What constitutes authorized access? Must it be explicit, or can it be inferred? If there is a drinking fountain in the lobby, am I to assume I need explicit authorization to use it? At a local café, the toilets are clearly marked as "for customer use only". While hardly a comprehensive method for deterring freeloaders, violators of the sign's edict can at least be labeled as thieves with some credence. My point is that I believe the onus is on the owner of wireless network to identify it as a private resource; especially when it is publicly accessible, and actively soliciting users (a phenomenon documented by Warchalkers). There are those who deliberately share network access with the public. How can a laptop discern intent without the metaphorical sign? Ironically, by Nokia's reasoning companies that pollute public areas with broadcast packets are also guilty of "unauthorized access". A wireless enabled computer will react to broadcast traffic. Whether or not I participate on a wireless network, if my computer detects broadcast packets, I'm losing precious CPU cycles.
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What constitutes authorized access? Must it be explicit, or can it be inferred? If there is a drinking fountain in the lobby, am I to assume I need explicit authorization to use it? At a local café, the toilets are clearly marked as "for customer use only". While hardly a comprehensive method for deterring freeloaders, violators of the sign's edict can at least be labeled as thieves with some credence. My point is that I believe the onus is on the owner of wireless network to identify it as a private resource; especially when it is publicly accessible, and actively soliciting users (a phenomenon documented by Warchalkers). There are those who deliberately share network access with the public. How can a laptop discern intent without the metaphorical sign? Ironically, by Nokia's reasoning companies that pollute public areas with broadcast packets are also guilty of "unauthorized access". A wireless enabled computer will react to broadcast traffic. Whether or not I participate on a wireless network, if my computer detects broadcast packets, I'm losing precious CPU cycles.