Personally? I think we're getting a little crazy with this whole security thing and this article proves it--check out this excerpt from the above linked article:
Innocuous use of other people's unsecured Wi-Fi networks is common, though experts say that plenty of illegal use also goes undetected: such as people sneaking on others' networks to traffic in child pornography, steal credit card information and send death threats.
That's a little bit like saying guns are often used in crimes like rape, murder and drug dealing.
Sure, they are used for such purposes but it's not that common, is it? From what I know of it, the vast majority of war drivers are one of two things--either they are penny pinchers who for whatever reason can't or won't pay for a 'net connection or people who are in a pinch and need a connection to the 'net to send an email or otherwise communicate with someone. Yes, some abuse the connection by downloading huge or even illegal files, but even at broadband speeds it's not easy to download an entire movie while sitting in your car without drawing attention.
Sure, it's the 21st century, but how weird is it to see some dude in his car on a laptop?
I'm not saying war driving should be legal or illegal, I'm just arguing that it shouldn't be an arrestable offense unless you are suspected of stealing from that network. I also think it's fine to arrest someone if it's a government or business network where sensitive secrets are held. But if it's just some dude at home who doesn't bother to encrypt his WiFi? Just fine the war driver--treat it like a speeding ticket. Arrests are overkill for the damage stealing WiFi does. Besides, if simply accessing a network that you are not authorized to access gets you arrested, what about people who steal cable? Do they get arrested?
And no, I don't war drive. I've got my own connection at home that is encrypted--I only do that because someone was stealing my bandwidth and slowing my connection down. If that person had simply been reasonable and used it for basic stuff I'd have never noticed and therefore never minded.
If you think your network might have a war driver (or a neighbor who is leeching your connection) you can use applications to find out who is connected to your network.
For PCs I've heard Net Stumbler is a great app. For Macs I find InterMapper Console works for me.
From AP.org and News.Yahoo.com:
Man Charged With Stealing Wi-Fi Signal
Wed Jul 6, 8:15 PM ET
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Police have arrested a man for using someone else's wireless Internet network in one of the first criminal cases involving this fairly common practice.
Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony.
Police say Smith admitted using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Richard Dinon, who had noticed Smith sitting in an SUV outside Dinon's house using a laptop computer.
The practice is so new that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement doesn't even keep statistics, according to the St. Petersburg Times, which reported Smith's arrest this week.
Innocuous use of other people's unsecured Wi-Fi networks is common, though experts say that plenty of illegal use also goes undetected: such as people sneaking on others' networks to traffic in child pornography, steal credit card information and send death threats.
Security experts say people can prevent such access by turning on encryption or requiring passwords, but few bother or are unsure how to do so.
Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, has enjoyed prolific growth since 2000. Millions of households have set up wireless home networks that give people like Dinon the ability to use the Web from their backyards but also reach the house next door or down the street.
It's not clear why Smith was using Dinon's network. Prosecutors declined to comment, and a working phone number could not be located for Smith.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press
what about people who steal cable? Do they get arrested?
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sure that'll soon follow! Plus, someone should stop the millions of people with antennas on their TVs who routinely steal copyrighted material from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox...
Damn, man--I forgot about all of those criminals!! Good point, man!
ReplyDelete