Your post leads to confusion.. not that it has anything wrong in it, but it has the potential to confuse:
__1__ His MAC address, when he connected to the local gateway, was logged.
You suggest using tor for protection; tor wouldn't have helped this person. Tor obfuscates IPs.
__2__ Another poster writes that he's sure the FBI would use a MAC address database to track the person down.
This would prove *extremely* difficult, and generally not plausible. There is a "database"[1], but it's a pretty granular database, with the equivalent of old-school "Class A" (256^3) blocks of addressing[2], going to the manufacturer-on-record of that NIC.
It's also important to know, folks, that just because you change your MAC address, it doesn't mean you're "secure". Infact, if you do it on any of many wired networks, port-security will kick in and you'll be administratively (automagically) shutdown.
There's very very little anonymity, if any, left on the Internet these days.
And call it what it is -- just because there's a wireless signal, and it happens to reach into your home, doesnt mean you can use it. It's still "theft of services," and tack on some aggravated Theft By Deception, Exceeding Authorized Access, Circumventing a device connected to a Critical Infrastructure, one could even make a stretch argument to identity theft.
I'm all for finding new and fun ways to get around systems.. but break down and buy a router already, eh?:-)
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Your attitude reminds me of the folk at Playboy, who are so computer-phobic that they still use Typewriters for correspondence..
I guess you don't *really* "have" to adapt, but sheesh, you're probably missing out too..
Your post leads to confusion .. not that it has anything wrong in it, but it has the potential to confuse:
:-)
__1__
His MAC address, when he connected to the local gateway, was logged.
You suggest using tor for protection; tor wouldn't have helped this person. Tor obfuscates IPs.
__2__
Another poster writes that he's sure the FBI would use a MAC address database to track the person down.
This would prove *extremely* difficult, and generally not plausible.
There is a "database"[1], but it's a pretty granular database, with the equivalent of old-school "Class A" (256^3) blocks of addressing[2], going to the manufacturer-on-record of that NIC.
It's also important to know, folks, that just because you change your MAC address, it doesn't mean you're "secure". Infact, if you do it on any of many wired networks, port-security will kick in and you'll be administratively (automagically) shutdown.
There's very very little anonymity, if any, left on the Internet these days.
And call it what it is -- just because there's a wireless signal, and it happens to reach into your home, doesnt mean you can use it. It's still "theft of services," and tack on some aggravated Theft By Deception, Exceeding Authorized Access, Circumventing a device connected to a Critical Infrastructure, one could even make a stretch argument to identity theft.
I'm all for finding new and fun ways to get around systems.. but break down and buy a router already, eh?
[1] IEEE OUI
[2] 00->ff ^ 3