Posted: 8/1/2008 11:21:30 AM EDT
| my wife told me that her friend has been bragging about using another person's wireless internet and how she doesnt have to pay for it. isnt this illegal? do alot of people do this? shes thinking about reporting it but how would she if theres more than one provider in the area? is it not a big deal, is it even worth reporting? |
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If it's not secured then they are giving away their internet access. It's like taking a cookie from a plate of cookies on the sidewalk: it's pretty hard to argue that that is stealing. Now hacking somebodies WEP access to use their internet access is a lot more like stealing, even though WEP is very, very breakable. BSW |
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"If it weren't for people like you private Pyle, there wouldn't be any thievery now, would there?" If you don't want people stealing your cable, don't drag a length of coax over into their yard, through their living room wall, and leave it laying next to the television. In other words, take 2 seconds and lock your shit down. |
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Using unsecured wireless is a pretty grey area, and nearly impossible to prove. I'll use a local unsecured to test things from time to time, but I don't make a habit out of using others bandwidth. Only using others bandwidth instead of paying for ones own is pretty fucking weak, though. |
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Michigan man arrested for using cafe's free WiFi from his car By Jacqui Cheng | Published: May 22, 2007 - 10:37AM CT A Michigan man is being prosecuted for using a cafe's free WiFi... from his car. Sam Peterson was arrested under a Michigan law barring access to anyone else's network without authorization, according to Michigan TV station WOOD. Since the cafe's WiFi network was reserved for customers, and Peterson never came into the cafe, he was essentially piggybacking off of the open network without authorization. Related Stories * The MacBook "hack" controversy continues * David Maynor publishes details of MacBook WiFi hack * Open WiFi network viable defense against infringement charge—at least in Germany * Free WiFi comes at a price in Denver International Airport The arrest came about because Peterson apparently showed up to the Union Street Cafe to use its free WiFi from the comfort of his car, and he did so every single day. A police officer grew suspicious of Peterson and eventually questioned him as to what he was up to. Peterson, not realizing that what he was doing was (at least) ethically questionable, told the officer exactly what he was doing. "I knew that the Union Street had WiFi. I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that," Peterson told a reporter. Under Michigan's "Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks" law, Peterson's actions could result in a five-year felony and a $10,000 fine. However, prosecutors do not plan to throw the book at him, as they don't believe that Peterson was aware he was even breaking the law. Instead, he will pay a $400 fine and do 40 hours of community service, and the arrest will not go on his record. Coincidentally, the cafe owner that Peterson was leeching WiFi off of didn't even realize that what Peterson was doing was a crime at the time. Neither did the police officer. "I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what," Sparta police chief Andrew Milanowski told the TV station. This is not the first time someone has been arrested for piggybacking on a WiFi connection. In 2005, a Florida man was arrested and hit with a third-degree felony for surfing an open WiFi network from his SUV. Similarly, an Illinois man was arrested in 2006 for, again, using an unsecured WiFi network from his car. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was given one year's court supervision and a $250 fine. A Washington man was also arrested in 2006 for parking outside of a coffee shop and using the open WiFi connection without purchasing anything. And just earlier this year, an Alaska man was arrested for using the WiFi network from the public library after hours to play games from—you guessed it—his car in the parking lot. Whether or not you agree with the legality of using an open WiFi network without the owner's authorization, one thing is painfully clear: if you're going to leech, try not to do it from a parked car right in front of the building. |
Starbucks and McDonalds have business internet connections that are permitted (they cost more) to provide access to persons other than the account holder. Residential internet connections nearly universally do not. "How is the person connecting supposed to know?" Answer: Listen to your buddy Subnet.  If you are using your neighbor's internet connection - even with his explicit permission, you are likely helping violate his provider's terms of service. Similarly, he can't allow you to drag coax over to his house for free cable. As a practical matter, with regard to internet access, if you're not adversely affecting network performance, the provider really doesn't give a shit. But it is nearly always a violation of the provider's terms of service, on a residential account, as a technical matter. Let the arguing, posturing, nose upturning, and preaching begin. |
So letting my wife access my access point is violating the terms of service? What about my brother in law who is down for the weekend? 
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I think the cookie analogy was spot on. If you don't mind people eating your cookies, then you leave access to them. If you don't want people eating your cookies, put them away. If someone minds other people using their wireless network, they should put a password on it. |
I should clarify - family members residing at the address of the account holder are fine. Guests using is occasionally are fine. Persons using it in lieu of purchasing their own internet access are not fine. You can watch cable. Your wife can watch cable. Your buddies can come over and watch cable. You can't run coax next door and give your neighbor free cable, because you're a nice guy. |
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OMIGOD, CALL THA POLEEZE! CALL THA POLEEZE! Your wife on the phone:  911 operator: Your wife on the phone: 911 operator: --- Maybe the woman is using an open access point? I seriously doubt that she cracked into a secured system, which is the minimum I could see as "unauthorized access". |
 Is there is no honor left in this country. |
That makes sense and that is what I understood from my terms of service. |
Do you lock anything you own? Cars? Your home? Garage? Do you own a gun safe? Lock your shit up. Theft isn't a new phenomenon. |
So it is OK to use other peoples stuff if they don't lock it up... and no I don't lock up everything I own or cars or home most of the time, I don't need to this ain't Ohio.
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And if you get a decent lawyer most 'unauthorized use' cases get thrown out. The access point advertised by sending a signal, then allowed the used to enter the system. The normal protocol can be spun as 'granting permission.' As soon as you can confine your radio emissions to your property you might have an argument on an open port. If you hack to get into an otherwise secured system you CAN be convicted. |