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Large-Format Printable Wardriving Maps of Seattle
drewzhrodague writes "In what is sure to tie up a few print queues, us guys at WiFiMaps.com have released large-format printable maps of Seattle. These were generated during a collaboration with the University of Washington's communications department. This is one of the most comprehensive Wi-Fi mapping project to date, as 100 undergrads swarmed downtown Seattle to collect wardriving data. We've rendered their results at 300dpi, for letter, tabloid, and architectural E sized paper. There is both the standard layout, and the aerial versions available using bittorrent."
While I am cool with it, keep in mind there are some possible legal implications to wardriving.
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
Is this legal? Are would it only be illegal if something like the Induce Act was passed? It seems to me that someone out there is going to think this is illegal and prosecute. Oh, and it's "generated."
Is how many of these are left in a week once people realize thier networks are being tapped.
You say you want a revolution....
Does anyone have a NON-bittorrent download location? University of Washington screws over its students by decreasing bittorrent speed to near zero.
Joe Somebody goes into Best Buy, is told by the sales rep "just plug it in, it will self configure, and you'll be done," goes home, and does just that. It isn't in the sellers' interest to tell about all the precautions one should take, what to watch out for, because that doesn't make a good sales pitch. But "Ahh, it's so easy to set up, anyone could do it" does.
So we can't even assume that Joe Somebody is aware that users outside his apartment, house, or network, can use his network. His neighbor's TV remote doesn't turn on his TV; his neighbor's garage door opener doesn't open his garage. Why should he assume that his neighbor's laptop can access/reach his wireless connection?
Is it his responsibility to go home and Google for all the malicious things that can happen to your wireless connection? Do you sit at home and wonder "Gee, I wonder how my neighbors can use my toaster without me knowing and put me in a legal quagmire?"
And it won't do any good to tell him to RTFM. Nobody does that anymore when it just seems to "work."
Never underestimate the ignorance of Joe Somebody. Joe Somebody might just be a straight up newbie who has more important things to tend to. Joe Sombody today might work too many hours and has too many gadgets to proactively learn how all of them work, and the 'risks' associated with each. If you want every Joe Somebody to be aware, I'd put the onus on the sellers of the device, or the manufacturers (like, a big freaking sticker on the box might help).
- shadowmatter
Come on -- I download many, many GIG's worth every month from access points (other than mine :). Living in a dense population sure helps sometimes -- particularly when there's so many dumb users out there broadcasting their SSID and have no encryption turned on. I've got a old laptop (running Linux of course) just sitting there 24x7 sucking data on their dime.