NEWS: Stealing your neighbor's Net

Nobody has posted this story yet, so here it is....
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Stealing your neighbor's Net

The spread of wireless is opening lots of opportunity to log on for
free, but experts urge caution.

August 9, 2005: 5:24 PM EDT

By Steve Hargreaves, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Forty bucks for high-speed Internet access? Not
a bad deal. But how does free sound?

To a growing number of Internet piggy-backers, it's the sweet sound of
pirating their neighbor's wireless network.

Most new computers are equipped for wireless Internet access, and more
and more people opting for Wi-Fi in their homes. But as the networks
become stronger and more prevalent, more of those signals are
available outside the home of the subscriber, spilling over into
neighbor's apartments, hallways and the street.

Add to this the growing number of cafes and other public "hot spots"
that offer Wi-Fi (for wireless fidelity) connections and the ability
to buy more powerful antennas that can pick up signals several hundred
feet away. The coverage in some places can be pretty near flawless.

One study by Jupiter Research said 14 percent of wireless network
owners have accessed their neighbor's connection. Yet anecdotal
evidence suggests that more and more people are logging on for free.

"I haven't paid for Internet since I've been in New York City," said
one friend of this reporter. "Ditto," chimed in another.

And as the practice of using someone else's connection without paying
for it expands, it raises the question: Is there anything wrong with
that?

Will this land you in jail?
The legality of stealing your neighbor's connection is murky at best.

"All of this stuff is so new, it's hard to say what the liability
issues are," said Robert Hale, a San Francisco-based attorney who
recently published an academic paper on the subject.

Hale points out that there is a federal law on the books that
ostensibly prohibits using someone's access point with out their
permission. But "without permission" is vaguely defined and the law
seems more geared towards computer hacking.

It seems pretty clear that if you hack your neighbor's password then
it could be reasonably argued you didn't have authorization.

But securing many older wireless systems with a password is difficult
and even newer ones can be a challenge if you're running multiple
computers or multiple operating systems. And, while it may be a
violation of the user agreements with Internet service providers, some
community-minded users deliberately leave their connections open for
others to borrow.

"It's a gray area," said Paul Stamp, an analyst at the technology
consultants Forester Research. "By not restricting access it could be
argued that you're implicitly making that available."

"A broad statement concerning the access of unprotected wireless
networks as being always legal or illegal simply can't be made," said
Jackie Lesch, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice. "It's just
kind of dicey."

On a federal level, according to Lesch, prosecuting decisions are made
on a case to case basis, mostly depending on the type of system
accessed and what it was accessed for.

On the state level it could be more clear. "It's unlawful access",
said John Geraty, an officer with the Internet crimes against children
unit of the San Francisco Police Department.

According to Geraty, using your neighbor's wireless is specifically
prohibited in the California penal code. "It's not yours and you're
taking it," he says.

But Geraty said his department doesn't deal with that type of crime
specifically and an officer at the department's fraud desk -- whose
jurisdiction it would fall under -- said she couldn't recall anyone
ever being arrested for it.

Experts do agree that the likelihood of getting caught and prosecuted
for stealing a wireless connection probably depends on how often you
do it and how you're using it.

"The damages are really the big issue," said Hale. "Are you just
poking around, checking your e-mail, or are you doing it on a regular
basis and affecting this person's bandwidth?"

Location also seems to play a part.

"If you're in a Manhattan building with 30 apartments that's one
thing," said Julie Ask, research director at the technology
consultants Jupiter Research. "But if you're the guy who parks your
car in front of a suburban house in the middle of the night and you've
got the screen from your laptop glowing, well..." speaking of a man
who was arrested earlier this month in Florida for just that.

Exposing yourself
Legal questions aside, reliability is another reason to pay for your
own access. If you are a heavy user or need the Internet to work from
home, relying on a connection that your neighbor could shut off at any
moment is probably not a good idea.

There is also the possibility that someone could have set up the
unsecured connection as a trap. Experts say it's possible for the
network subscriber to gain at least partial access to your computer,
read your e-mails and see the pages you visit if you are using their
connection. Any personal information you send online could then be
compromised.

So while pirating your neighbor's Wi-Fi it may seem like a good way to
siphon a free service, you may end up feeling pretty stupid if you get
a summons for sneaking a peak at the latest sports scores or your
favorite Web sites are the topic of conversation at the neighborhood
Christmas party.

> Nobody has posted this story yet, so here it is....
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Stealing your neighbor's Net

What's new?

David Taylor wrote:

>> Nobody has posted this story yet, so here it is....
>> ---------------------------------------------------
>> Stealing your neighbor's Net
>
> What's new?

<I expected a little more>
<out of your *righteous*>
<Wireless Natzie Tech Big Mouth>
<because you must elaborate that you are *right*>
<what's wrong?>

<EOR>
<g>

C'mon Duane, give me something technical to play with.

I wonder why you have the need to do this on just about all the
newsgroups you infect. One doesn't have to look far to find you
fluffing your feathers on other newsgroups as soon as you lose the
technical plot.

Still, each to their own I suppose.

BTW, is a Cisco Pix a firewall? Does static IP addressing improve
security? You can't/won't answer the simple questions.

The list will only get longer and you'll just continue with the personal
stuff because you have no technical answer. Of course, there's no point
me really asking *why* you do this because that'll be another question
you can't answer.

Funniest is you don't stop even when you continue to say you have but
i'm no better here because I keep on feeding the troll (Note to self:
STOP NOW!) So here's the thing, *I* won't bother feeding you on the
pointless personal stuff but I *will* pick up on technical issues.
You're going to have to deal with those the best you can.

David.

<There is a difference here BiG Tech Mouth.>
<I don't mess with anybody>
<unless they mess with me first.>
<I never paid any attention to>
<you until you put yourself there.>
<*You* not me presented>
<and continue to present>
<this opportunity for the>
<*Rag* Game.>
<I am an EOR specialist.>
<That is Equal Opportunity Ragger to you.>
<The choice is yours to make if the game is to continue.>
<You can whine David BTMWZ Taylor with the best of them. ;-)>
<EOR>
<g>