EM Radiation is coming into MY PROPERTY and you’re saying I shouldn’t have a right to utilize it?

I think much like anything else in this world, someone wants money or you are not getting what they have and if you are getting what they have and are not paying for it, they will find a way to make you pay anyway even if it is an intrusion into your air space. That is OK because there is money to be made and you are not making them money so you are the persecuted. Of course, they will be backed by state and government because they too (state & government) get paid by what is whacked for taxes so why wouldn’t they back them? Keeps all of them happy. What would make even more happy and create less to no stealing is if they lowered the price and made it affordable to the masses instead of making it affordable only to those who are better off than the rest.

I never did get why it is done this way, as I see it if they feel they are going to loose, they are going to make it up in volume what they think they lose in jacking the cost so less pay for it at a higher price. I refuse to pay the exorbitant prices of what they want for technology, so I go without it. I am not paying the ridiculous prices they gouge out of people. There is no reason they cannot make it more affordable, it has been around long enough now and the costs usually come down, but it hasn’t really for the net and cable. I think it is all a joke and that the one’s who pay the high costs set the precedent for the rest that follow. Once someone is willing to pay higher prices and the companies know they have them hooked it is all over, they do not have to lower their prices and therefore, do not. Due to they know someone is going to pay what they ask because they just have to have the lastest this or that. They would all starve if they waited on me. I believe in a fair price for a fair product. I do not see what they charge as a fair price for a fair procudt at all! So, I have the minimum that allows me to use the net as I need to and that is it. I totally refuse to hand over to the cable companies what they want and will more than likely never sign on for cable. On top of it all they repeat so much that you can get that for free on the new digital chanellling. And they wonder why people’s health is not what it used to be, well in the past you spent less time inside and more outside and the food content had more nutrients. Another reason not to buy into all the advertised BS and prices charged when that money can go to better uses than the net and cable, like healthy living for one. Most subjects tend to have more far reaching affects and aspects than what is sitting at the forfront and this is one of those subjects that a lot of side discussions could come out of.

Have a great day/night!

Again, just my two cents.

How this can be construed as “stealing” I cannot fathom.

If you break a password or encryption, you are guilty of “unauthorized access of a computer network” and are morally in the wrong. If you access a network that freely grants you permission, then how could this possibly be wrong? I leave my access point open so that my neighbors and nearby travelers can access the net for free. You should, too (with appropriate safeguards).

Simply reading your newspaper online via a neighbor’s connection won’t hurt anything! It won’t slow them down, it’s not like your viewing child porn…what is the big stinkin deal??

The folks that would cause trouble will likely find a way to do so no matter what, so resources probably shouldn’t be wasted trying to close this particular lil loophole.

Not everyone is cut out to be or have the lots of money in the pocket syndrome due to having been able to learn and earn better than another who may have or has difficulties that hold them back, We never really know the reasons why some do better than others and it is not all laziness either, and some to most are not liars, they really have difficulties and no one in grade school on up picked up on it or did anything to get them to be a better learner and better educated and able to make more money. So many things stem from the beginning of a person’s time and how they cope and adapt to what is around them and how they then deal with life as an adult as a result of it). Not all things in life are a it just happened thing. some is through an accumulation of time. My reason for being neutral on many things. You do not know the motive and, no, I am not saying stealing anything is right. But, I do have compassion and understanding for those who feel the need to obtain their internet connection that way, especially if they have to have it and cannot afford the exorbitant pricing that could easily be made up in volume what is lost in cost.

And, I honestly do not think they lose anything in cost, it is much like the housing industry, it is the gluttony of America of the few who can take from the less fortunate to benefit the corporate bottom line and then get to walk away scott free for making a mess of it all. The prices charged are ridiculous and there are those that the internet is their only means of communication with the outside world and have even helped to say lives of some. I just believe in it should be accessible to all and not the select few who can afford more than the less fortunate. And, we are supposed to have compassion for our fellow man. Does anyone know what has happened to that latley??? Just my take on it all.

The other way around it could be that if someone lives in an apartment complex or tenement then make the whole building wired up with a reduced fee that is either included in the rent or that is paid by each individual monthly with the rent and if they do not pay they get blocked somehow. I do not know all there is to know on how signals work and all, but there has to be a better way to make it more accessible to the masses and not just the few who has more money to do as they please.

The part I do think needs to be addressed is if someone is downloading content that could create a legal situation that you had nothing to do with. To which, I do not have an answer as I am not an IT of any sort just like the rest of the world, paying for the line of service I have and what I pay for is not all they crack it up to be when pitching you to sign on with them and their famous comeon lines at signup of how much better their service is when they do timeouts that no one said would happen therefor violating your right to use what you pay for. So, it is not just the consumer that rips off the company, but the company that rips off the consumer. Anyone know how to stop timeouts from happening and then they use the guise it is for security.

