NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers

NY case underscores Wi-Fi privacy dangers

news.yahoo.com

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Lying on his family room floor with assault weapons trained on him, shouts of "pedophile!" and "pornographer!" stinging like his fresh cuts and bruises, the Buffalo homeowner didn't need long to figure out the reason for the early morning wake-up call from a swarm of federal agents.
That new wireless router. He'd gotten fed up trying to set a password. Someone must have used his Internet connection, he thought."We know who you are! You downloaded thousands of images at 11:30l

(visit the link for the full news article)

Here comes the gestapo. Our very own SS stormtroopers in action. They did not bother to check and see if his wifi connection was pw protected. They could have sent a couple detectives during the day to knock on his door, but no! Bust it down in the middle of the night. Throw the man down on the floor. For what? He isn't even going to sue them. What a dumb a**. Not punishing bad behavior just encourages a repeat performance.

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I have an open wi-fi so anyone can hop online if they need to. It was recently decided here that it is not against the law to use someone elses wi-fi if it's unprotected.

Whether or not his inet connection is password protected, HE is still responsible for any usage that goes over that connection that HE is providing.

Therefore, if errroneous data that arouses the suspicsion of the FBI is going over this inet connection, of course they would arrest him.

A non story.

Originally posted by PsykoOps
I have an open wi-fi so anyone can hop online if they need to. It was recently decided here that it is not against the law to use someone elses wi-fi if it's unprotected.

Yup, but that person who supplies the unprotected connection is still responsible for what you do on it.

He wouldn't win the case. Everyone is responsible for their own internet connection. Some of what I learned in my networking class in school about network security gives some court examples in the book.

Some people like to leave free Wifi open. But if someone uses your internet connection for illegal activities, you are the first person the authorities will come looking for. If you can prove it wasn't you, then they can go seeking who might have been using your Wifi. And there are ways to tell who's been using it.

Word to the wise, people: never, ever, leave your Wifi wide open so that others can use it, no matter how generous you like to be. It's not worth the hassle of someone doing illegal activities and you getting busted for it.

The point is plain and simple:

This was too much force for an Internet crime.

i had to encrypt my router.

i too was a victim of not one person stealing my connection but several had been doing it.

i only found out one day when i woke up and tried to get online and my isp had turned off my internet.

seems that someone had been illegally downloading movies they didnt get busted and i did for doing something i had not done.


the moral of the op and my posts is THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WILL ALWAYS TAKE ADAVANTAGE OF OTHERS.


secure your wireless connections!!!

just stop broadcasting your ssid

Originally posted by PsykoOps
I have an open wi-fi so anyone can hop online if they need to. It was recently decided here that it is not against the law to use someone elses wi-fi if it's unprotected.

Yeah, its not against the law for them to use your wifi..., however, the law can be broken from your External IP or WAN IP...

They gonna trce it back to you

Originally posted by gougitousakusha
just stop broadcasting your ssid

I can see it whether you broadcasst it or not...

Hey guys. I have an unsecured wireless network connection and I don't know how to secure it! Can anybody walk me through? Thank you!

You guys have it totally screwed up. I'm not responsible what other people do through my wi-fi At least here we have some sense in the manner. Is government responsible if someone uses one of their open wi-fi projects to do something illegal? Afaik in US there is quite a few of those projects going on.

Anyone with an unencrypted wifi router is an idiot. It's not that hard to do and can save you this kind, and others, of grief.

The strongest link in your wifi security is encryption using WPA2-AES/CCMP and a strong password. A super strong 64 bit hexadecimal or 63 bit ASCII password can be generated here: www.grc.com...

Disabling SSID broadcast and changing the SSID are trivial obstacles for a semi-skilled hacker to defeat but worth doing as part of an overall security strategy.

To have the best wifi security available to a consumer today you need to:

1) Change the router's password. Each manufacturer uses a default password and hackers know them all.

2) Change the SSID to something other than the default

3) Disable SSID broadcast. Again not much help by itself but some.

4) Enable WPA2-AES/CCMP and use a full length random password.

With those steps taken your home wifi is as secure as it can be and the only one using it will be you. You may read that WPA2 is cracked but that only applies for relatively short, easily guessed keys. Using a long random passkey will make it virtually uncrackable.

Originally posted by wasco2
Anyone with an unencrypted wifi router is an idiot.

"Anyone who thinks this is an issue is an idiot."

reply to post by HunkaHunka


im certain it stoped the family next door from leeching off my internet but then ill assume they didnt know ways to get around this. iv since disabled radio, set a super long password, disabled ssid, ripped out the antenna, plugged in ethernet, and named my router FBI surveillance van #62.

reply to post by PsykoOps


Ask the guy with the Federal Stormtrooper's gun at his head if this is an issue or not. And it's happened a lot more than just the incident in the OP's post. Anyone operating an unsecured wifi network is an idiot.

reply to post by PsykoOps


there was a elderly guy around my area arrested for something like this and ended up killing himself after nothing was found.

I have used the techniques mentioned in the article to use other people's wireless internet.

I used a pringles can, an N type connector, and some wire. Using that setup I was able to go from picking up only my next door neighbors wifi to picking up the wifi from a hotel that was around 4 blocks away. I then took that and added it to an old satellite dish I had and made a sort of parabolic reflector. I was able to pick up and use wifi networks from up to a mile away, in dense area with many houses and trees.

There are also programs that hack a wifi password.

When you broadcast a wifi signal, there are bits of your password included in the broadcast. If you can capture enough of a stream you can use that to decompile the password.

I used many peoples secured wifi with this method.

While this may not be viable for the average bootlegger, people that are downloading child porn, or otherwise using someone else's network for nefarious purposes can still access your network with the right tools, software, and skills.

I don't believe you should be liable for what someone else does on your unsecured network. Also, someone using someone elses network unauthorized should be help criminally liable, regardless if it was secured or not. Thats about like saying since you didn't lock your door on your house or car, the thief didn't have to break in so theres nothing that can be done. While using someone elses network in a sense is "harmless", so is stealing electricity or cable. Those are deemed theft of services and you will face hefty fines, as well as jail time if you are caught.

This is why my router is hardwired. Yes a hardwired network is a fixed networked that fits my needs just find. My computer has been on the same table for 8 years. But for those people that need or want a wireless network they need to take steps to protect them selfs of they too may find this to be happening to them.