>>Incidentally, where does PLUG stand on the issue of piracy as it
>>relates to wifi? (I'm not a pirate and my own wifi is locked down. :-)
>
>
> Well, since PLUG is not an entity, it has no stand. PLUG members may take
> stands, however. And, as we see in the list, many do take stands on various
> topics!
>
> First off I don't like the term piracy as it blurs the true legal definition
> of various illegal acts. The original definition of the word has to do with
> ships and the high seas. Recently it is usually associated with copyright
> infringement and that is incorrect, IMO. So I am not sure you can apply
> piracy to using another's wifi.
>
> IMO using someone's bandwidth without permission is stealing. The phone line
> for one of my neighbors actually comes out of my junction box and is buried
> on my property. (My lines are newer.) Is it OK to patch my home phone into
> my neighbor's phone line and use that, as long as he is not using it? It's
> on my property and he'd never know, if I am careful. Despite the fact that
> wifi is different because physical access to a line is not needed and the
> electromagnetic waves are passing over my property, I have a hard time
> justifying taking bandwidth paid for by another. Ethically I think it is
> wrong and I would not do it.
>
> My opinion is not to be construed to be in accord with the spirit or letter of
> any current law. I have no idea of the actual legal status of using
> someone's wifi without their permission.
My understanding of the current legal state of WiFi is this: Wireless
frequencies are controlled by the FCC. To prevent lawsuits of trespassing that
would impact groups like satellite signal providers (e.g. Dish Network) these
signals are in the public space and so can be listened to by anyone capable of
receiving them. What you cannot do is attempt to break any kind of encryption
that the signal has around the data to extract it.
So, if what you pick up is in the clear (e.g. no encryption), then you are
perfectly in the LEGAL right to use it. This is why people with the Big Ugly
Dishes (6 foot, C/Ku band) were perfectly in their right to listen to the
downlinks from satellites to the ground stations and watch the shows coming in
"off-band" (I think that is the term).
The same applies to wireless networking. If you don't take any effort to secure
your wireless AP from unauthorized use (e.g. WEP, no SID broadcast, etc...),
then legally I can access your network, your systems and your bandwidth and you
would be legally accountable for the use under US law and ISP Terms of Service.
However, if you did lock down your network to try and prevent unauthorized
access, you might have some legal buffer protection. But, you would have to
show that you had taken measures and that you were unaware of the access.
Thankfully their are ways to help secure WAPs even tighter than what the
manufacturers give you. You can place them in a DMZ and require something like
a VPN connection to another system to get access beyond the WAP. You could
paint your interior walls with a paint that blocks the propogation of wireless
frequencies (though this will affect more than just wireless networks). You
could upgrade from the retail WAPs to something like a Cisco WAP with LEAP (or
newer protocols), etc....
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