Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Ask Slashdot: Best Way To Leave My Router Open?

Posted by timothy on from the tomayto-tomahto-ddwrt dept.

generalhavok writes "I read the story on Slashdot earlier about the EFF encouraging people to leave their WiFi open to share the internet. I would like to do this! I don't mind sharing my connection and letting my neighbors check their email or browse the web. However, when I used to leave it open, I quickly found my limited bandwidth dissappearing, as my neighbors started using it heavily by streaming videos, downloading large files, and torrenting. What is an easy way I can share my internet, while enforcing some limits so there is enough bandwidth left for me? What about separating the neighbors from my internal home network? Can this be done with consumer-grade routers? If the average consumer wants to share, what's the easiest and safest way to do it?"

5 of 520 comments (clear)

  1. Think again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wasn't it just this week that we had the lovely account of someone getting the SWAT treatment just for leaving their router free and open?

    1. Re:Think again by ethan0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You, and the many other commenters who agree with you have it completely backwards. Your linked story is exactly why more people should open up their networks.

      Fear of the police abusing their power is a terrible reason to avoid doing a perfectly legal action. Yes, it's more convenient, but if everybody goes along with the police abusing their power in that manner, it implicitly becomes acceptable. Providing internet to other people is not illegal, and not a good reason to get your door kicked in, and the police should know this. The consequence for the police not knowing this should NOT be more people cowering in fear. It should be that whoever is affected files suit against the police and the police are sanctioned for their actions.

      Nobody wants to go through that, of course. But we should.

  2. DD-WRT + QoS by seanmcelroy · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's absolutely possible and fairly easy these days with out of the box router firmwares, or if yours doesn't support QoS (Quality of Service), then you can potentially put on an open-source firmware -- DD-WRT to provide that ability and much more. QoS lets you designate classes of traffic, such as streaming, gaming, and other protocols, or particular devices on a WAN or plugged into the router itself and set priorities for them. Doing this, you can share your WiFi AP (good for you!), but also get the lions' share of your bandwidth when you are wanting to use it.

    --
    Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. -Thomas Cardinal Wolsey
  3. Just be careful with that by WiglyWorm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It can get you in to trouble

    That said, I leave my wifi router open as well, but if you're going to do it you have to do it knowing the risks. Being accused of kiddie porn, for instance, is going to stick with you forever, regardless of guilt or innocence.

  4. Re:Two routers by spazdor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and what is the benefit again?

    Living in the kind of world where other people might do the same for you.

    --
    DRM: Terminator crops for your mind!