Using other people's internet connection-fair game or criminal

[DarrellRivers]

I remember a thread a while back , have a look at this

and tumbleweed floats across a deserted street.........
everyone else busy sucking up or fecking off

Taking the mick really isn't it.. I mean that wireless connection is bought and paid for by someone else! (They ought to secure it though!)

[picks up tumbleweed and shreds it ]

It is akin to ordering a meal in a restaurant and someone coming up and sitting opposite you and dipping into your food and wine. The height of rudeness. IMO

i thought i could have banked on someone coming on and saying that as long as it was unsecured it would be fair game

i've done it as well
had moved into new house, unsure as to whether our connection was up and running as there had been a 2 week wait for internet connection, and logged into a network to check emails. suspect in retrospect it wasn't ours as DH has loads of security on ours
was desperate for any kind of connection

fair game, in fact if i had it - i wouldnt mind who piggy backed it. who pay individually when one can have a buffet to share.

actually DR we were talking about this yesterday, and it ended up as a class in how to secure your wireless!

Criminal, IMO.

What we need is more citywide wireless networks, such as the one they are trialing in Bristol

why criminal?

what is this capitalist thinking?

why not share - stop the big companies getting all the fun all the time.

Because I am a capitalist. And if I have paid for it, you are not entitled to use it. If you were to ASK - that would be a different matter.

Fair game IMO. If they don't secure it then they should expect people to use it. I've got my own now and first thing i did was set up the WEP security thing.

Obviously illegal, but like crossing the street against the lights, really not worth worrying about with all the other things happening in the world....what a waste of public resources.

i think if a nice popup came up and said " please can i use your internet connection? thank you for your time"

that i bet loads of people would say ok - becuase they asked and were good mannered about it.

it's about privacy too though isn't it? my mate's neighbour found all her passwords when they accidentially got access. they told her but some wouldn't.

how does thatwork then?

we have a laptop - i piggy back for internet connection - it means i get on the internet - not that i can see the other persons stuff.

I dont really mind if any one uses mine I can see who logs on and what they are doing
so if the start down loading I would just stop them if it was lots

But if the man next door borrowed or bought a laptop and thought he would give it a try whats to mind I have to pay for it because DH has to have internet to check rostas and advisory notes for work

my dd used to pigyback her neighbours connection but now although the connection is still there and unsecured she can't get on or it breaks after a minute or two...because the whole neighb ourhood is trying to use it!

i don't know how it worked they told them they could get into their ebay

I once came across a both open and unencripted wireless connection near here. Part of the problem is that some people do not understand how to secure the network properly. It can be done from reading the manual but it take time and a degree of technical know how.

I do not think people realise how important it is to fully secure the wireless connection they have. It must be secured for your own sake.

If I had been so inclined I could have accessed this connection without them knowing about it. I would have had access to all their e-mails as well as everything that went through their computer.

It's like walking into someones house if they have left the door open and helping yourself to their biscuit.
Most sensible people would lock the door.

Such connections have a very limited range so it could be next door or someone behind of you (I note from the original article that one person was in a car outside someone's house).

It may not always be traced back to a particular person unless their computer software had "sniffer tools".

Don't think you can really compare simply sharing the connection to stealing. The person who owns the connection would probabably not notice the difference, might get slightly slower response. When our phone line was out of action for days I would have piggybacked a loose connection if I'd had the means to do so.

Different if you make use of their passwords, that would be criminal.

I cant actually believe someone would go out of their way to sit in a car to use the internet.
How sad.

If you have one of those handheld games things like a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS, you have to take the security settings off to access the internet on them.

I realise that it is illegal under the communications act (or whatever it is) but how on earth would you be found out anyway??

It has been bugging me since I saw on the news that someone had been charged for using someone elses connection...