Patio Wireless Access

[ntractv]

Last week I was sitting on my girlfriends patio and out of general curiosity I activated the WLAN on my iPAQ 5555. Instantly, I have a access to the Internet free and clear. I look around and I see several sat dishes on the rooftops. I figure this is where I am getting connected, or, someone has a WiFi hotspot somewhere in the townhouses or a cable modem. My question: Am I being unethical piggybacking off of this signal or is it OK. I'm not a hacker or cracker, but, I really don't want to be doing this if it's not ok.

[SHoTTa35]

wireless is sweeettt111! doing it now over bluetooth1!

I say it's ok as long as you aren't stealing or looking at their files.

[Bob Anderson]

I concur... if all you are doing is accessing the internet through this "unprotected" access point, then by all means feel free.

Where you'd be crossing the line is if you used this connection for an illegal purpose, such as:

1) using the ip address to send spam
2) engaging in generally unacceptable internet activity (such as downloading kiddie porn)
3) using the access to gain access to the owner's computers

I'm sure others could add to the list...

Oh, and don't forget, without the proper security... who knows what that owner may be doing to you! (i.e. they could be running a packet sniffer and capturing all the data you are sending through their access point!!!)

Have fun and, as your mom might say, "be careful."

[CoreyJF]

I do it all the time and leave mine unsecure so others can do the same. I would only block a mac if someone was consitanlt using heavy loads of bandwith. More likely I would see them sitting on one of the benches below or a neighboring balcony or deck and would first ask them to cut back on bandwith intesive stuff.

[Fzara]

If I was surfing the net using their connection, would there be anyway I could protect my files and data from THEM sniffing me?

[Jason Dunn]

If I was surfing the net using their connection, would there be anyway I could protect my files and data from THEM sniffing me?

As long as you un-share any shared folders on your laptop, you're safe from 99% of snoops. On a Pocket PC, I'm not sure how anyone would be able to snoop on your device...

[ntractv]

Thanks to all of you. The main thing i was doing was checking this site and my e-mails. I feel better now. :wink:

[PoweriPaq]

How do you check if someone you don't know is using too much bandwidth? How do I even know if someone is using my connection, that's the first question.

Thanks.

I concur... if all you are doing is accessing the internet through this "unprotected" access point, then by all means feel free.

Where you'd be crossing the line is if you used this connection for an illegal purpose, such as:

1) using the ip address to send spam
2) engaging in generally unacceptable internet activity (such as downloading kiddie porn)
3) using the access to gain access to the owner's computers

I'm sure others could add to the list...

Oh, and don't forget, without the proper security... who knows what that owner may be doing to you! (i.e. they could be running a packet sniffer and capturing all the data you are sending through their access point!!!)

Have fun and, as your mom might say, "be careful."

[dangerwit]

Last week I was sitting on my girlfriends patio and out of general curiosity I activated the WLAN on my iPAQ 5555. Instantly, I have a access to the Internet free and clear. I look around and I see several sat dishes on the rooftops. I figure this is where I am getting connected, or, someone has a WiFi hotspot somewhere in the townhouses or a cable modem. My question: Am I being unethical piggybacking off of this signal or is it OK. I'm not a hacker or cracker, but, I really don't want to be doing this if it's not ok.

Well, you could be using a connection someone in a residence is paying for. A company could liken it to splitting your neighbor's cable TV and using it at your house for free. Regardless of use, it may not be entirely legal.

Assuming you must run a zero-config setup, what do you get for an SSID? Don't post it here, but perhaps it may give you a clue. Also, since you're getting an IP, DHCP is active; use a net tool to find out your default gateway and see if it gives you a NAT-like IP (192.168.x.x or something), or perhaps it gives an IP you could do a reverse-lookup on.

Finally, if that doesn't work because of NAT, go to a website that tells you your IP address. If you're on a NAT-enabled home LAN (likely), you'll get the IP of the router as visible to the internet, and you can use that result for a reverse lookup to find out the provider.

*Phil