Using, Or Stealing Others Wifi

[darran 0]

IT-savvy people will definitely use security for their networks. But for those who did not, they risk getting their internet stolen by others, it is not legally wrong but it is personally wrong as you are using something what others paid for free.

[arnz 0]

At the moment, it's not legally wrong to grab internet from others via wi-fi in virtually all countries, but you'd probably have to agree that it is morally wrong considering those that paid for a particular speed/download limit wont be getting what they may have paid for.Recently, I just put protection on the connection due to the increase of broadband/wi-fi connections in the neighbourhood lately.. I started without a pass for the wi-fi at first, now protected.

Edited December 5, 2006 by arnz (see edit history)

[rsf 0]

Well they're just asking for it if they didn't even both to put any secrity measures on the connection. I'm almost positive it's illigal, but I would try and find out who the signal belongs to based on it's name or by what you know about your neighbors. If they're cool, or not network savvy (which seems obvious) then it's no problem.

[TripleH13 0]

i don't think it would be legal. But the person wouldn't know who is was or if anyone was stealing there internet signal. And if it was that bad i don't think they would make it so easy for someone to search for a wifi conection anywhere just like that.

[coreymanshack 0]

Well my opinion on the matter is, is it is your opinoin on wether you think it is right or wrong, if someone hasn't encrypted their signal then they are asking for trouble. Although if you take the time to crack their encryption code, you should be breaking some kind of law. If you do use someone elses wifi, don't use it ALL, just use what you need and when you need it just like a regular user. I'm sure that if you ask the owner of the wifi signal if you could use it sometimes they would have no problems with it, I know I wouldn't. But my router is barely strong enough to transmit 50ft, so that is a safety feature for me I guess.

[Spyda 0]

no thats stealing. Somebody has to pay for it, and u using it meand they are getting less of it, so it is stealing, and hacking into someones wifi when they have security on it is a felony or something, im pretty sure of that@

[xtender 0]

no thats stealing. Somebody has to pay for it, and u using it meand they are getting less of it, so it is stealing, and hacking into someones wifi when they have security on it is a felony or something, im pretty sure of that@

Or something what?

 

I do not see anything wrong borrowing an open connection for checking e-mail and news once in a while but if it turns into a habbit I do think it is wrong - especially if you stream and download large files that eats up the bandwith at the access point.

 

However people put themselves in the situation when they broadcast unencrypted signals - it is like leaving your front door unlocked or leaving your car with the keys in it; some people will take the chance and whose to blame?

Edited January 11, 2007 by xtender (see edit history)

[fffanatics 0]

It is not illegal to use someone else's wifi as long as you are not accessing their computer and or hacked into it. Therefore, an unsecured wifi can be accessed by anyone. I know i have done it numerous times but at the same time if you make their connection not usable then this would be illegal because you are stopping them from using it. Therefore, if you are just going to jump onto an open wifi connection to talk to someone on AIM ro check your email, it wont be a problem. If you are jumping onto their network to download a huge file this would be wrong since you will drastically reduce the speed of their personal connection. Also, someone said who would find out. It is very easy to determine who is on a network just by going onto the router. it will tell you the IP address, computer name and MAC address of all any computer connected to it. Normally, the computer name is relavant and also the MAC address is unique. Also, you could open a wifi sniffer on your computer and literally walk to the where the person is using the connection or the neighbor's house that is using the connection. It is not a hard thing to do but most people dont know about it or know how to do it.

[arnz 0]

Accessing into someones connection through wi-fi without permission will eventually become illegal. But in the meantime, it is still morally wrong to do so without permission. But as the above posters said, it is still easy for a savy IT expert to check who is using the connection, and their computer ID (or name of computer), MAC Address and so forth.

[Jimmy 0]

Also, you could open a wifi sniffer on your computer and literally walk to the where the person is using the connection or the neighbor's house that is using the connection. It is not a hard thing to do but most people dont know about it or know how to do it.

ffanatics that sounds like a cool gizmo, would you mind linking to any software like that that would let me do it please?

I searched for wifi sniffer in google but couldn't find any software... maybe its a hardware device?



I would say the same as everyone else on the issue - not wrong as long as you don't download huge files.

e.g. taking on msn or casually browsing non-image intensive sites, checking email is fine...

You often find unencrypted ones at airports that are for your use that are perfectly acceptable to do whatever you want with them, provided you comply with their rules - often a terms and conditions appears that you have to agree to use it

[michaelper22 0]

ffanatics that sounds like a cool gizmo, would you mind linking to any software like that that would let me do it please?
I searched for wifi sniffer in google but couldn't find any software... maybe its a hardware device?

I would say the same as everyone else on the issue - not wrong as long as you don't download huge files.

e.g. taking on msn or casually browsing non-image intensive sites, checking email is fine...

You often find unencrypted ones at airports that are for your use that are perfectly acceptable to do whatever you want with them, provided you comply with their rules - often a terms and conditions appears that you have to agree to use it

This is a bit off-topic, but a free program you can use to find networks is NetStumbler, a utility highly-regarded by PC World for troubleshoting wireless netowrks. Basically it will give you a list of neworks, and after you select one, it will show you a self-updating graph of signal stats.
If you can, try not to use other people's networks, just as a moral thing. Bad habits are usually contagious .

[Jimmy 0]

NetStumbler;
Basically it will give you a list of neworks, and after you select one, it will show you a self-updating graph of signal stats.

.

ahhhh nice thanks for that link, I shall give it a try, see what enjoyment it will give me



P.S. sorry for hijacking part of this thread

[Grenade 0]

Yea across the street we have a couple of neighbors that like to broadcast there SSID for everyone in the world to see. My family chooses to not broadcast it (which I think everyone should do) because it is less susceptable to hackers. Also If you own a network I suggest that you secure it very well because of from past experience, people think its ok to steal other users internet.Grenade

[QuickSilva 0]

Well hacking is illegal, and that is gaining access without permission. Well look at it from this point of view, would you like somebody using your wi-fi internet access what you pay for every single month? I bet the answer is no. Doing this could gain you access into there computer's files, then that is hacking. On my router it gives me a list of clients so I can always see who is accessing my network, but my wi-fi is password protected also so it is pretty hard to get in. I was installing a computer at somebodies house on Christmas Eve and we picked up an un-encrypted wi-fi signal and we tuned into it to see what it was like and we tried the internet and we could gain access to it. So it is quite easy to do it, but then again, you will feel quite guilty.

[Spyda 0]

I searched on the internet and found out that the person you are stealing internet from can inturn sue you for their higher bandwidth costs if they wanted to. Don't know if it would go all the way to court, but if you had to spend more than should than you have a case.