Conecting to Neighbours wireless???

wolfman

fguk wrote:

One thought, if you leave your house unlocked, is it ok for people to come in and help themselves to your heating and lighting?

Only problem is, if using Windows Wireless Zero, it'll "roam" for other networks, and unless you untick (can't remember if this is set by default or not) automatically connect to non-preferred networks, it'll connect to whatever it finds.

So you could have the scenario where your wireless router goes down without you knowing, and it connects to your neighbours network. More technically aware people would probably notice this, but you're average home user, maybe not.

In either case it's your responsibility to make sure it's secure. Your insurance company wouldn't look too kindly if you had things stolen, and had left your front door open. An open connection just invites all sorts of problems. I would warn them as soon as possible that you've detected an open connection, and just say you're checking it's not them.

superscaper

wolfman wrote:

Only problem is, if using Windows Wireless Zero, it'll "roam" for other networks, and unless you untick (can't remember if this is set by default or not) automatically connect to non-preferred networks, it'll connect to whatever it finds.

So you could have the scenario where your wireless router goes down without you knowing, and it connects to your neighbours network. More technically aware people would probably notice this, but you're average home user, maybe not.

I think the law would already cover this with "intent", the guy that was prosecuted deliberately parked up next to a house and pulled out his laptop which is obviously not the same as just walking past. Although it will get more confusing as we get more coverage of hotspots.

Browntoa

yep..wireless zero picked up my neighbours, originally just my phone line was down but my broadband was working..it was only beacause it blipped off and reconnected and flashed up "Netgear" that i realised it was not mine (don't ask me why as mine is still broadcasting a signal)

going2die_rich

comeonthetic wrote:

Thats a bit harsh if you ask me. Surely the onus should be on the owner of the router to password protect it.

Fair enough if the other person has somehow managed to hack there way into using it but if not then its there fault.

By that reasoning, if someone leaves the keys in their car it's okay to take it for a drive? If someone's front door is left open you are free to go in and help yourself to a cup of tea?

You might want to remember that your neighbour might have a small monthly usage limit and face heavy charges if they go over it. Hardly fair on the neighbour because they aren't a techie. You need to remember ISPs don't exactly help you much in things like this as they like to charge you for that on their 0870 numbers!

Tight_Wad_5

I dont agree - this not a one off scenario, like forgetting to lock up one night or accidently leaving your keys in your ignition.

This is a very serious problem, people are not securing wireless home and small business networks and leaving themself WIDE OPEN 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

I think more should be done by the manufactures to prevent WIFI theft.

MickKnipfler

There is a lot of debate on this issue. If you find a newspaper in the gutter, is it OK to take it?

nej

Wireless security is one of my biggest bugbears and something I'm constantly moaning about.

Most wireless routers setup programs get you connected to the internet, maybe let you change the SSID but that is it. They don't enable security. They probably do this because it's a lot more complicated to setup a wireless network with security enabled, and would result in a lot of support calls from people unable to connect their computers to it.

By leaving it off everything works fine and the customer is happy. Until their computer gets hacked and their connection hijacked.

superscaper

Like a lot of things the law needs to clarify things and catch up to technology. At least with a better clarification we can better understand who should be held more responsible for things like the default security of wireless. Sometimes I think the lawmakers drag their heels too much and think they'll get it sorted eventually. But that's not good enough as it will only get worse as the advancement in technology and impact on society isn't just increasing it's accelerating.