Wi-Fi Freeloader Arrested > What Is A Crime?

reply to knightmb

Re: What Is A Crime?

Unless you have that wifi blocking wallpaper it's actually more like parking your car in my yard, with the keys in it.

reply to waldoooo

Is the default username and password still securing?

Because that is what you are looking at for the vast majority of unintentionally open APs now... a router configured with a default username and password opening them up to easily bypassing any existing encryption.
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I don't think a default open system can be considered secured. From what I can tell the default user name is...well... "default" or something similar and the password is blank when you get the router. Creating some sort of access ID with a password would change all of that and would mean you would have to know the user login and password in order to gain access to the bandwidth.

Once you gain access to a wireless network the first thing to do will be to run a LAN sniffer. You don't need to access the router's administration page to be able to surf the web and such either.

Wireless is insecure, and there are ways to prevent a signal from being picked up or even blocking out users you don't want on your network. All these "come on in!" comments are basically talking about the router broadcasting itself. This can be turned off and from there you will need a passive scanner to detect the access point let alone get it's name before you can even join it. Even yet this is not security, this is simply playing hide and go seek.

Another option will be to use encryption WEP is not secure and be cracked in only minutes to seconds. Most likely I would suggest WAP2 which for now has no known exploits or cracks beside dictionary attacks. Even then it's possible to get in. That's why you begin only allowing the MAC addresses which are able to access the router. Which provides also some level of security.

You might also want to go static instead of DHCP. If you have like 3 computers simply tell the router to allow only 3 IP's. Anything else should have no need to access the network.

Either way wireless has been proven to be insecure and should only be used if monitored by someone who knows what there doing. But most people just plug it in set there computers to connect to "linksys" and the router handles everything from there. The

P.S When I say router I mean it as a wireless router.

reply to barnett25
And you getting in the car and driving it around is still illegal.

I can park the damn thing on your front porch with the keys in it and the motor running and you still can't legally enter it, nor can you legally take it for a joy ride.

reply to SRFireside
It is more akin to painting your bike lime green with a spray paint can and leaving it unlocked in the cities that have implemented the bike sharing system and then saying "it was never my intent for my bike to be a communal bike."

(for those who are not familiar with the community bicyle programs, see »www.ibike.org/encouragement/freebike.htm#usa)

Many routers even give you the ability to keep your wifi channels bandwith down and give the system a protected channnel so that your system doesn't grind to a crawl when you choose to participate in such a give away.

reply to phattieg
It is like that in most places to bhe best of my knowledge (don't even get me started on that law), but that is not the point. You still can't take that car for a joy ride just because it is there.

reply to Skippy25
If stealing WIFI from techo-idiots is a crime, then it should also be a crime to unknowingly possess a worm or virus on any public or paid network since it is a risk to everyone else. If you don't like it, RTFM.

And for all you people posting stuff like "well if my car was unlocked..", don't forget that you can not just drive a car legally without a damn license. You wanna stop majority of WIFI freeloaders, let's pass a law requiring a license of some sort before you are even able to own a computer. This way the only people that are getting into WIFI networks are getting in there because:
1) They were given permission to
2) or they are hacking it anyways

Crime can not be prevented, otherwise there would be no need for jails, right? Why punish the freeloaders unless they forced their way in (AKA hacking) when the people that should be punished are the idiots that don't read instructions? Maybe watching your bandwidth creep because people are accessing your WIFI network (because you are too dumb to set up security ro too cheap to pay someone to do it) is a good punishment, IMHO.