EFF To Unveil Open Wireless Router For Open Wireless Movement

hypnosec writes A new movement dubbed the Open Wireless Movement is asking users to open up their private Wi-Fi networks to total strangers – a random act of kindness – with an aim of better securing networks and facilitating better use of finite broadband resources. The movement is supported by non-profit and pro-internet rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Mozilla, Open Rights Group, and Free Press among others. The EFF is planning to unveil one such innovation – Open Wireless Router – at the Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE X) conference to be held next month on New York. This firmware will allow individuals to share their private Wi-Fi to total strangers to anyone without a password.

Comments

Reckless

[Anonymous Coward]

Recommending this to users who don't know exactly what they are doing can only be described as reckless. Without significant changes to the law and/or the way the internet works, opening up your network to complete strangers is a minefield and a lawsuit waiting to happen, even if you keep the public Wifi separate and only allow internet access. Please don't put "civilians" at risk to further your cause.

I am fine with sharing as long as QoS and firewall

[mrflash818]

I am fine with sharing my network and wi-fi bandwidth, as long as two conditions are met

1. That the open public Wi-Fi is QoS, so it cannot max out my connection, and starve my own private WPA2/AES wi-fi of needed bandwidth (So yes, I will share, but am gonna be a bit frugal on how much I am willing to share. Don't want someone streaming HD movies for free, but email and regular web browsing bandwidth is OK.)

2. That the open Wi-Fi is fully firewalled and separate from my own home network.

Problem #1: Usage Cap

[Bill_the_Engineer]

My current router allows me to grant guest access to my cable modem with no fear of the guests accessing my local network. Unfortunately thanks to Netflix and Amazon, I'm barely staying within my usage cap with Comcast as it is. Comcast is looking for any excuse to automatically "upgrade" my monthly service for an additional fee, and I'm not going to make that possible by giving away free internet access.

Re:Problem #1: Usage Cap

[mwvdlee]

Problem #2: Liability

In my country, the owner of a router can be held liable for the data transmitted throught it. If some anonymous user uses an open WiFi connection to download child pornography or hacks the pentagon servers, the owner of the router can be held atleast partly responsible. I don't know about regulations in the USA, but I'd damn well make certain the law protects the owner of a router before advising them to open up the connection.

Re:Something like this already exists...

[Anonymous Coward]

No, this is different. FON gives all guest users their own network address and keeps their account on file for the connection, so whatever they do isn't tied to your account. The OpenWireless router does no such thing. While it separates the guests from each other and your local network, their internet access uses your public IP address and if they do anything illegal or offensive, your account comes up for that. This is intentional, sort of, because these "freedom activists" want to create a critical mass of open wireless networks where the IP can not be used to identify the actual perpetrator. One can only hope that they make this very clear to anyone interested in their router. It's one thing to stand up and say "I am Spartacus", it's quite another to point at someone else and say "he is Spartacus".

Re:Doesn't this violate TOS?

[Mr. Slippery]

So, that I know of, no ISP has a program where they police what you do.

My ISP is Sprint/Clearwire. (Complicated corporate and branding relationship.) I got a nastygram from them about peer-to-peer downloads. They didn't care that I was downloads GNU/Linux distros, they didn't want me using PtP at all. (So I got a VPN account and flipped them the bird.)