WIFI Theft???
By jyaegel
@jyaegel (161)
United States
November 13, 2008 2:05pm CST
If a neighbor hasn't password protected there wireless internet and it comes into your house and you happen to pic up the signal sitting in your chair, should it be against the law to use it? If so isn't it digital trespassing on your property? If so who should be the one in trouble the one providing you with free internet or the neighbor using the internet?
4 responses
@RedFeather (427)
• United States
13 Nov 08
if it were to be illegal - how do you prove and prosecute?
if it were to be illegal - of course the receiver is the thief, but it would be a "shame on you" for the owner, as it was not protected.
i would compare this to someone leaving their briefcase on the park bench -
it gets picked up (stolen) - might it have been abandoned?
-
sure, what is inside may be insured, but shouldn't you have had it with you?
-
sure, what is inside may be insured, but shouldn't you have had it with you?2 people like this
@jyaegel (161)
• United States
14 Nov 08
I hear a lot of lawyers and prosecutors talking about this one. My brother-in-law is a lawyer and he also discusses this on a regular basis with others in the law community. Its fun getting everyone in law together discussing this because they always end up leaving with no resolution.
1 person likes this
@kayree2002 (259)
• United States
13 Nov 08
I personally believe that if someone has left their WIFI unsecured and open then it's them giving others permission to use their internet connection. The only problem with that is they could be doing it to gather information about your system or try to log on into your system if you allow network sharing to be allowed with your system. I have a friend who gets internet connection from one of their neighbors. They even left a message saying that they left it open for others to use but not to download too much and slow down the connection.
@jyaegel (161)
• United States
14 Nov 08
I had one of the heads of our IT department at a very large company tell us in a class one time on internet security that on one could possible gain access to your computer and get any of your personal information off of it. About a minute and a half later his monitor flickered and when it came back on his entire desktop was filled with a ton of little notepad files named things like I was here boss. That was one of the funniest things I ever I mean I seen ;)
1 person likes this
@echomonster (2225)
• Greenwood, Mississippi
14 Nov 08
I don't think it should be against the law if the breached network is not secured. For one thing, it's just too easy to connect to someone else's network -- computer neophytes won't even be aware that they are doing so. It does seem foolish to me to let your connection be shared, though, because you never know how your connection will be used. If computer criminals take advantage of your free Internet offer, you may be accused of committing those crimes yourself. These freeloaders are also using up bandwidth which isn't free...this extra use may cause your provider to cancel your account or institute bandwidth-based pricing.
1 person likes this
@jyaegel (161)
• United States
14 Nov 08
And don't forget people using the new wifi feature built into cell phones. They are using your wifi to prevent them from having to pay a higher cell phone bill. So in the long run you are paying for for internet and cell service correct? So in the long run wouldn't it be hurting you?
@neededhope (1085)
• United States
13 Nov 08
I do not feel like it shouldn't be against the law. To me it's the neighbor who hasn't put a protective password on there wireless internet. If you don't want them using it than put a password on it. Simple as that. My husband and I have wireless internet and we actually charge are neighbor $20 to use it every month. So we end up saving even more money. But there's a password. So only the people who know the password can use it. So if he doesn't pay we block it. i think it works out nicely.
1 person likes this