If their security is that poor then they need to do something about it as I wrote to customer service which is not service at all. I got a reply that was automated answers based on some tag words and then another automated reply that lead me to nowhere at all but where I started. Many ISP’s are a joke and have no problem screwing the public, but do not like it in return. I was raised that turnabout is fair play, meaning don’t do to me what you do not want done to yourself, period. I think what others to to harm another comes back on them without having to afford the recourse on your own, I am not spiteful and so let nature take its course most of the time, unless legal avenues need to be taken otherwise.

Thanks for reading my two cents worth, I guess I am more laid back on some issues than others and have a more sharing nature due to growing up in a big family. It is sort of second nature to be that way, share and share alike or no one gets.

Personal responsibility.

If you dont want people using a open connection you have, secure it.

Stop being a whiny butt and throwing the ‘its illegal’ book when you are too damned lazy to secure your connection.

One interesting point i never hear addressed by the crybaby ‘its illegal’ wussy crowd: YOU ARE PUTTING ELECTROMAGNETIC MICROWAVE BAND RADIATION IN MY HOUSE.

Sure, the amounts may be small, but regardless it’s still flooding into me, my kid, my pets, etc. at any given time.

If you’re going to smoke some weed near me on your property, dont be whining about me stealing your stash, when i get a contact buzz standing on my own property.

Google dd-wrt. It’s a 3rd party firmware that you can load onto your wireless router to replace the stock firmware that comes w/ many wireless routers. It has many advanced features, including disabling the broadcasting of your SSID. If that’s something you REALLY want to do, then it’s worth checking out.

HTH,
-geno

By the way, who’s attacking, I thought we were all having a discussion. LOL I do agree there should be something done from the end of the ISP regarding price structure. They make it near impossible to afford any kind of decent connection. If they lowered their prices a bit they could make up for it in volume.

I do not see that happening either due to the money greed factor and stock holders wanting an getting what may be more than they should. Much like the gas situation, it was and is more to do with market speculation that has made it jump more than anything. They make the market high when bad and again when good to suit what income levels they want to take home.

You do not hear or see them getting blasted for their part in it all. An we all could do the same if we had the same monetary influence and influence of friends in high places. All it takes is having the right connections no matter what the level of deed trying to be accomplished, and as long as you have the right connection and money to back it, you are good to go, also.

Have a great day/night in spite of it all!

why can’t we refrain from attacking each other and approach our IPSs? the web should be freesource.

cheers.

This is one of those articles that can be commented on till the cows come home and it will still end up the same, much like it is in the comments above; two years later and ongoing. Some feel it OK, some feel it stealing and some do not give a hoot one way or the other.

One way they could help solve this problem is make it more affordable to the masses and you would see less if none of this going on. But, much like anything else in this world, it is set up for the ones who have and or have a lot with little thought or care for the people in society that do not have the same means, but should be able to have the same access. Money is the root of all evil and if there were a more even playing field there just may be a lot less wi-fi usage without paying by those who can’t afford it .

As far as I am concerned, I am not judge and jury and have no right to say what is right or wrong for each individual. That is for each individual to decide for themselves. We all have to live with what we decide in life. I have lived on the side of do right all my life and have come out on the screwed end for it. Will I keep living on the do right side of life, sure, because I have no interest in getting to know the police or any other law enforcement. Life has enough problems without asking for more, but as I stated, it is a personal decision what each of us decides to do in our life that really does not ask for the permission of others when you think of it in real terms. Otherwise, people would ask their neighbor’s if they could share their connection. But, I would be willing to bet that there would be more to say no than yes to sharing even if the offer of paying was involved. People have a”me” – “my” – “mine” problem that is not going to go away any time soon and never has.

Once one knows something is being done it has a different connotation than when one is in the unknowing state. Knowing changes it to a whole different level of worry. No knowing kind of goes to the phrase, “what we do not know will not hurt us”, type of thinking even if it will hurt us. The mind plays tricks and you worry less if you do not know as opposed to when you do. if you know what I mean. I hope I got across what I am actually trying to say.

This one, from reading the posts, shows many people feel it is a matter of what is perceived by each individual and to that end I am not their Judge or Jury as stated earlier herein. We all have to make decisions in life and we all gain or lose for the choices we make to go with it. Many things in life also depend on how petty one wants to get on any given thing. Anyhow, that is pretty much what I have to say on it.

Have a great day/night/weekend! It has been nice posting with everyone and reading all the different takes on this subject!

