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It's Not a Bomb, It's my Hotspot
Confused neighbors ruin one man's evening
Techdirt points to an odd instance in Australia where one man faced a police investigation because they thought his Wi-Fi access point was a bomb. The Wi-Fi enthusiast had set up a Dlink 2100AP outside of his home - which worried neighbors assumed was an explosive device. Police dug up cables in his yard, quizzed him extensively, and nearly ordered a community evacuation before realizing what the device actually was.
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Xzibit
Wtf Mate?
Premium Member
join:2002-04-19
Santa Clara, CA

Xzibit

Premium Member

owned!

cops got owned.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

1 recommendation

en102

Member

Re: owned!

Nothing to fear but fear itself... (and your neighbours, police, ...)
VirtualLarry
Premium Member
join:2003-08-01

VirtualLarry to Xzibit

Premium Member

to Xzibit
Cops. Stupidity. Wireless networking. An "explosive mix", indeed.
tdkyo
join:2002-12-07
Rochester, NY

tdkyo

Member

Re: owned!

Another reason for everyone not skip the Technology section in your newspaper.

bbranonymous222222 to Xzibit

Anon

to Xzibit
They missed the bomb in the D-link Case. Excelllent!

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4 to Xzibit

Premium Member

to Xzibit
Well, why the hell would someone in Australia where high-speed internet is really an oxymoron buy a freaking router? Don't you know these things look like bombs that could blow up an entire neighbourhood? D-Links...scary indeed. I mean, d-link, sorta sounds like Osama to me, don't it?

UnKnown
The Underground Network
join:2002-09-08
San Pedro, CA

UnKnown

Member

Re: owned!

if u read the story it says he took the dlink case off and put it into a black utility box outside his home.
donaldk
Premium Member
join:2000-10-19
Halifax, NS

1 edit

donaldk to Xzibit

Premium Member

to Xzibit
He should demand a formal apology from the police department. I was orignally thinking of sugesting the laywer but lawsuits are a touchy subject.

The local TV station would be a good place to start if rumours already got around about it! I am sure they would have a field day over that!
63353372 (banned)
join:2003-06-18
Canada

63353372 (banned)

Member

rofl

What a crappy place to live.

Nerdtalker
Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?
MVM
join:2003-02-18
San Jose, CA

Nerdtalker

MVM

Re: rofl

Click for full size
said by 63353372:

What a crappy place to live.
The cops and neighbors are stupid beyond belief. I'd hate to be surrounded by idiots more than I am now.

This deserves an 0H N0S!!11!! moment.

Chuq
@bigpond.net.au

Chuq to 63353372

Anon

to 63353372
haha.. you realise most Australia's point of view on this is that "we are becoming like the US?" Yes, a crappy place to live indeed.
Schnook
I Flatulate On Your Approximate Azimuth.
Premium Member
join:2004-04-12

Schnook

Premium Member

Dlink 2100AP

Itz da bomb!

Neil6
Stop All The Downloadin
join:2003-08-20
New York, NY

2 recommendations

Neil6

Member

Re: Dlink 2100AP

DLINK 2100AP
WAR WAS BEGINING

Australian Police: Its You!!
Guy: Someone Set Up Us The Access Point

KAD Imaging
Just Shoot It
Premium Member
join:2002-09-21
Hialeah, FL

KAD Imaging

Premium Member

Re: Dlink 2100AP

"ALL YOUR SIGNALS ARE BELONG TO US"



you KNEW it was coming!! lol
rantou
join:2002-06-04
Wylie, TX

1 recommendation

rantou

Member

Re: Dlink 2100AP

"YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE MAKE YOUR TIME... HA HA HA!"

parchamb
join:2002-03-01
Biddeford, ME

parchamb

Member

Re: Dlink 2100AP

For justice.... good zig.

Shrapnel64
Premium Member
join:2001-01-24
VA, USA

Shrapnel64

Premium Member

...

HELLO?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AUSTRAILIA?! THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, ITS ONLY AN ACCESS POINT. YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN A PRODUCT BY D-LINK?!
Schnook
I Flatulate On Your Approximate Azimuth.
Premium Member
join:2004-04-12

6 recommendations

Schnook

Premium Member

Re: ...

Go buy a new keyboard.

