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Java_Bob · 03-26-2006, 08:14 AM

Illinois Man Fined For Piggybacking On Wi-Fi Service

By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb News

In Illinois, riding piggyback on someone else's Wi-Fi could cost you some money.
David M. Kauchak, 32, pleaded guilty this week in Winnebago County to remotely accessing someone else's computer system without permission, the Rockford Register Star newspaper reported. A Winnebago County judge fined Kauchak $250 and sentenced him to one year of court supervision.
Kauchak has the dubious distinction of being the first person to face the charge in Winnebago County, and prosecutors say they're taking the crime seriously.
"We just want to get the word out that it is a crime. We are prosecuting it, and people need to take precautions," Assistant State's Attorney Tom Wartowski told the newspaper.

i need to be careful when i do this now
A police officer arrested Kauchak in January after spotting him sitting in a parked car with a computer. A chat with the suspect led to the arrest, Wartowski said.

slagburn · 03-26-2006, 12:12 PM

There has got to be a little more to this story than we're being told, if he was piggybacking on an open access point then the fine the fawkers who left it open... or find out if they care. There are all sorts of open access points all over the place; I have a few friends who live behind a street of coffee shops.. it's like having 5 ISPs to chose from when you turn on a wireless device in their area as all of them are open to a point.

If this guy was using some sort of tool to break through security measures (tools to break WEP are all over the net now) then I can see the issue.

Here's the slagmans guide to wireless security... when yer not using it - TURN IT OFF, why give someone an invitation to come play?

***JulianW*** · 03-27-2006, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slagburn

There has got to be a little more to this story than we're being told, if he was piggybacking on an open access point then the fine the fawkers who left it open... or find out if they care. There are all sorts of open access points all over the place; I have a few friends who live behind a street of coffee shops.. it's like having 5 ISPs to chose from when you turn on a wireless device in their area as all of them are open to a point.

If this guy was using some sort of tool to break through security measures (tools to break WEP are all over the net now) then I can see the issue.

Here's the slagmans guide to wireless security... when yer not using it - TURN IT OFF, why give someone an invitation to come play?

There was a very similar prosecution in London last year, the bloke has a detection device and would drive around the streets looking out for a decent signal, if he then found that it wasn't password protected he'd use it for his internet access from his laptop in the car.

slagburn · 03-27-2006, 06:54 AM

Look up n e t s t u m b l e r.

Can even be tied into GPS and record locations of various signals.

***Archibald J. Cox*** · 03-27-2006, 07:56 AM

WEP key and MAC filter and stop broadcasting!

***JulianW*** · 03-27-2006, 09:58 AM

Change the basic pre-configured password on the hub to something else (anything else!)

slagburn · 03-27-2006, 10:05 AM

Down in SanDiego there is a group (socalfreenet I think) that sets up wireless hotspots for Apartment complexs and things of that nature... if someone has a laptop in a car surfing off of an access point that was setup to provide free access then what's the issue?

I'm just trying to find the point at which it becomes a crime to surf from an open access point.

***papa-bear*** · 03-27-2006, 10:13 AM

If they are open, the people who own them want them used. I seem to be able to find one open when ever I need access.

Home, I lock it down and hide the SSID. Know this won't keep everyone out but it will keep enough of them away.

They are talking about setting up a wireless mesh across the whole city here for low bandwidth free access to give everyone a chance to play.

***JulianW*** · 03-27-2006, 10:13 AM

Some of the town centres over here are fitting the free access points so that you can be anywhere in the town centre and still be on-line. I'm still to be convinced that it's a good thing though.

slagburn · 03-27-2006, 10:25 AM

I have a free access point setup that is experimental in nature; it doesn't get a lot of traffic and doesn't allow anything other then web surfing, no IMing, no music sharing, no VPN and stuff of that nature.

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