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Some 12% of Consumers 'Borrow' Unsecured Wi-Fi
alphadogg writes "Despite the fact that it's often considered an illegal act, a sizeable percentage of the UK/US internet-using population 'borrows' unsecured Wi-Fi access. This is according to a study conducted by the group Accenture. 'The Accenture study found that computer users are still engaging in some unsafe computing practices. Nearly half of all respondents said that they used the same password for all of their online accounts, and only a quarter of them have ever encrypted files on their computers.'" My guess is the actual figure is higher than that.
This just in:
People on the internet 'steal' stuff they should pay for.
A learning experience is one of those things that say, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.' - D. Adams
I am trying to connect to "Free Public Internet" but its not letting me.
Do I need a password?
liqbase
Had a lady bring her laptop into our computer repair shop. "I can't get the Internet any more."
.. that it was a godz-given fact that, anywhere she went, she'd have internet access.
.. more explanations.
After extensive questioning (using very small words), I determined:
Her expensive laptop worked fine.
Her TCP/IP settings, web browser, etc. all worked just fine.
The wireless components and setup worked just fine.
What was NOT working fine was her neighbor's wireless access point. Apparently that fine fellow had either turned it off, lost his own internet connection, encrypted his WAP, or whatever.
She never knew she was using his connection, connecting to his WAP. She thought that, since the stick-on on her laptop said it had wireless and could reach the internet
"But it works on campus."
Sigh
Half an hour of my life, gone. And I don't even want to think about the brain damage.
When you set up your wireless network you can choose whether to allow open access or not. If the network's owner has specified that anyone can use it, why is it bad to do so? I have my wireless router at home set up for open access and it does me no harm if others use it for occasional web browsing. The only flaw is that many routers don't have a way to prioritize or cap usage so that my work isn't slowed down by other people's Bittorrenting.
Yes, it's sent unencrypted - just like network traffic over those old-fashioned things called wires. We all know to use https and ssh for secure connections anyway.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
This is a pretty inane study- there is a huge difference between occasionally looking for an open wireless when away from home to browse and using a neighbor's open wireless as your main pipe. And the comments about identity theft are ridiculous, as most sensible people adjust their browsing/net use when using unknown networks to reflect their uncertainty in its security.
It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw.
But if they start borrowing and eating your already limited bandwidth and start choking your connection. Then just use some form of encryption and be done with it (AES).
It doesn't really matter whether or not it's illegal, they put themselves at risk if they transmit wireless on an unencrypted connection
I have my doubts that more people 'borrow' Wi-Fi access. But as I couldn't find a link to the actual study, this is hard to confirm.
Personally I would guess that the result is much lower than in the study. None of my acquaintances have ever piggy-backed wi-fi, and that includes cosc (Computer Science) students, software engineers in the industry and of course plenty of people that know nothing about computers. At the same time only one person I know encrypts any hard-drive data (no not me).
I don't see why piggy-backing wi-fi is illegal, after all if someone leaves their gate open, they shouldn't be surprised if someone else walks through. (Note: If you misuse the network to steal data of your host, the stealing should obviously still be illegal)
Where exactly is this "considered an illegal act"?
How the hell do you "consider" something to be illegal? It either is, or isn't.
How the hell is 12% a "sizeable percentage"?
Someone's really trying hard to make an article out of nothing.
sic transit gloria mundi
Zonk doesn't read past the headline.
/ \
\ / ASCII ribbon campaign for peace
x
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I have a Speedstream 6-series-something (6200?) router, and it has this problem where if you disable the wireless, you have to do a hard reset to enable it again. Long story short I was running an open wireless network for a while, and there was never less than two leechers on the network, in a well-spaced neighborhood full of old people in a third world country. I'd hate to see what would happen to an open wireless network in a crowded metropolis.
Other interesting fact: Me and a friend were wardriving with just a regular laptop, no special antennae, speeding down the highway, and we picked up a LOT of networks, often with a good signal. Some of these were in places with no buildings in sight. When I get a working laptop again I plan to implement a setup that leeches off open networks as I drive (mainly for a Google Earth-based navigation system, anything sensitive will either have to be encrypted or left out), and I have no doubt it will work nicely.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Stuff I vaguely care about, gets better passwords, and regular changes.
That's not 'insecurity' that's 'too many places insisting on registration'.
"Nearly half of all respondents said that they used the same password for all of their online accounts..." I have statistical evidence (sample size of a little over 5000) that proves that says that the percentage is MUCH higher...more like 80-85%. We talk all the time about privacy, net security, identity theft, etc., but this something that is VERY often overlooked. There are many LAMP projects out there (mostly put together by high schoolers or ambitious university freshmen) that collect an email and a password for their own user authentication and then don't encrypt their users' passwords in database. Dishonest 15 year-old admin + one select query on his own database and then approx 80% of the time you have access to the users' email account. From there, the sky's the limit. Online banking, university login accounts, etc. Troubling to say the least. We need a LOT more education of stupid kids that don't know how to encrypt passwords safely in their DB. Furthermore, we need to remember good old fashion ethics in this stuff.
It always seemed odd to me that this was illegal, when in reality you are asking for and getting permission. That is, as everyone here would know, your laptop (for example) has to ask the wireless router for permission to connect. The router then grants permission and allocates an IP, all within its normal operating process (i.e., no trickery or hacking involved). It is not a passive process, like, say, entering an unlocked home, in which the house is passively exploited.
if you dont want your community to use your wireless, but you want the ease of unsecured access, use mac address filtering on your wireless router. most all 802.11b/g/n integrated service routers come with that feature in an easy to use package. if you CBA to keep people off your network, it WILL be used.
it makes it a bit harder to add devices to the network, but once again, tis still easy.
i keep mine unsecured simply so that if there is ever a disaster in the area, the cisco NERV (i got to tour it the other day, was awesome) can override it and add it to the disaster mesh. i think of it as community service.
http://blogs.cisco.com/news/2007/11/video_ciscos_network_emergency.htmlI came across an unsecured network with strong signal a while ago. Turned out to be someone across the street. They had 4 Windows systems attached, with C: drives shared, unprotected. I also found a shared printer on their network.
