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Wifi Question...Is it illegal??

NOT

NOT

Guest
Jul 15, 2011
537
32
#1
I went over to my grandmothers, and she still hasn't secured her Wifi connection.


Neighbors are using her wifi. Is it illegal to use someone elses wifi connection?

She doesn't seem to mind, but I do..
 
#4
Not sure on worldwide legality. In the UK it is illegal, but as already pointed out the real issue is that someone could potentially use her unsecured network for illegal activities.
 
#6
In my job I worked on a case where a malicious individual used a neighbors unsecured Wifi to make bomb threats. The cops SWAT TEAM raided the innocent Wifi home giving them the scare of a lifetime. Eventually, after confiscating the families laptop and PC, discovered the unauthorized use of the Wifi to send the bomb threats. The real nut case was arrested and the innocent family now has a secure network.

Bob E. In CT
 
#10
Not only can people use her WiFi to do illegal things, but it makes Grandma's computer more vulnerable to hacking.

I once connected to an unsecure WiFi network at a cheap hotel. Within minutes, my firewall was ringing the alarm bells.
 
#11
NOT said:
I went over to my grandmothers, and she still hasn't secured her Wifi connection.

Neighbors are using her wifi. Is it illegal to use someone elses wifi connection?
Click to expand...
The legalities vary, but it's usually hard to prosecute for using an open connection, which makes permission presumptive and is part of many intentionally open-use access philosophies. Though I do not know of the outcomes, there have been attempts to make it a legal requirement that you secure your network.

Some of her neighbors are probably using her connection inadvertently; if there's a stronger open connection that your own in a particular spot, most computers will automatically connect to it on boot. A couple of years back, I discovered that one of my own boxes was doing this until I configured it not to.

She doesn't seem to mind
Click to expand...

So, permission is explicit.

but I do..
Click to expand...

You should. It endangers her from numerous angles.

I used to set up bombproof secure WLANs with multi-level protection for people and businesses, but you don't need to go quite as crazy. Simple WPA2-PSK encryption with a decent random-character stored PSK in itself is pretty much unbreakable and invisible to the user once set up. Don't use WEP. I can crack a WEP-encrypted network connection in about five minutes and so can any middle-school kid with access to YouTube.

I spend an annoying amount of time getting people I know un___ked from computer security screwups. This is a good one in the making. It's a three-minute job to fix it now, and you should.

Good luck!
 
#12
Another thought is that if Grandma is not going to take care of computer hygiene on her own, she might be better off with Linux distro. A friend of mine got his parents set up with their first computer ever, by installing Ubuntu onto a second hand box from the university surplus outlet, and they've been using it without issues for more than a year.

On the other hand, you can set up her wireless security next time you visit, and she'll never know the difference.
 
#15
Throw some wep2 in there and call it a day. Oh and
password_strength.png
 
#16
Kind of embarrassed to ask this question but I am computer stupid. How do you secure your wi-fi so others can't use it? I have no idea if ours is secure or not and I don't know how to make it secure.
 
#17
invader3k said:
Yeah, you should get it secured for her immediately.

I heard on the radio about a recent case where the police showed up at a guy's house to arrest him for downloading child pornography. It turned out it someone on a nearby boat (he lived near a harbor) was using his WiFi.
Click to expand...

They just busted a guy here that lived behind the public library. He was pirating their wifi, and doing creepy stuff. I have no idea how they found him. He must have left a clue someplace.
 
#19
Jay Ralston said:
Kind of embarrassed to ask this question but I am computer stupid. How do you secure your wi-fi so others can't use it? I have no idea if ours is secure or not and I don't know how to make it secure.
Click to expand...
The easiest four things to do are:

1. Change your router/gateway/whatever's ID from the default name to one of your choosing. That is: "D-Link" or "Linksys" are out, something like "cMk-3ekj" or even "SuperBassDude" is in.
2. Stop SSID broadcasts.
3. Use MAC address filtering.
4. Set up WPA-PSC or "higher" encryption with a strong password.

You should do all of these and how to do them should be in the user's manual. If you are hazy on anything, use Google.
 

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