Maybe this can be food for thought for those who think it stealing or Ok. In either case, you either get to put a stop to the connection or you get to pay rent for invading someone’s airspace when they did not ask you to so that you can use the WI-Fi in your home as paind for.

Many times it is not told or stated all that needs to be known when making a purchase of electronics and the like.

Best Regards, Vi

I keep my own wireless network secure for the same reason that I lock my car- which is that I don’t want any unethical people to use it without my permission.

I tend to agree that if they can’t be bothered to secure it, they must want to share it.

The deal with the coffee shops is that they have paid a premium to provide the service for free to you. They have the right to prevent any particular person from using it, or to cut it off if they feel like it.

bakery/sandwich shop I worked in at one point had a huge problem with people abusing the free wi-fi. A coffee and pastry purchase at 8 am does not buy unlimited access to our dining room, coffee refills and wi-fi until closing time! A couple hours maybe, but when your wi-fi use starts interfering with our business by preventing current customers from finding a seat, then you’ve gone too far. Our manager used to switch it off about 11 am, to get the abusers out of there.

He had to ban one guy, who had gradually worked his way up to using the far end of our dining room as an office, with support staff! During the morning, we were mostly ‘to go’ and our dining room was not too full. We were right by a university, so there was always someone using the wi-fi. A few cashiers at the front thought somebody was selling a lot of ‘no cup’ coffee because they saw so many people using their own mugs at the refill urns. We had 6 cash registers, so everyone thought somebody else had made those sales. Nobody saw the whole picture until it reached the point of one of his support staff taking a clean tray from another table, filling half a dozen cups from the refill urn, taking the thermos of half and half, a pile of sugars, sweeteners and napkins and arranging our biggest table for a meeting!

Some providers are starting to offer the ability to share and saying go for it. There was also a article a while back and the ISPs that were interviewed said they didn’t authorize it but had no desire to make people stop. It was basically don’t ask don’t tell.

As far a wireless internet goes If I had it I would share it. If your information is secure, why not? I have been grateful to unknown people in many different places that I have lived for providing a basic necessity (in this day and age It really is). I would return that favor to other people who are unable or for some reason unwilling to pony up the money to the big ISP.

On a slightly different note, how does it work for a coffee shop who provides free wifi, what is there liability and contractual obligation?

And just so YOU know, i leave my WiFi open and anyone can use it because i am generous and i realize some people can not afford internet. And i have named my network “Free Internet Access”.

You people are greedy and ignorant.

If you leave your network open for other people to use – you’re stupid, plain and simple. If you are someone who has piggybacked on your neighbors wireless network – you’re stupid too.

First off, to piggyback on someones network is in fact, against the law; people have been arrested for it. Whether your intentions of use are simple or malicious, you are using the persons bandwidth without consent therefore technically, it is stealing cause you aren’t paying for it.

Those that are broadcasting freely may not be smart enough to enable WEP or WPA and if their service is slow because you are piggybacking off it, trust me, they wouldn’t be happy. In most cases they probably got kicked offline, called their service provided tech support and was told to reset their router wiping out their settings.

Yes, they are stupid for not having it secure in the first place, but don’t assume just cause someone’s access is open that it’s ok to use it. Plus if you do something your not supposed to on someone elses network, they get in trouble, and if they can prove they didn’t do it, the FBI is going to knock on your door cause they’ll check to see who might be in range.

The term is Wardriving for anyone interested.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/w/wardriving.html

My advice for all parties: be smart, don’t start. Use your own damn wireless…it’s quicker and more reliable anyway. If you have a router and want to secure it, get smart, look up the manual on the routers website and learn how to do it! Don’t be victims and leeches.

First, your watching my television from my house would not diminish the service I am paying for. If you use my wireless connection, you are using bandwidth that I am paying for and am not receiving while you are logged on. Regardless of whether it negatively affects me, you have spliced my internet service.

Second, when you access my wireless network, you access through a router and modem. Both the router and modem my property.

Third, I believe that you choosing my wireless network and logging on to it is special effort.

Fourth, If I were your neighbor, I’d move. I don’t want to live near someone who thinks it’s okay to stare into my house for two hours, movie or not.

Finally, I think you know it is ethically questionable if not unethical because of your use of the word “tempt”. The first definition of tempt in my dictionary is “to try to get someone to do wrong”.

I have a few questions for you:

1. Would you still feel it is okay to use the network if you knew the owner paid by usage instead of a flat monthly fee? Every time you used that open network, it would increase the owner’s bill.

2. Since the owner’s computer is also on the network which is broadcast into your house, is it also okay to log on to it (without any special effort)? Then, is it okay to browse pictures, folders, and quicken? What about transferring a few images and files you’d like to keep? They are easily available in your home, after all.

