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is there such a thing? to make a long story short, since moving to a new house i've been stuck on dial-up since December '04. i've been waiting for DSL to become available in my area since then. i've been holding off on going back to cable as dsl is obviously alot cheaper. anyway i couldnt stand it anymore and am scheduled to get cable internet installed in by the end of April.

while messing around with my laptop yesterday evening i was able to view a "unsecure" wireless connection which i suspect is coming from my neighbor next door. i would assume they don't know much about security and all as their wirelless connection is still named "Linksys". Anyway i tried connecting for a couple of minutes and was suprised on how strong the signal was and kinda went on a crazy download rage (what do you expect from someone who's been stuck on dial-up .

anyway i know it's like invading on their privacy/property but if was to just casually go i-net surfing once in a while (till i get my own connection), would that be considered in-appropriate? also if my neighbor is your "average joe" who's compuetr skills only go as far as installing a router in their home would they be able to know i'm connected to their network and track what i'm browsing or even worse view the contents of my laptop other than what i have shared?

they prolly wont see you on.

I have been a jeck and changed every setting I could in others routers, killing their net and all.


I would just use it and make sure your PC is on lock down

i have used and will use wireless in this way, so im not gonna tell you what to do
but i will let u know the risk - depending on your state you will be guilty of the following

theft of services
conspiracy to commit an illegal act
fraud
subscription fraud - dont know how they make this stick it has to do with cell phone cloning
identity theft
invasion of privacy
...

You can also look at it like this... imagine thieir wifi is a light bulb in their house. the light gets out the window where you can see it.. and thus use said light to do whatever. Say they were sending code using the light... its their fault for not closing the blinds (locking the AP) and you just happend to see whats going on.

I say use it but dont be an ass and totlay suck up all the bandwith.

Now that i know it's "there" i don't think i can resist the urge to connect "once in a while" to do some casual surfing. anyway...... i should be getting my own broadband connection in a couple of weeks.

although i think that i'm too paranoid to even try checking my e-mail or logging on to any secure sites which require my password (banking, etc.) due to fear of them finding out what i'm doing on my laptop.

someone in my neighborhood is the same way, completely unsecure, everything is default and I can even access their router config since everyting is default, still need to figure out who it is... though one thing you may want to know, their router will log each DHCP lease, so if they check the config, they will know, though if they left it that insecure, I doubt they know it does it or even know where to check.

Originally posted by RaT
*** anyway i know it's like invading on their privacy/property ***

i reckon u have answered ur own Q.

once ur all set up, i think ur good deed o' the day would be goin' o'er there 'n' clue 'em in on how 2 properly secure their setup,,

Originally posted by ZYFER
someone in my neighborhood is the same way, completely unsecure, everything is default and I can even access their router config since everyting is default, still need to figure out who it is... though one thing you may want to know, their router will log each DHCP lease, so if they check the config, they will know, though if they left it that insecure, I doubt they know it does it or even know where to check.

That's my thoughts about the whole unsecure network thing. When I can get access to router setup pages by using the default password something isn't right and they won't know if I do connect.

RaT: Turn off File & Printer Sharing and make sure your laptop name is not something necessarily identifiable. The DHCP lease section gives the NETBIOS name and the MACID of the connected device. You could also use a static IP address so you don't get a DHCP lease and therefore not trackable.

once ur all set up, i think ur good deed o' the day would be goin' o'er there 'n' clue 'em in on how 2 properly secure their setup,,

Agreed

I leach Wifi from some neighbor at my in-law's condo in Miami whenever I stay down there. THANK GOD otherwise I'd go stir crazy.

As Sov pointed out, technically in some states it's illegal. In reality I doubt anyone will bother you as long as you're not an ass.

If they're not smart enough to lock it down, then I wouldn't feel guilty about using it, since any Wifi NIC will lock onto the first available access point. Just be smart and don't hog all the bandwidth. If for no other reason than if you do, sooner or later they'll enable encryption and cut you off.

Realistically, if you're going to be a power user (and who on PCA isn't) then you really do need your own connection and leaching isn't practical.

However, something you might want to consider is to go find out who's access point you're picking up and ask them if they'd like to split the bill for the broadband with you, since you're getting a strong signal. That way you both save some money.

The reality is that most casual users don't use all their bandwidth, so as long as you both limit your usage, you'll probably be alright (especially if it's 2 Mbit+). You might want to install an app like Netlimiter to cap your download and upload so you don't inadvertantly kill all the bandwidth which can easily happen with downloads and especially with Bittorrent.

turned my lappy on in the hotel today and the only wireless available was a secured net @@@_Pinkerton - didn't play with that one ...hehe

why do you say to turn off file and print sharing?
is it because when you are connected to the router your all on the same exact network?
if the wifi air waves are in your house, then use em. its not lik your parking your car next to their house.

If you leave file and printer sharing enabled, and you have no secure passwords on your network, than anyone can hack in easily.

file and printer sharing should be turned off it would just be creepy if your using there wifi and they find out and print 100 pages of colour on your printer.

anyway i agree with what was said before once your all set up i would consider telling them how to lock down there wifi, you dont have to say you used it just that you "stumbled" accross it.

Originally posted by 123cool
file and printer sharing should be turned off it would just be creepy if your using there wifi and they find out and print 100 pages of colour on your printer.

That's a typical pikachu move right there.... 100 color pages. That's the price of free internet, but see i'd be the type to go over there and ask what i just printed (if i had the unsecure wi-fi, and yes I've run unsecure wi-fi before).