[pnj]

right or wrong doesn't matter. people will do what they want....

my question is, how did this guy get caught and how difficult is it to know who is on your network?

on a side note, we have wi-fi but the signal is so freakin weak I can't be too far from the damm device or I can't surf the web...

 

[clancy98]

man I hope when the FBI kicks down my door they dont find my copied VHS tapes... Or my recklessly torn-off mattress tags...

 

[syadasti]

The only parties that could/should possibly be prosecuted for this offense are microsoft (for their autoconnecting wizards/wireless management software) or the equipment makers (for the router and the client - if not using windows management for auto connection). The router advertised that it was accepting any connections and provided a lease to any computer on its own - the client did not have to hack it and the owner of the router was not tricked by the client...

Here is a good analogy I saw:

...it's actively inviting people to use its access. It's broadcasting an SSID, and then answering DHCP requests by giving out leases. So, using an AP that was configured like the one in this case is more like driving around looking for signs that say "keg party down the street" then finding the house that says "keg party" on the door, then knocking, and having the door answered by somebody who says "come on in" and hands you a cup for the keg.

Now how it would be stealing is (and/or if on top of what is listed below, you broke through a layer of security):

This does not hold if the AP is not broadcasting its SSID and using DHCP. If you go sniff the network and setup a static address on it, you've probably done so without permission. But when the system advertises its existence and offers you an IP when you ask, you have just been authorized to use the network.

 

[Ciaran]

man I hope when the FBI kicks down my door they dont find my copied VHS tapes... Or my recklessly torn-off mattress tags...

If you read the mattress tag it should say something to the effect of, "Not to be removed EXCEPT by consumer."

But I am reporting you for your VHS piracy. You are a very bad bad man.

 

[Barbaton]

N8, you got a handy linky to the original article?

 

[syadasti]

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml

 

[Barbaton]

Hmm. now that I've read the original, it seems that in the cited previous cases, it was something illegal that the criminal did with the connection, not just the connection itself. It's interesting that they're charging him for the use of the network, and I tend to agree with the earlier comment that maybe that's just to hold him and find out what he was doing.

Another thought, should I get in trouble because my neighbor's hot water heating pipes go through my kitchen and bathroom and keep them nice and toasty, while they pay for the energy? This is the design of the house, and nothing can be done to prevent the leakage except re-plumbing it (not my house) or moving out. It's not a perfect analogy but comparable to a machine that automatically connects to networks that pass through your home. Sitting in a car outside is something else, though.

 

[syadasti]

Another thought, should I get in trouble because my neighbor's hot water heating pipes go through my kitchen and bathroom and keep them nice and toasty, while they pay for the energy? This is the design of the house, and nothing can be done to prevent the leakage except re-plumbing it (not my house) or moving out. It's not a perfect analogy but comparable to a machine that automatically connects to networks that pass through your home. Sitting in a car outside is something else, though.

It would be like being arrested for parking your car on a public street and using someone's floodlight that is lighting up the public street to read a book...

 

[Crash_Tested]

got bored rereading the same post over and over, so if this is mentioned before, my bad.

There are a lot of legal free hot spots in my town. People use them all the time. My neighborhood is dotted with free WIFI cafe's. Should I hunt down the origin of the signal and ask them if its ok to use it, no. If its open its open, If there is not a no tresspassing sign...

 

[Reactor]

Try this:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/07/07/wi.fi.theft.ap/index.html

 

[pZyteX]

If your smart enough to set up a wireless network you should be able to secure it.
I secure my wirless network and so do other people in my neigborhood.

At work there are a couple of unsecured networks from other company's that I can recieve, I only notice that I'm not on the one from work when I try to access our fileserver, then I see that I'm on the wrong one. Microsofts wireless connection system sucks.

 

[syadasti]

At work there are a couple of unsecured networks from other company's that I can recieve, I only notice that I'm not on the one from work when I try to access our fileserver, then I see that I'm on the wrong one. Microsofts wireless connection system sucks.

Its not as easily configurable for complex/custom wireless environments, but its pretty good in automated joe-sixpack functionality, at least the SP2 version is...

 

[clancy98]

If you read the mattress tag it should say something to the effect of, "Not to be removed EXCEPT by consumer."

But I am reporting you for your VHS piracy. You are a very bad bad man.

I have three copies of Spaceballs...

and I stole those mattresses.