 marigoldsGainfully employed, finallyPremium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:1 | How's this for a metaphor I invite you over to my house for a party.
My computer is on and at the login screen. There is only one account on the login screen and it requires no password.
Does this mean it is okay for you log on to the computer to check your email and browse the internet? Should you download anything from your email or the internet or only view pages?
Should you restrict which kinds of email or websites you access?
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 MiddiemanEschew Obfuscation
join:2001-02-05
Elkins Park, PA | quote:
I invite you over to my house for a party.
My computer is on and at the login screen. There is only one account on the login screen and it requires no password.
Does this mean it is okay for you log on to the computer to check your email and browse the internet? Should you download anything from your email or the internet or only view pages?
Obviously, your computer inside your house with no password to login is not the same thing as people spitting their wifi out beyond their walls into other people's homes.
-=[Middie]=-
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| reply to marigolds
The analogy would be more accurate if the computer had some sort of welcome message telling anybody who finds the computer can indeed access it. Would be slightly different if the computer had a do not touch sign on it. Then again I suppose you can rename your access point on the WiFi router "do not use", but that would still be misleading considering the router is still handing out IP's and such to whomever asks. Kind of contrary to the "sign". |
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marigoldsGainfully employed, finallyPremium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:1 | reply to marigolds
Well, let's assume the default login screen has an account name like "Guest".
And in my analogy, I am assuming that the person is an invited guest into my house, so they have the same level of access to my computer as someone off my property has to my wifi signals.
In fact, they have a greater level of access since they have been expressly invited onto my property.
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ISCABBS - the oldest and largest BBS on the Internet
telnet://whip.isca.uiowa.edu
Professional Geographer
Geographic Information Science researcher |
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| That is true. Not only that they have access to all sorts of settings and data on your computer (assuming the Guest login isn't locked down that tight). I would say the "Guest" access on your local computer is a far greater risk than someone using your bandwidth. Now if someone accessed your computer through the open AP, THAT would be grossly invasive and without a doubt illegal.
However I still see people accessing your bandwidth no more invasive to your system or resources than those projects where you share processing power with others (SETI, etc). That is of course until a bandwidth hog gets on your AP. Still it's easy enough to cut them off. |
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