They've got lowercase now!

moko
join:2002-12-22
Fayetteville, GA

moko

Member

Re: ...

shrapnel64....they must have not seen one yet lol
i'll also agree with ya' en102.

paulsysp
Sunny
Premium Member
join:2002-02-03

paulsysp to Schnook

Premium Member

to Schnook
LOL at Schnook "Go buy a keyboard they got lowercase now"!!!

pcscdma
hi
Premium Member
join:2004-01-14
Winterset, IA
ARRIS SB8200
Nest H2D

1 recommendation

pcscdma to Shrapnel64

Premium Member

to Shrapnel64
It didn't look like a D-Link product because it was removed of it's OEM case and put in a weatherproof black box.
It still doesn't stop someone from putting a bomb in a D-Link case. Hmmm. What did that Aussie do with the original case??

jDyno
Premium Member
join:2001-02-20
Washington, DC

1 edit

jDyno to Shrapnel64

Premium Member

to Shrapnel64
Did you read the article? It says it was a "a Dlink 2100AP wireless AP, removed of its casing and with the PCB siliconed onto a black weatherproof electronics box," so it obviously didn't look anything like a normal D-Link.

Good job, though. I like you're enthusiasm, but you can stop YELLING!

Edit:

See pix here:
»forums.whirlpool.net.au/ ··· &p=4#r78

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

Re: ...

Good link to Australian broadband...!

Nice to know what the 'Down Under' folks are doing'..!

They COULD come HERE, of course...!


Bushpig
@sunsh2.vic.optusnet.

Bushpig

Anon

Re: ...They could come here of course!

We're Hereeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Liquid Panic
join:2002-08-25
Hollywood, FL

Liquid Panic to Shrapnel64

Member

to Shrapnel64
said by Shrapnel64:

HELLO?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AUSTRAILIA?! THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, ITS ONLY AN ACCESS POINT. YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN A PRODUCT BY D-LINK?!
HELLO?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN Shrapnel64?! THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, ITS ONLY AN entire post in caps. YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE NEVER been to lazy to press the caps lock key?!

dddane
join:2002-01-10
Chicago, IL

dddane

Member

Re: ...

too lazy? he didn't contribute anything useful to the conversation, perhaps his laziness should've stopped him from posting.

DylanL
Premium Member
join:2003-07-06
Baton Rouge, LA

DylanL to Shrapnel64

Premium Member

to Shrapnel64
said by Shrapnel64:

HELLO?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN AUSTRAILIA?! THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS, ITS ONLY AN ACCESS POINT. YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN A PRODUCT BY D-LINK?!
If you had read the whole thing you would have seen where it said,

"a Dlink 2100AP wireless AP, removed of its casing and with the PCB siliconed onto a black weatherproof electronics box"
plat2on1
join:2002-08-21
Hopewell Junction, NY

plat2on1

Member

why would someone set up a bomb in their own yard?

Melchior
Premium Member
join:2003-06-15
Mars

1 recommendation

Melchior

Premium Member

Re: ...

said by plat2on1:

why would someone set up a bomb in their own yard?
Gophers?

bear73
Metnav... Fly The Unfriendly Skies
Premium Member
join:2001-06-09
Derry, NH

bear73

Premium Member

Re: ...

then why would the neighbors be calling it in? Is it no olnger PC to iraddicate troublesome rodents?

Me23223
@tvc-ip.com

Me23223 to Melchior

Anon

to Melchior
*(cue gopher)* "I'm alright...."

Combat Chuck
Too Many Cannibals
Premium Member
join:2001-11-29
Verona, PA

Combat Chuck to plat2on1

Premium Member

to plat2on1
said by plat2on1:

why would someone set up a bomb in their own yard?
Why would someone crash their own plane into a building?

••••

asdfdfdf
@244.xx.206.Dial1.StL

asdfdfdf to plat2on1

Anon

to plat2on1
good lord, that is exactly what I was thinking. Was he plotting an attack against himself?

fritzmp
Biker Tux
Premium Member
join:2001-08-29
Warrenton, VA

fritzmp

Premium Member

Well, if your neighbors ware tinfoil on their heads and take walks in the desert to get blue beamed, you get this kind of stuff.
clark252
join:2000-04-16
San Jose, CA

clark252

Member

Re: oh well

Don't they, uh, also drive on the left side of the road down there?

Nevster
Premium Member
join:2002-04-06
Dalhousie, NB

Nevster

Premium Member

This is a beaut...

Sounds like the guy didn't give them a straightforward answer when he was asked.... was probably too scared.

Now, one is free to not cooperate with the police on matters like that, but there's an example of the consequences.

Of course the investigation was going to continue until the authorities could respond with confidence to the person complaining that there wasn't anything to worry about...

I doubt the police were particularly pleased with Bobby's attitude either, given the parting shot.

-nevin

reub2000
Premium Member
join:2001-12-28
Evanston, IL

reub2000

Premium Member

Re: Free to be a weenie.

I wouldn't treat the police very nice either if they thought my ap was a bomb. Evacuated half the suburb?