Back to the staring at your neighbors issue:

3. Is it okay to use binoculars or a telescope to enhance your view of the inside of your neighbors house?

4. How about using remote electronic equipment to hear the tv and the sex?

5. What about recording video and audio of everything going on in your neighbor’s house?

Here’s a better (although still imperfect) analogy:

Your neighbor is using a hose to water the flowers he planted near the fence between your yards. He stops what he’s doing and drives off hastily. The hose falls just over your property line. You then decide to hook your own hose up to it and water your lawn. After all, he should have turned the faucet off or made sure the hose landed on his own property.

I feel that the owner of a wireless network should take steps to secure it, just as a homeowner should lock his front door when leaving. However, in either of these cases, I do not feel neglecting to secure your property is tantamount to inviting others to use it. This is just another justification of unethical activity because the internet has blurred ethics and made some wrong acts easy to carry out with the appearance of harmlessness.

Let’s say that my neighbor sets up a big screen TV in his living room, then watches movies on it every night, with the windows wide open and the sound turned up. I can plainly see the TV set from my window without ANY effort at all to PEEP.

I might choose to sit back and watch a free movie from time to time. If he doesn’t want me looking into his home and watching his TV, he needs to close his window blinds and turn down the sound.

This goes for WIFI as well. If you broadcast your signal into MY HOME so that I can just select your network and logon… without any special effort, then I may choose to do so. If you don’t want me to access your WIFI, then turn on your password and enable encryption, etc. It’s as easy as closing a window blind.

The other thing of note here is that broadcasting an OPEN WIFI signal is also an action that will TEMPT those who can access it to do so. You wouldn’t have sex with all the lights on and the curtains wide open would you? If you did, and somebody was looking at you, that’s YOUR fault. Your actions have been made PUBLIC by you (even though they are within your home) and they are also actions that will clearly attract ATTENTION.

OPEN WIFI signals are basically FREE for all. If you don’t want your signal used, turn on your protection.

Joe WIFI

1 year ago when i had high speed comcast internet, i brodcasted it with no security. Yes, i have antivirus/firewall telling me when someone has connected to my network, and let me tell you ALOT of computers connected that i had no clue who they were. As long as they cant mess up my files, or view them, thats fine with me.

And as long as they dont hog up bandwidth, i am fine sharing my connection.

If someones wifi is open and has no WEP or any type of security, its free to use. They are responsible for securing it, and if they dont, its a sign that says “hey im free”. – In fact, i am connected RIGHT NOW to a network named “Free Internet Access”. There is no commercial businesses or stores or coffee shops near me, i live in a suburban neighborhood, its one of my neighbors signals. Theyre basically saying come on in.

I pick up 13 access points, which 10 are secured.

I am currently using one called “T-Mobile” and its very fast. So i took it and i have 2 wireless routers hooked to my desktop that i re-broadcast the t-mobile signal freely so more people can connect to it. I feel its not wrong to use it if its open.

Thats my opinion.

-Artie

Personally, I lock my home account but will use my parent’s neighbor’s wifi for light browsing.

But I would never consider just stealing their connection for the long term.

You don’t need fancy analogies, or elaborate true stories.

Last week I found someone had been stealing my bandwidth. It wasn’t because I couldn’t be bothered to secure my router, it was because when I set the router up the CD s/w didn’t work, so I phoned support. They talked me through set-up but never mentioned I had to secure wireless even when using wired (which I do) so I had no reason to assume wireless was enabled and unsecured by default. If I had intended to use wireless of course I would have secured it.

Looks like you and a few others would see me as fair game for theft, then, much like my neighbours.

Just because something is easy to take it doesn’t mean it’s right to take it. What a society we live in.

While I wouldn’t mind very much if my neighbors used my wireless connection it is rude and raises a lot of legal issues. A neighbor stealing your internet who does something illegal can get you blamed for what they did. Conversly if you’re using someone elses connection and they do something illegal, but they can prove that you were also using their connection that can get you into hot water.

Also if you as a wireless user are using SSL that does not protect your information at all from whoever has the wireless transmitter or base station. Just remember if you sign on to your bank, use your credit card, or check your email on an unknown network they can see everything if they wanted to.

I’m pretty sure no one cares, because I have keys to most of these houses so i can water plants and feed cats and fish and birds and check mail for these people when they go out of town. And I am the one that was previously subjected to copious amounts of excess radiation unknowingly, so why not get something for my trouble?

The super evil thing I was going to do that I wasn’t sure about, was check my yahoo mail and myspace. So far I haven’t done anything that asked for a password.