Would you admit to this??

[npmommie]

so last evening at the gym another mom and I were chatting about computers and email, and she says " we don't have internet, we just tap into our neighbors wi fi, they don't know"

so obviously the neighbor doesn't have security on their network, but would you just announce to people that you are basically on someones network without them knowing or agreeing to it?
I thought it was odd.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I know quite a few people who admit to this... and then, they compain about how that kind of connection can be slow! I just think, "Idiot!"

 

[dawson5]

we have two neighbors with unsecured networks, we've told them about it (once we figured out who owned them) and they choose not to do anything about it.

 

[disbridemimi]

it is way more common than you think! I used to work for an internet provider and people would call to complain about speed all the time, when they were tapping someone elses signal.(FYI if you are stealing someone else's signal, you do not get to complain about speed people)

People need to secure their network and if they do not, then this is what they get. When I set up my internet I picked up several open networks, it would have been easy for us to do this as well, but we need a secure connection for our own use.

 

[dawson5]

it is way more common than you think! I used to work for an internet provider and people would call to complain about speed all the time, when they were tapping someone elses signal.(FYI if you are stealing someone else's signal, you do not get to complain about speed people)

People need to secure their network and if they do not, then this is what they get. When I set up my internet I picked up several open networks, it would have been easy for us to do this as well, but we need a secure connection for our own use.

LOL on the speed issue, nothing surprises me anymore with people. What would worry me if ours was unsecured, would be someone tapping into our service and downloading copyrighted stuff that would be traced back to our connection. No way do I want to deal with that potential lawsuit waiting to happen. This was the main reason we told our neighbors about this, one of the signals that we pick up is owned by a retired couple, I'm not sure if they know how to put the protection in place. My oldest has offered to help them in the past.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

LOL on the speed issue, nothing surprises me anymore with people. What would worry me if ours was unsecured, would be someone tapping into our service and downloading copyrighted stuff that would be traced back to our connection. No way do I want to deal with that potential lawsuit waiting to happen. This was the main reason we told our neighbors about this, one of the signals that we pick up is owned by a retired couple, I'm not sure if they know how to put the protection in place. My oldest has offered to help them in the past.

And not just copyrighted stuff, buy anything illegal! That is enough to make me want to have a secure network.

 

[FireDancer]

Not only are you insane for leaving your WiFi open for all to see but you are also insane for jumping on one.

I have the know how if I wanted to open up my router for all to see and then sit here and collect all of their packets to get user names and password for all of your sites. On the other side I would have the same ability to sit here and attach to a neighbors router and do the same.

I wouldn't, but the person who is leaving their WiFi hotspot opened may doing just that.

For those of you with WiFi routers who are not sure how to secure them, do the following:

Change the admin password

Change the default SSID

Turn on at least WPA encryption and preferably WPA2. The first may be called WPA(TKIP) while the second may be called WPA(AES). Do not use WEP, it is useless.

Turn off WAN administrator access.

Turn off uPNP (universal Plug and Play)

Use a strong PSK (Pre Shared Key) that is preferably 20 characters long or more. If you router accepts all ASCII characters then make sure to chose upper case letters, lower cast letters, numbers, and symbols. Make sure there are no actual words in it. You can go to this site and get a randomly generated passkey that looks something like:
kAGx/L(nFn>^hDyC2a3rtKLg<W

If you do all of this you will have a secure wireless access point/router.

 

[LuvOrlando]

No I wouldn't admit it, and I wouldn't do it either.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

heres a thought, in some states, it is considerd a crime to do that. Its called theft of services.

and yes several cases have made the news, the ISP "thief" was prosecuted.


know your state laws!

 

[XTinabell]

I had a friend not only admit to using her neighbours wifi but also to guessing the password (correctly, obviously) the neighbours had used. She was so proud she told everyone.

 

[WDWBarb]

DH had a user at his office bring in her laptop so he could set it up so that she could get on her neighbor's wireless.

His response was, "Um... no."

 

[OceanAnnie]

Not only are you insane for leaving your WiFi open for all to see but you are also insane for jumping on one.

I have the know how if I wanted to open up my router for all to see and then sit here and collect all of their packets to get user names and password for all of your sites. On the other side I would have the same ability to sit here and attach to a neighbors router and do the same.

I wouldn't, but the person who is leaving their WiFi hotspot opened may doing just that.

For those of you with WiFi routers who are not sure how to secure them, do the following:

Change the admin password

Change the default SSID

Turn on at least WPA encryption and preferably WPA2. The first may be called WPA(TKIP) while the second may be called WPA(AES). Do not use WEP, it is useless.

Turn off WAN administrator access.

Turn off uPNP (universal Plug and Play)

Use a strong PSK (Pre Shared Key) that is preferably 20 characters long or more. If you router accepts all ASCII characters then make sure to chose upper case letters, lower cast letters, numbers, and symbols. Make sure there are no actual words in it. You can go to this site and get a randomly generated passkey that looks something like:
kAGx/L(nFn>^hDyC2a3rtKLg<W

If you do all of this you will have a secure wireless access point/router.

That's nice of you.

 

[NC State]

No I wouldn't admit it, and I wouldn't do it either.

I agree, it's sad but I wonder if anyone is honest anymore.

 

[arminnie]

Different perspective here:
I did it (used others' wifi) all the time after Katrina. It took almost 8 months to finally get internet service installed. I used any internet connection that I could find. I do have my own now - and yes it is secured. But I might unsecure it during a disaster to help others.

My dad just moved into a retirement home. We left his router unsecured as many of the residents cannot afford to pay extra for intenet. None of his financial transactions take place on this network.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

None of my neighbors have a strong enough connection to be worth stealing

I think we are the one of the few houses around with a secured network. I can pick up a few unsecured networks at work (all businesses) and when I'm out on the road I can almost always pick up an unsecured network from the various office buildings & businesses that we visit. I'm sure some of those networks are designed to be open as a courtesy to visiting business people to be able to use the wi-fi in lounges etc. but I can guarantee they aren't all designed with the purpose of offering free wifi

 

[koima]

We have a friend who is a helpdesk guy for an internet provider. He was telling us about a woman who called outraged that her service wasn't working. He couldn't find her in the system and she insisted that she'd been using it for years and he'd better send someone out to come fix it. He asked, "Did your neighbor move recently?" She said, "Oh" and hung up.

 

[pyrxtc]

well, my network is open and my neighbors feel free to sign on in their house, I guess I could technically close it but then I would have to give them a password so they can use it. One neighbor is on limited income and we have even offered to set her up with a direct line to her house so she can have it without going wireless. Heck, my DH even went over to make sure she could pick it up and set up her laptop to do so. My other neighbor hardly ever uses it but occasionally needs to do so. Our library closes at 5 pm so there are no public ways.

 

[pyrxtc]

oh, and we use an open network when we rent our beach house in the summer. We don't know which house around us it belongs to but my DH needs it at times to get some work things done. We thank them for not securing.

 

[Disneyadore]

Google "piggybacking" and see how this could be punished.

 

[tomthebarncat]

I am not a thief and I have ethical integrity. I also would no longer continue a friendship with someone who would brag about stealing internet. I do not need or want people like that in my life.