi is dealing with, a service that you are taking advantage of that you arent paying for but you know someone is

What if the owner of the AP just leaves it open because he feels like being generous? 😀

 

[Eli]

I say ":thumbsup:".

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: lobadobadingdong

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: Modeps
An unsecure wireless network is a public use network.

That's up for debate.

it's like saying because my car isn't in a garage and you have gas money you can take my car without me knowing.

Is it?

A frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum is a bit different from a car.

If you're broadcasting into my space, I can "listen".

Though I do agree this is a grey area.

 

[RaiderJ]

Interesting read!

<-- Posting from unsecured wireless network using my new PDA

 

[UNCjigga]

Me sez just try to crack my WPA2-encrypted setup with AES and 28 character key! And yeah got the mac filter on too, though I know that's useless.

 

[GamerExpress]

Originally posted by: ahurtt

Originally posted by: GamerExpress

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: jndietz

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: Modeps
An unsecure wireless network is a public use network.

That's up for debate.

no it's not. they should have secured it in the first place if they want it to be private

If you do not receive consent to use that PRIVATE network then you are using a system that is not yours - hence illegal.

100% wrong. If you take a look at the laws, it is not illegal to use someone elses wifi if it's left wide open. There have been a few cases where someone was charged and even convicted, the people that were convicted were always charged with stealing private information. I think we all know that borrowing someone's Wifi to browse around on the internet is one thing (that's ok). Snooping into the persons computer or home network via their Wifi and trying to find personal info like bank records and credit card info is NOT ok.

Surfing the internet using somebody elses wifi without their knowledge is no different or better than hacking their personal computer. The airwaves which connect to their access point are public property. The physical ISP connection over which you then browse the internet is paid for by the individual. It is private. By the logic of people who think it's ok, does that mean it's ok to scam old ladies out of their life savings because they are not smart enough to see a scam? Is it ok if my next door neighbor buys a corldess phone handset that will work with my base unit unknown to me then uses my personal phone line to make long distance calls to Okinawa, Japan? No. It isn't ok. And this is no different.

Strange that the laws I have read regarding this topic do not show that it's illegal as of yet. Basically this is a huge grey area, I agree with what you said, but as of yet there really are no laws to deem this illegal.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Phoenix86
For everyone saying "it's llegal": Say I WANT to share my connection, how does one operate a public network if it's illegal to even connect? How do you know if it's public or private? It's not like you can easily track down the owner.

Use a redirect to a page that declares the connection publically available and have them agree to the terms - bascially if the client opens a webpage to any address it is redirected to the terms of use/declaration page.

You set it up basically so only port 80 is allowed through the AP and the AP does a redirect. Once agreed upon the AP will allow that station access.

Have you ever read Catch-22? Good book/play.

How am I going to see that redirect page if connecting to the WIFI network is illegal?

Anyone?

 

[tami]

i tell them to get their own router. sure, they can try to steal wireless, but i warn them of the potential problems that may result if they do.

 

[Gravity]

It's not that common. It's the spoils of being a geek.