Comments on: Screw with People Who Steal your WiFi

By: Ugh

Ugh — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:07:21 +0000

“Actually, if youâ€™re in the US, stealing wireless internet is a crime. While I do not agree with most of the punishment people get, it is still considered a crime. It is a crime of theft. You are stealing a service someone else has paid for.”

How can it possibly be considered theft if you’ve explicitly granted them access? Idiot. If you don’t want people accessing your Wi-Fi, don’t configure your router to give them access!

And no, there is no law against “stealing wireless internet”. There are laws against “unauthorized access of a computer network”. But in New York, for instance, it states that the network must be “equipped or programmed with any device or coding system, a function of which is to prevent the unauthorized use of said computer or computer system”. So it’s only “unauthorized access” if you put a password on it and someone cracks the password. Accessing an open Wi-Fi network is not “unauthorized access”. It’s not wrong, not illegal, and hopefully never will be (though the RIAA is fighting to make it illegal, using pedophiles and “hackers” as bogeymen to scare people into making laws about it).

Good neighbors share their Wi-Fi.

By: jake

jake — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 20:24:42 +0000

“just because my wireless router (the doorman) lets you have access to the wireless signal (the building), does not give you the right to use the internet service (the pool) that I pay for. In the real world youâ€™d get kicked out or arrested and the doorman would get fired.”

Well, you are the one that programed your doorman to grant access to anyone. You can’t fire your doorman for doing his job, that’s illegal. You can kick me out all you want (its your property) but you cannot have me arrested because I had permission to use your pool. The doorman, who works and takes orders from you, allowed me to use your pool. Maybe you should tell your doorman to not advertise/broadcast your free pool (SSID) and to stop granting access to just anyone.

By: joe

joe — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:27:25 +0000

If someone is using your WiFi
PUT AN ENCRYPTION ON YOUR ROUTER
and or screw with them using this method

If they Persist
Then maybe you should take it further but dont be an ass and skip the first step
how many people do you know (including yourself) that has snagged a nearby WiFi signal to do school work, check email, or any other low bandwidth task. How pissed would you be if you got caught stealing internet while you were using it to set up your own internet connection

If YOUR using your neighbors internet
be considerate of your provider (neighbor)
dont suck up all the bandwidth
dont hack theyer computers
dont put them in an awkward legal situation

By: Illegal!!!

Illegal!!! — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:43:10 +0000

In the state of Connecticut if you have a password set or not IT IS illegal. The crime is called, “unauthorized access to a computer network.” You ARE stealing a service someone has paid for and not given you permission to be on. Perfect example…You have a cordless phone broadcasting on 813mhz your neighbor has the exact same phone on the same 813mhz. He has no phone line plugged in picks up his phone and gets a dial tone on your line and starts making phone calls. Yes, you are broadcasting the signal but that does not give people an open invitation to use it!! I’m not saying you shouldn’t secure your network cause you should! And if you are a piggybacking from your neighbor, it’s just silly! My neighbor asked me if he could piggyback and I gave him the password to get on the network. With the bandwidth of broadband in residential homes these days being so great you’ll hardly notice one extra PC on it.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/07/technology/personaltech/wireless_arrest/

By: Disabled

Disabled — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 00:53:11 +0000

I name my netword “Disabled” and have a password that seems to keep most network kiddies out. Not sophisticated, but most people who look at it say “Oh…disabled”, and go on to something else

By: since when....

since when.... — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:01:41 +0000

Since when is listen to certain frequencies a sin or a crime. If a build an antenna that can channel in on frequencies 8.2ghz to 12.1ghz, will I be arrested? No, because as long as they are open frequencies with no encryption there is no crime. If I break through that encryption then there is a crime. However, When one purchase a router there a purchasing a radio. Their router broadcast their ssid( or name) into the air, like real radio stations go figure. I am allowed to listen( meaning watch or see) with my adapter, but if I do not have permission to connect to that broadcast(like fire or police radio stations) it is crime for me to access that channel with out permission. The only permission one has is to look. Making connection is unauthorized unless, I have consent from the owner. It’s like a very attractive redhead with green eyes, you can look but don’t touch without permission.

By: r4y

r4y — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:55:14 +0000

@sketch

actually taking bread (or anything for that matter) that you find in a dumpster is completely legal provided it is not locked or on private property and it is trespassing, not theft if you violate either of those conditions

according to the supreme court that is

By: rjs

rjs — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:39:26 +0000

First off, secure your wireless router if you are concerned about someone stealing internet. That being said, just because my wireless router (the doorman) lets you have access to the wireless signal (the building), does not give you the right to use the internet service (the pool) that I pay for. In the real world you’d get kicked out or arrested and the doorman would get fired. Access to the openly available wireless signal is totally separate from the internet access that resides on the router.

By: sketch

sketch — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:31:52 +0000

you people who claim it’s not stealing are morons lol…either way you look at it, it’s stealing. If you take bread from a dumpster at wal-mart, even though its trash you can be prosecuted for stealing. If a Brinks truck dropped a bag off the back of their truck and it rolled to a stop, after crashing through your front door, its still stealing if you keep the money. Just because you have access to something doesn’t make it ok to use.

If you do not pay for a “product”, that is not free, and you have not been given explicit permission to use it, you are stealing. Regardless of the “product” involved.

By: John

John — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:11:00 +0000

Just so you know if someone accesses your wireless network you are legally responsible for what they do on it, it is also illegal to gain access to a network without the users express permission.

I’d rather block their access and not risk them going on illegal sites when they realise you are screwing with them.
It may seem funny but you are liable for what goes on throughout any network you run.