Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Confessions of a Wi-Fi Thief

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the is-that-a-bandwidth-in-your-pocket dept.

Michelle Shildkret from Time wrote in to tell us about a story about "the ethics of stealing Wi-Fi. Many of us been guilty of the same crime at one point or another — according to the article, 53% of us at least. But how guilty do we really feel? As it is officially a crime to steal wi-fi (Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47 of the United States Code, which covers anybody who 'intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access')."

9 of 849 comments (clear)

  1. Not At All? by D+Ninja · · Score: 5, Funny

    But how guilty do we really feel? About as guilty as I feel when I drive above the speed limit.
  2. Re:Not a thief by e03179 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You did when your router gave me explicit permission by assigning me an IP address...
    I am not a Wi-Fi hacker, but I'm pretty sure that humans don't get assigned IP addresses.
    --
    -516
  3. Re:no theft here by nanop · · Score: 5, Funny

    We'll today'll be the last time I heat my burrito in the microwave in "Executives Only" lounge, lest I be charged under Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47...

  4. Re:Not a thief by Bandman · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm also pretty sure laptops don't get criminal trials

    --
    Check out my sysadmin blog!
  5. Re:Not a thief by Bandman · · Score: 5, Funny

    If the access point is broadcasting a signal which says that it isn't open I don't use it, even if it's using an insecure system such as WEP which might reasonably be treated as an invitation to hack.

    This is apparently some definition of the term "reasonably" of which I was previously unaware.

    --
    Check out my sysadmin blog!
  6. Re:Not a thief by TheSpatulaOfLove · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm also pretty sure laptops don't get criminal trials Laptops may not, but printers are subject to civil lawsuits - Right, RIAA?
  7. Re:Not a thief by DriedClexler · · Score: 5, Funny

    *sigh*

    Three things are certain in life:

    1. Death
    2. Taxes
    3. Increasingly complicated analogy wars in discussions of wi-fi freeriding

    --
    Information theory is life. The rest is just the KL divergence.
  8. Re:Not a thief by Illbay · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not true. Haven't you heard? The U.S. Supreme Court has now granted full U.S. Constitutional protections to laptops. Even if they're being detained at Gitmo.

    --
    Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
  9. Re:You forgot to add... by rodney+dill · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sorry I'm not at 127.0.0.1 right now, please leave a message... (beep)

    --

    Use your head, can't you, use your head,
    You're on earth, there's no cure for that     - S. Beckett