Can you contact the owner of an unsecured network??

Logged into my laptop in bed last night and noticed that I'd connected to
someone else's connection, rather than my own.

Curiosity got the better of me and I had a bit of a peruse and quickly found
as well as being unsecured, his router was also password-less and as well as
my accidental connection there was FOUR other PC's/laptops connected!! I
can't believe that if the owner had that much kit, he'd also know nothing
about security.

Is there any way I can get a message to him, even offering to help him set
it up?

"Nel" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:rHPgi.740$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Logged into my laptop in bed last night and noticed that I'd connected to
> someone else's connection, rather than my own.
>
> Curiosity got the better of me and I had a bit of a peruse and quickly
> found as well as being unsecured, his router was also password-less and as
> well as my accidental connection there was FOUR other PC's/laptops
> connected!! I can't believe that if the owner had that much kit, he'd
> also know nothing about security.

What else is new. The decantation from the manufacture doesn't cover
security, therefore, the user doesn't know.

>
> Is there any way I can get a message to him, even offering to help him set
> it up?

No in general, but you could hack one of the machine, since they are most
likely wide open too and leave a desktop short-cut.

You can change the password. Maybe, that will get his attention to the issue
at hand and he'll post here or call the router's tech support, and they can
tell him he doesn't have a secure situation.

I've heard of people changing the SSID to "Secure your router"

Nel wrote:
> Logged into my laptop in bed last night and noticed that I'd connected to
> someone else's connection, rather than my own.
>
> Curiosity got the better of me and I had a bit of a peruse and quickly found
> as well as being unsecured, his router was also password-less and as well as
> my accidental connection there was FOUR other PC's/laptops connected!! I
> can't believe that if the owner had that much kit, he'd also know nothing
> about security.
>
> Is there any way I can get a message to him, even offering to help him set
> it up?
>
>
Nothing unusual. They ask the "experts" at the big box store what to
buy, take it home, plug it in and when the LEDs light up and they can
use the notebook out on the deck it is mission accomplished.

Mr. Arnold wrote:
>
> "Nel" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:rHPgi.740$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Logged into my laptop in bed last night and noticed that I'd connected to
>> someone else's connection, rather than my own.
>>
>> Curiosity got the better of me and I had a bit of a peruse and quickly
>> found as well as being unsecured, his router was also password-less
>> and as
>> well as my accidental connection there was FOUR other PC's/laptops
>> connected!! I can't believe that if the owner had that much kit, he'd
>> also know nothing about security.
>
> What else is new. The decantation from the manufacture doesn't cover
> security, therefore, the user doesn't know.

They do but many people expect computer stuff to be magic so they don't
bother reading anything or even asking questions. People want cheap
stuff so manufacturers can't afford to ship secure equipment because of
the support costs when people call screaming "I paid $39 for this and it
doesn't work..."


>
>>
>> Is there any way I can get a message to him, even offering to help him
>> set
>> it up?
>
> No in general, but you could hack one of the machine, since they are
> most likely wide open too and leave a desktop short-cut.
>
> You can change the password. Maybe, that will get his attention to the
> issue
> at hand and he'll post here or call the router's tech support, and they can
> tell him he doesn't have a secure situation.
>

"Nel" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>Is there any way I can get a message to him, even offering to help him set
>it up?

Sure. First, it would best to identify his ISP. Dive into the status
page and get his WAN IP address. Then type his IP address into any of
the online DNS lookup tools that does reverse DNS. For example:
<http://www.dnsstuff.com>
That will identify the ISP. Send them email with information, and
possibly add in the WLAN MAC address so they can verify the
identification. Ask them to contact their customer with instructions
on how to clean up the customers security. The smaller ISP's will
usually respond correctly to such a request. The big one's
(Earthlink, at&t, Comcast, Roadrunner, etc) don't have a clue what to
do next. None of the ISP's will give you contact information.

The problem with this approach is that many customers want to have
wide open systems. Usually, the SSID will be something clever, like
"free wireless" but quite often, they don't even do that. My attempts
at being a good Samaritan have resulted in far too many debates, that
I don't bother any more.

Windoze messenger is sometimes enabled. Try:
Start -> run -> cmd <enter>
net send * "Fix your wireless security or I'm taking over"
This usually doesn't work as messenger is off by default, but you
might get lucky.

If you prefer the personal approach, obtain a directional antenna
(14-24dBi dish or panel), and do some direction finding. It's tricky,
but not impossible. Even without a directional antenna, you can just
walk around with a laptop looking for the strongest signal. Then,
bang on the door, give the owner your story, and be prepared to run
for your life.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff L:
>Then, bang on the door, give the owner your story, and be prepared to run
>for your life.

There is a better way, put a note in the post box(es). In fact I did that
with five neighbours in order to sort out
the best allocation of channels.
Regards,
Martin

Nel says...

> Logged into my laptop in bed last night and noticed that
> I'd connected to someone else's connection, rather than
> my own.

At your end, how did this happen without your being aware of
it? Does your laptop just connect to anything it finds?

> Curiosity got the better of me and I had a bit of a
> peruse and quickly found as well as being unsecured, his
> router was also password-less and as well as my
> accidental connection there was FOUR other PC's/laptops
> connected!! I can't believe that if the owner had that
> much kit, he'd also know nothing about security.

> Is there any way I can get a message to him, even
> offering to help him set it up?

Maybe the router owner isn't the only one with a problem. I
may be completely wrong about this, but it seems to me that
if all of these computers still have the Windows default
workgroup name ("WORKGROUP"), then you not only have
internet access through the router, but also have become
part of the same LAN, and have become infectable by each
other's malware, and have access to each other's shares.

Maybe he's the one that knows what he's doing, and the rest
of you are being baited. :-)

Well, anyway, my laptop will connect automatically only to
my router, with encryption. If my router isn't on, I have
to specifically pick a network to join. Seems like that's
the way it should be. I don't think it's safe if the laptop
automatically connects to anything in the neighborhood.

"Peabody" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4U8hi.177716$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Nel says...
>
> > Logged into my laptop in bed last night and noticed that
> > I'd connected to someone else's connection, rather than
> > my own.
>
> At your end, how did this happen without your being aware of
> it? Does your laptop just connect to anything it finds?
That's what I thought, and I've certainly not connected in the past to it.
I can only think that my wife must have used the laptop for her Ebaying,
been in a deadzone for my connection, and has clicked OK when presented with
the "unsecured network" warning without even reading it!!

> > Curiosity got the better of me and I had a bit of a
> > peruse and quickly found as well as being unsecured, his
> > router was also password-less and as well as my
> > accidental connection there was FOUR other PC's/laptops
> > connected!! I can't believe that if the owner had that
> > much kit, he'd also know nothing about security.
>
> > Is there any way I can get a message to him, even
> > offering to help him set it up?
>
> Maybe the router owner isn't the only one with a problem. I
> may be completely wrong about this, but it seems to me that
> if all of these computers still have the Windows default
> workgroup name ("WORKGROUP"), then you not only have
> internet access through the router, but also have become
> part of the same LAN, and have become infectable by each
> other's malware, and have access to each other's shares.
I don't use any default workgroup names and I'm well firewalled, so I should
be OK but I see where you're coming from.

> Maybe he's the one that knows what he's doing, and the rest
> of you are being baited. :-)
>
Maybe! Anyway, I'm thinking I might just forget about it - it they haven't
got the brains to set it up properly (and it's not rocket science!) why am I
on here debating and worrying about it!!