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01-17-2009, 06:51 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2007
1,091 posts, read 922,008 times
Reputation: 165
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trainwreck20
It could be, but apartment turnover is generally pretty high, so your neighbor with the non-encrypted wireless could move at any time. Or they could decide to encypt, especially if they notice an increase in lag/decrease in bandwidth  .
On the other hand, it is completely legal, as far as I know, to piggyback on someones signal. A few years ago when I had moved out of my house and it was for sale, I found out I could just barely get a signal from a neighbor and it was quite convienent for checking online while I was over working on the house..... |
It actually may be illegal
Florida man charged with felony for wardriving |
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01-17-2009, 09:27 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Oct 2007
520 posts, read 418,816 times
Reputation: 164
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In some states, it's explicitly illegal. In all states, it's implicitly illegal. It's a form of stealing. It's stealing a paid service. It may also be seen as an attempt to steal personal information. And, yes, the IP can be detected and traced to a specific user.
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01-17-2009, 09:46 AM
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Real Estate Agent
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: SW Austin
2,583 posts, read 2,227,172 times
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I notice as I travel around town that my iPhone automatically picks up and connects to wireless connections named "linksys", since that's the name of my home wifi and my phone is set up to automatically connect. It must not know the difference between my "linksys" and the 1,000s of others out there. I guess many homes and businesses keep that default linksys name when they set up their wireless network.
It comes in pretty handy for me though, because it's normally a lot faster than 3G.
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01-17-2009, 11:36 AM
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Senior Member
Status:
"Green cards received. Yah!"
(set 10 days ago)
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Dripping Springs , TX
713 posts, read 379,372 times
Reputation: 140
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Quote:
Originally Posted by austin-steve
I notice as I travel around town that my iPhone automatically picks up and connects to wireless connections named "linksys", since that's the name of my home wifi and my phone is set up to automatically connect. It must not know the difference between my "linksys" and the 1,000s of others out there. I guess many homes and businesses keep that default linksys name when they set up their wireless network.
It comes in pretty handy for me though, because it's normally a lot faster than 3G.
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If you have a Linksys wireless router at home, that is the default wireless network name that was in the router when you turned it on. They recommend you change this immediately for the reason you just outlined above.
Normally the people that have chosen not too change the name also have never learned how to set up WEP security so their networks are open and unsecured. The same comments made through this thread apply to you as well. By automatically linking to these unsecured networks, you may be exposing your iPhone to security risks. What would happen if someone captured your contact list from your iPhone, or other info you may have on there.
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01-17-2009, 12:05 PM
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Member
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Granville, NY
36 posts, read 26,817 times
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OK, thanks for the info. I should mention that I am running a MacBook Pro. I have my firewalls secured and my file sharing turned off. Would I still be at risk?
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01-18-2009, 12:49 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2008
131 posts, read 72,939 times
Reputation: 31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwnulife
OK, thanks for the info. I should mention that I am running a MacBook Pro. I have my firewalls secured and my file sharing turned off. Would I still be at risk?
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Yes, the information you upload/download is still passing across an unsecured/unencrypted network.
The firewall is great but does not completely protect you. Many firewalls, without the user knowing, actually leave open some ports leaving you vulnerable to attack.
The chances that a hacker is going to take the time to battle your firewall is very very slim. There are to many people out there without a firewall that make their task much easier. |
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01-18-2009, 07:39 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 2007
216 posts, read 186,085 times
Reputation: 49
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At the very least, folks with a linksys router who don't change the network name must change the administrative password. The default is admin and anyone who connects to your network, and is disposed to do so, can wreak havoc just by going in and changing your network settings.
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01-18-2009, 11:45 AM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 2007
232 posts, read 180,912 times
Reputation: 37
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