Stop stealing my wireless signal….
There was an interesting discussion in the New York Times (subscription required) this morning about the art of piggybacking–essentially hopping on board someone elses wireless network–without their permission.
Of the estimeated 16 million wireless households out there–I would guess that a small percentage bother with properly protecting their wireless network. The article mentions how Humphrey Cheung (the editor of tomshardware.com) and some freinds, actually flew over Los Angeles scanning for open wireless networks with their laptops and found more than 4,500 wireless networks–and only 30 percent were encrypted. I’m betting this percentage is on the high side, nationally.
Is it stealing? I’m not inclined to think so. I will admit that the few times that I have come across an unprotected signal, I did not take advantage of it–it just felt too weird. However, if someone prefers not to protect their signal, then they should assume that someone out there could be tapping in on their wireless world.
So be it.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I have to say that I don’t see anything wrong with piggybacking, as long as the person doing the piggybacking is respectful of the law and the bandwidth limitations of a person’s wireless network.
Like some of the people featured in the Times article, I’ve used other people’s unsecured networks to check and send e-mail in a pinch. Obviously I understand that not everyone is going to be quite so respectful. There are people out there who will send out huge volumes of spam or download kiddie porn from using your ISP and then leave you to take the rap.
It’s unfortunate that such people exist. And it’s why the wireless network in my home is secured.
Leave a Comment