Jeremy341
Bye
Premium Member
join:2000-01-06
localhost

Jeremy341

Premium Member

Re: Free to be a weenie.

said by reub2000:

Evacuated half the suburb?
Nope, they didn't. But they said they were about to.

firephoto
Truth and reality matters
Premium Member
join:2003-03-18
Brewster, WA

firephoto

Premium Member

At least in the U.S. homeland security contacts your local toy store and makes sure they remove expired patent infringing rubik's look-a-likes. The d-link had the potential to be dangerous at least.

»story.news.yahoo.com/new ··· security
swiftymc
join:2004-02-15
Mansfield Center, CT

swiftymc

Member

I wanna know why his neighboors think he would put a bomb on the side of his house....in plain site!
Ive never heard something more ridiculous in my life.

Nevster
Premium Member
join:2002-04-06
Dalhousie, NB

Nevster

Premium Member

That made the guy's year. He's got a story to tell the grandkids... if he gets to have grandkids...

-nevin

PhoenixAZ
Get A Mac
Premium Member
join:2004-01-04
Phoenix, AZ

1 edit

PhoenixAZ

Premium Member

Ive been to australia(my family is scattered out through the world-my cousins live there), and the peoples computer setups are set to 'English United States'! Shouldnt they changed it to English United Kingdom or English Australia?

Some Random Guy
@iinet.net.au

Some Random Guy

Anon

Re: Weird australia

the peoples computer setups are set to 'English United States'! Shouldnt they changed it to English United Kingdom or English Australia?
You try changing it to English (Australia) permanently then. Trust me, it NEVER stays set. After changing every setting you can find for the language, the damn Microsoft software STILL changes it back at random to English (U.S.). After about the first 500 dozen bloody times you give up and just ignore the flaming spell checker.

Chuq
@bigpond.net.au

Chuq to PhoenixAZ

Anon

to PhoenixAZ
Erm, just because a few people you know in Australia have their computer setup wrong, you assume "Australians computers are set up this way..."

Anyway, what probably has happened is that the language is set to English (Australia), keyboard layout is set to English (United States).. because we use the $ symbol, no pound, euro, etc. so the US one is identical.

LaZ3R
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

LaZ3R

Premium Member

Ahahaha, nice laugh outa this!

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx

Premium Member

All our base is belong to d-link.

-- Rob

Mr Anon
@dsl.emhril.ameritech

Mr Anon

Anon

Whoa! is that a eithernet cable with power modded to go with the data signal! That is freakin sweet Nice mod!

As for the neighborhood glad to see that someone is looking out but if I'd ask what it was first, especially if I saw them doing it, why because I'm not paranoid about anything too much.
steelite
join:2004-10-01
Australia

steelite

Member

Since l live in Sydney its thanks to your government, yes the US government who continue to bullshit about terriost attacks and it gets everyone nervous about bins in rail stations. Thats what got the cops here nervous, if its a bomb theen there screwed and will get busted,

We had an incident earlier this month where in Mackay Regional Airport..ROFL, some guy heard this buzzing noise coming from the bin, called security and everyone got uptight, after the bomb sqaud comes it turns out to be a .......VIBRATOR....lol

Also at Sydney Airport, some flight attendant finds this bag in the toilet with BOB written on it, thinking back to those "be rleart and not alarmed' ads we have here she called the captain and than it descended into choas.

WTF is wrong with people these days, its all thanks to terriosts and stupid governments

•••••••••••••••

maximus_808
Proud Veteran
Premium Member
join:2001-08-27
Rainier, WA

maximus_808

Premium Member

Look at it this way ... He is probably the smartest guy within 50 miles of his house.
Redwolf
join:2001-01-07
Hot Springs National Park, AR

Redwolf

Member

Friggin idiots.
mooty
join:2001-01-28
Riverdale, GA

mooty

Member

WELLLLLLLLLLLL, this IS coming from what is commmonly referred to as from "The Land Down Under" - - Talking heads from down under what? Got any idea? Use your imagination: (_|_)

P.S. - What does that make us, the Land up over ? Probably

Shrapnel64
Premium Member
join:2001-01-24
VA, USA

Shrapnel64

Premium Member

Wow, you guys make me laugh. Especially criticizing my post about the caps-lock which I was holding shift the whole time for no reason. Anyway, enough is enough...and I hope we all can get better lives.

ifarrell
join:2000-08-10
Willow Spring, NC

2 edits

ifarrell

Member

sponsered by.......
Linksys
AND
Netgear
AND
The U.S. Homeland Security Agency
(-;

Nothing like a nosey, over reactive neighbour.

Defiance
Computer Elite
Premium Member
join:2002-09-11
Minocqua, WI

Defiance

Premium Member

Re: This bust was

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA OWNED!
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