Topic: Over half admit to Wi-Fi theft

[Clive]

Fifty-four per cent of people questioned by security firm Sophos admitted illegally connecting to someone else's Wi-Fi network.

Logging onto a wireless network without the owner's knowledge or permission, a practice known as 'piggybacking', is illegal in the UK and there have been successful prosecutions for it in the past.

"Stealing Wi-Fi internet access may feel like a victimless crime, but it deprives ISPs of revenue," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"Furthermore, if you've hopped onto your next door neighbours' wireless broadband connection to illegally download movies and music from the net, chances are that you are also slowing down their internet access and impacting on their download limit," he continued.

Sophos emphasised the importance of securing your wireless network properly.

"It's essential that your Wi-Fi connection is encrypted and that you have not chosen a password for your router which is easy to guess or crack. The problem is that a lot of Wi-Fi equipment is not properly configured when it comes out of the box, or is a headache to setup," Cluley said.

[Simon]

It's amazing how many unsecured networks are about.  I was at a friend's the other night, helping him set up his wireless router, and I found 2 unsecured networks with my laptop, which I managed to log in to, but then felt guilty and logged out again.  Proved a point though.

[GillE]

Fifty-four per cent of people questioned...

I wonder how they were selected for questioning and how many.  Indeed, I wonder how many of them actually owned a computer and if it was Wi-Fi enabled.  Perhaps they just thought they'd better 'fess up and accept the police caution rather than undergo the hassle of being fitted up for a prosecution.

Cynical? Me?

[Rik]

I found 2 unsecured networks with my laptop, which I managed to log in to, but then felt guilty and logged out again.  Proved a point though.

Two of the five I can see employ no encryption, and haven't changed the SSID, or the router password, making it a doddle to log into and, if I was feeling mischievous, lock them out. Crazy. 

[Reno]

People don't consider it an illegal act here. It's more or less like walking across someone's lawn. I've left my network open for the last 5 years. Anyone who wants to can get onto it. Doesn't bother me in the least. If you don't want someone on your network, secure it. If you don't know how to secure it then don't use wireless.

I think companies over in the UK complain about it because it threatens to undermine their monopoly. The companies have enough money and lobbing influence that they can get the act made illegal while demonizing it to the public. Most of the companies are shortchanging on the bandwidth to begin with. How is that any different?

[Rik]

The issue that would worry me more, Bob, is that someone could use my connection for illegal purposes. We've seen too many dawn raids of late to want to be on the end of one. Population density may be a factor here too.

[Simon]

The issue that would worry me more, Bob, is that someone could use my connection for illegal purposes. We've seen too many dawn raids of late to want to be on the end of one. Population density may be a factor here too.

That, and the fact that if you are on a capped service with your ISP, someone else could use up all your allowance, and you may end up paying for excess usage.