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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Forty bucks for high-speed
Internet access? Not a bad deal. But how does free sound?
To a growing number of Internet piggy-backers, it's
the sweet sound of pirating their neighbor's wireless network.
Most new computers are equipped for wireless
Internet access, and more and more people are opting for Wi-Fi in their
homes. But as the networks become stronger and more prevalent, more of
those signals are available outside the home of the subscriber, spilling
over into neighbor's apartments, hallways and the street.
Add to this the growing number of cafes and other
public "hot spots" that offer Wi-Fi (for wireless fidelity) connections
and the ability to buy more powerful antennas that can pick up signals
several hundred feet away. The coverage in some places can be pretty
near flawless.
One study by Jupiter Research said 14 percent of
wireless network owners have accessed their neighbor's connection. Yet
anecdotal evidence suggests that more and more people are logging on for
free.
"I haven't paid for Internet since I've been in New
York City," said one friend of this reporter. "Ditto," chimed in
another.
And as the practice of using someone else's
connection without paying for it expands, it raises the question: Is
there anything wrong with that?
Will this land you in jail?
The legality of stealing your neighbor's connection
is murky at best.
"All of this stuff is so new, it's hard to say what
the liability issues are," said Robert Hale, a San Francisco-based
attorney who recently published an academic paper on the subject.
Hale points out that there is a federal law on the
books that ostensibly prohibits using someone's access point with out
their permission. But "without permission" is vaguely defined and the
law seems more geared towards computer hacking.
It seems pretty clear that if you hack your
neighbor's password then it could be reasonably argued you didn't have
authorization.
But securing many older wireless systems with a
password is difficult and even newer ones can be a challenge if you're
running multiple computers or multiple operating systems. And, while it
may be a violation of the user agreements with Internet service
providers, some community-minded users deliberately leave their
connections open for others to borrow.
"It's a gray area," said Paul Stamp, an analyst at
the technology consultants Forester Research. "By not restricting access
it could be argued that you're implicitly making that available."
"A broad statement concerning the access of
unprotected wireless networks as being always legal or illegal simply
can't be made," said Jackie Lesch, a spokeswoman for the Department of
Justice. "It's just kind of dicey."
On a federal level, according to Lesch, prosecuting
decisions are made on a case to case basis, mostly depending on the type
of system accessed and what it was accessed for.
On the state level it could be more clear. "It's
unlawful access", said John Geraty, an officer with the Internet crimes
against children unit of the San Francisco Police Department.
According to Geraty, using your neighbor's wireless
is specifically prohibited in the California penal code. "It's not yours
and you're taking it," he says.
But Geraty said his department doesn't deal with
that type of crime specifically and an officer at the department's fraud
desk -- whose jurisdiction it would fall under -- said she couldn't
recall anyone ever being arrested for it.
Experts do agree that the likelihood of getting
caught and prosecuted for stealing a wireless connection probably
depends on how often you do it and how you're using it.
"The damages are really the big issue," said Hale.
"Are you just poking around, checking your e-mail, or are you doing it
on a regular basis and affecting this person's bandwidth?"
Location also seems to play a part.
"If you're in a Manhattan building with 30
apartments that's one thing," said Julie Ask, research director at the
technology consultants Jupiter Research. "But if you're the guy who
parks your car in front of a suburban house in the middle of the night
and you've got the screen from your laptop glowing, well..." speaking of
a man who was
arrested earlier this month in Florida for just that.
Exposing yourself
Legal questions aside, reliability is another
reason to pay for your own access. If you are a heavy user or need the
Internet to work from home, relying on a connection that your neighbor
could shut off at any moment is probably not a good idea.
There is also the possibility that someone could
have set up the unsecured connection as a trap. Experts say it's
possible for the network subscriber to gain at least partial access to
your computer, read your e-mails and see the pages you visit if you are
using their connection. Any personal information you send online could
then be compromised.
So while pirating your neighbor's Wi-Fi it may seem
like a good way to siphon a free service, you may end up feeling pretty
stupid if you get a summons for sneaking a peek at the latest sports
scores or your favorite Web sites are the topic of conversation at the
neighborhood Christmas party.
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Man charged with wireless trespassing,
click here.
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