illeagal?

Yo-Yo

Yo-Yo

Member
Is it iileagal to access someone elses wireless network and use there internet as long as you dont touch there files?
in my neighborhood, i can pick up about 5 different wireless networks at a time.:D Ive got DSL at 256k and they all have some sort of comcast 1000k+
 
misuse of computers, invasion of privacy. the list goes on... i dont think its worth the risk to be honest cos of the amount of trouble you can get into
 
Although if you get their permisson it would be allowed, but it is doubtful that anyone would let you use their internet
 
Yah it's ilegal. And really it's illegal for them to "share" it publicly as well, so even if you do get permission you and them can still get in trouble for sharing. You're supposed to keep your internet access to you own home, letting your neighbors and friends use it isn't allowed, it's basically giving people free internet, and the ISP is losing money.
 
i think it also involves having a license for public transmission of content. they will be transmitting content without a license
 
So basically.....go for it. Haha. Just kidding, yeah a friend of mine did that and got in a whole mess of trouble. I would not suggest it unless you could cover it up very well.
 
Hairy_Lee said:
i think it also involves having a license for public transmission of content. they will be transmitting content without a license
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Not sure what the laws are there in the UK but in the US this is not an issue because in all honesty ANY time you use a wireless router you are "publicly" transmitting content. Of course the wise thing to do is to secure your network. The only time you need a license is for broadcasting a certain stength of radio signals (not certain what though) but a router isn't NEAR that strong.

Yah it's ilegal. And really it's illegal for them to "share" it publicly as well, so even if you do get permission you and them can still get in trouble for sharing. You're supposed to keep your internet access to you own home, letting your neighbors and friends use it isn't allowed, it's basically giving people free internet, and the ISP is losing money.
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It really isn't illegal, it will however violate your providers TOS which could risk you getting your internet shut off. It would however be illegal if they were paying you for your service. However the chances of them catching you share your broadband via wireless router is VERY VERY VERY slim because they would never be able to tell that that computer is outside of your house.
But then of course you are also putting yourself at risk because you don't know if they will be using your internet for illegal activity. Risky business if you ask me and definately not worth it.


Now as for the original post, yes its illegal and not worth the risk. I however have personal issues with this because up untill wireless routers became a common household object nobody "owns" the airwaves (including radio transmissions). This is basically giving people ownership to transmissions.
If someone taps into your phone that is illegal, but if someone receives signal from your cordless phone and listens in, it's not illegal because they don't own those waves. I don't think it should be any different for this situation. Not to mention I think its their own fault for not securing their network.
But then again I also wish people would just suck it up and pay for their own internet. It's not that expensive these days so there is not excuse. I'm torn :P

Anyway, thats just my 2 cents.
 
w8 if thats illegal then y isnt that hotspot wi-fi thing illegal?? or you do pay for wi-fi?? if so how do they kno if you using it?? i see alot of people at those cafe's and starbucks using the internet there. ive even used the wifi on my psp. is that illegal too?
 
Technically, it isn't illegal for the reasons Tom mentioned. Go for it. Just amke sure that you are connecting to an UNSECURED wireless network because guessing WEP keys to invade an encrypted network is illegal.
 
Mr.Suave said:
w8 if thats illegal then y isnt that hotspot wi-fi thing illegal?? or you do pay for wi-fi?? if so how do they kno if you using it?? i see alot of people at those cafe's and starbucks using the internet there. ive even used the wifi on my psp. is that illegal too?
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I think it's because places like Starbucks or w/e uses free wi-fi has a contract/aggreement with the ISP to be able to share access. It brings in business for Starbucks, and the ISP gets publicity (and i imagine a large check.) Businesses and individual home users operate on a different level, i dont think an individual could rig a deal like that.
 
What my definition about free wifi is this: if its un-encrypted and not protected in any way, then its ok to use it for internet surfing, but not downloading. But anything that has to do with "cracking" a code is illegal.
 
What my definition about free wifi is this: if its un-encrypted and not protected in any way, then its ok to use it for internet surfing, but not downloading. But anything that has to do with "cracking" a code is illegal.
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That's pretty much what I go by. If I need to ping a license server or check email, I'll use someone's unsecured wireless.

There seems to be a lot of differing opinions on this. Does anyone have something other than hearsay to support their opinions, such as an actual law or a court ruling establishing presedent? The last I heard was that this was a very gray area and people were waiting for some court rulings.
 
a third degree felony? wow. as far as i know using someone else's wireless connection, even if just for surfing is illegal.
 
lol.. well its their fault they dont set up security for their network now right? LOL. just be like. O... i connected to the wrrrrong network myyyy bad. ehehehe. but yea, do wat u want. i wouldnt recommend stayin connected to their network for a long time. but yea, it is illegal. u can use it as back up if urs is offline for some reason.
 
Yo-Yo said:
Is it iileagal to access someone elses wireless network and use there internet as long as you dont touch there files?
in my neighborhood, i can pick up about 5 different wireless networks at a time.:D Ive got DSL at 256k and they all have some sort of comcast 1000k+
Click to expand...

You got alot to learn....
 
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