I warned them by printing a page on that shared printer, identifying myself and describing the problem. Next day the access point was secure..
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
I'm guilty of using the same password on a lot things online. Several forums, throwaway email addresses, "register to read the rest of this article" news sites, etc. Basically, the stuff I don't really care about, and I don't give two hoots if it gets h4x0r3d.
I don't particularly see that as an "unsafe" practice, since none of it really matters.
Things I actually care about (personal email, anything work related, etc) get real passwords, and things that can really cause problems (banking, etc) don't get done via the internet at all.
Living in an apartment, I was actually surprised with the opposite. It appears that there are 20 or so wireless networks with good signal strength in range, and I am in a corner of the building. However, there is not a single network that isn't using some form of encryption. I don't know if this is typical, but all the supposed luddites living in this building (a combination of college/university age couples and 50+ year old singles) have obviously figured their wireless routers out.
The other premise upon which people base a lot of paranoia regarding network and personal computer security is the assumption that they possess something worth stealing. There are many effective credit card fraud methods in use that don't require any sort of computer exploitation, but rather involve "social engineering." What other information does the average person have on his PC that is of value? Of course I would be disturbed if somebody managed to obtain my entire photograph library, but that is of so little value to somebody else, I doubt very much that any significant effort would be put towards obtaining it.
In my neighborhood I can see 8 access points. Every one of them encrypted. Granted 6 of them use WEP...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
For fun, go to a local mall and turn on a wifi sniffer of your choice. Our local podunk mall had no less than 30 unsecured wireless networks, almost all for stores which held servers with financial data. And thats what I found with a smartphone using totalcommander and wififofum.
Nearly half of all respondents said that they used the same password for all of their online accounts
Like newspaper registrations? Rather than bother with bugmenot, I just register using bogus data. My password is 111111. Because I really don't give a shit about a newspaper registration. It has nothing whatever to do with security. The Chicago Tribune has no CC#s, SS#s or any other real, personally identifiable information about me; I don't even know why they bother.
Yet this is somehow deemed a "Security risk." And I don't send encrypted data; if it's sensitive information I'll send it snail mail.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Um, if the cable service is so much better, why don't you get it yourself? I can't believe the cable company told you, "No, that's one floor further up, we don't run coax up there."
Um, if Sympatico are so bad, why don't you switch to the ISP your neighbour is using? Most of the time when people complain about their ISP, it's because there aren't any other options in their area. Clearly that isn't the case for you.
The Upside-Down-Ternet (*evil grin*)
Cars have maintenance costs caused by use. If I use your car when you are not, I am costing you money. If I use your bandwidth when you are not, I cant see how that really affects you in any way. Not saying it's right to do so. Just saying the analogy is flawed.
...in the area.
I set my parents house up with secured wifi 3 years ago... Last year my parents got a new laptop, and went about using wifi. 6 months pass. They get a new printer... I tell them that they can print from their laptop, over the network, and try to talk my dad through setting it up... After much confusion, I realize they are not on the wifi network that I set up for them, but one of their neigbhors...
My parents are smart, they just didn't grow up using computers, and don't think about the kind of things that most slashdot users think about... typical boomers... I bet 12% (or more) of laptop users steal wifi, without even knowing it...
"I'll have a Guinness, no wait, make that a Coors Light" -Grad student I work with, who shall remain anonymous...
I live in a townhouse community, and I can pick up seven wireless networks besides mine. Of those, two are secured. When my Comcast is out, it's nice to have some backup access through one of my neighbors' DSL or satellite service. I don't abuse it, but I do connect for a quick POP mail check or such. I wouldn't dream of doing anything financial over such a link.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
How many of those "unsecured wireless" connections are run by criminals bent on grabbing your personal info in transit or injecting viruses into your non-ssl web browsing sessions?
I can see it now:
2010, 6 months after the Thou Shalt Not Steal Wifi Act of 2009 went into effect.
Joe Victim complains he's a victim of identity theft.
The police investigate and find he's regularly steals WiFi from his friends and neighbors. One of his neighbors' network got taken over by the Russian mob. He goes to jail for WiFi theft and his neighbor goes to jail for not taking adquate steps to protect his network.
It makes the news.
A month later, throughout the country, people start getting blackmail letters from the Russian Mob saying "We just emptied your bank account. If you go to the police you will go to jail just like Joe Victim a month ago. Have a nice day."
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
when they are 'stealing' wifi access. My former neighbor was very tech savvy and he said that every now and then his laptop would pick my access point to join instead of his. I didn't care, it is my responsibility to secure it if I don't want others on it. But the point is, I am sure that less tech savvy people don't even know a lot of the time when they are using someone else's network. BFD. It's like someone that has a big cannister of oxygen on their property and you get arrested for breathing when you walk by.
I'm at the doctor's, awaiting my appointment. we all know how long that takes. so, to amuse myself while waiting, I get out my mobile device to see whether there's any free wifi floating about so that I can read /.. lo, there is, the signal is strong and the WAP's SSID is the doc's name. it's totally open, so I "naturally assume" it's being provided to me as a convenience, kind of like the three-month old US Weekly's in the waiting room (I didn't ask, though). imagine my amusement at finding this article on the front page.
soupy twist