[P1] hot spots in the U.S.

[William L Carr]

On Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 10:16  PM, Jack Rodgers wrote:

> On Tuesday, January 28, 2003, at 08:32  PM, Mike Beede wrote:
>
>> Interesting.  Under what law is using someone else's wireless network
>> illegal?  What are the "heavy penalties?"  And how might one "get 
>> nailed"?
>> Just curious.
>
> I ain't no lawyer nor a judge so with a grain of salt, I believe the 
> concept is that of entering someone's computer without their 
> permission. 5 years in jail may seem heavy to some. A network 
> administrator can find out who is using their wifi and then tracing 
> can begin. It may be just as easy as looking out the office window and 
> looking for someone in a parked car with a Macintosh...   :)
>

I put this question to the author of MacStumbler:   Do most WiFi 
networks log all access attempts?   He said essentially, no.   There 
might be a note in the logs but current networking software doesn't 
suck your ID off your laptop.   If the site uses Access Lists, then 
only registered users can get on anyway.  If not, then any passer-by 
can login.   And unless someone writes spyware for the purpose you can 
theoretically borrow bandwidth without getting caught.   Remember, 
you're not really breaking any laws by doing this.   If I went to my 
ISP and logged in, then I'd have access to their Internet, not their 
files.

You could think of this as being no more illegal than parking in a 
Reserved for Customers parking lot downtown.   And less likely to be 
caught.

Jkirk






I once thought about starting a club to discuss the philosophy of 
Fatalism.
But then I realized that even if anyone came, they'd only come to steal 
the folding chairs.