Computers| Computers |
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07-07-2005, 05:05 PM
| #1 (permalink) |
| Security/Hacking Mod  Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 23,861
|  Man charged with stealing Wi-Fi signal Man charged with stealing Wi-Fi signal Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony. Police say Smith admitted using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Richard Dinon, who had noticed Smith sitting in an SUV outside Dinon's house using a laptop computer. The practice is so new that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement doesn't even keep statistics, according to the St. Petersburg Times, which reported Smith's arrest this week. Innocuous use of other people's unsecured Wi-Fi networks is common. But experts say that illegal use often goes undetected, such as people sneaking on others' networks to traffic in child pornography, steal credit card information and send death threats. Security experts say people can prevent such access by turning on encryption or requiring passwords, but few bother or even know how to do so. Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, has enjoyed prolific growth since 2000. Millions of households have set up wireless home networks that allow people to use the Web from their backyards but also reach the house next door or down the street. Prosecutors declined to comment, and a working phone number could not be located for Smith.
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07-07-2005, 08:06 PM
| #3 (permalink) |
| FDISK Certified Tech  Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,655
 | Too funny and too true!!
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07-08-2005, 12:56 AM
| #4 (permalink) |
| Master Techie  Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Fort Lewis, WA
Posts: 2,503
| If i was doing it, you would not see me!!!!  I got a handheld bidirectional antenna with a 12db gain. What does this mean???? I can pwn your wireless network. Simple as that.
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07-08-2005, 09:01 AM
| #6 (permalink) |
| Newb Techie Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 10
| I ran into a free connection like this two days ago while testing wireless equipment in my frined's new office. Just turned on a machine and it connected to a wireless DSL router. Got IP and gateway assigned and Internet access so no ecryption and DHCP on the router was enabled. Haven't figured out who the owner was but must have been close as I got 54Mb connection. My friend office is on the ground floor next to the street. With that signal strength, anyone on the street could have free access. |
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07-08-2005, 09:37 AM
| #7 (permalink) |
| Monster Techie Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,087
 | same here, I was working on my cousin's laptop and fixing it for her before she goes to college, had a 400 mbps wireless card installed and i was getting some signals from somewhere, not sure where, wasnt getting any internet access so must've been protected or something.
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