Using Neighbor's Wireless

I have neighbors who do not secure theirs, and I leech off of it whenever my connectivity goes down.

As for my own, it is password protected and hidden (the SSID is not broadcast) - so you have to know the SSID and the password to log into my wireless network.

i'm very paranoid about bandwidth leeching.

 

it's surprising to me too. it's like saying, you left your laptop in the back seat so you deserve to have it stolen it. **** that. just b/c i don't secure my belongings doesn't mean you have a right to steal my stuff and turn my world upside down.

with that said, i secure my network.

 

At my old house, I used my neighbor's signal. I asked first and he didn't care.

 

flower melts outside
the sun is so warm today
free wi-fi, woo-hoo!

 

I'm more of the opinion that if you leave your network unsecured you really can't be surprised to find other people using it. Same with leaving stuff in your car, it's almost inevitable, and one day you walk to your car to find it all missing - it's not really surprising that someone else wanted your stuff badly enough to just take it from you like that. Just because you have the right to do with your stuff as you will, doesn't mean that everyone else will respect you, your right, or your stuff.

I expect the worst of the general human population, therefore, I try not to tempt them with unsecured networks or laptops sitting in my backseat.

 

I think a lot of folks who don't secure theirs are probably more aware of that fact these days. They just let it go.

So, using an open wireless of your neighbor=not a big deal.

Using it to download a ****load of content and illegal stuff = douchebag move

 

I agree with you. I don't agree that you deserve to have your stuff stolen.

 

I don't think it is the nicest thing to do but if you don't secure it you are asking for it. Many operating systems automatically connect to whatever the strongest signal is so in some cases you could connect to your neighbors unsecured network without even realizing it.

I would view it as if your neighbor's sprinkler is spraying into your property and you let your kids run through the part spraying on your yard. Its his sprinkler and water but it is coming over onto your yard and he isn't stopping it.

 

So if your neighbor drops his iPod in your yard while going for a run, does that give someone the right to keep it or shoul they do the right thing and return it.

 

Secure? Ha! This is way better.
http://ex-parrot.com/~pete/upside-down-ternet.html

 

You guys can justify it all you want if that's what make you feel better, but it is still stealing.

 

Why in the world would you just not take 5 minutes and secure it? Do you not know how?

 

The "NO, it's like downloading music" shouldn't have been like that. It should have been "NO, it is like reading over someone's shoulder on the bus" .

Any time someone from my family says "I am using my neighbor's wireless signal... YAY!" my first reaction and comment is "Be aware that they can potentially record EVERY page you request, and see everything you transmit through the wire." Their tune changes automatically.

So is DirecTV, DishNetwork, u-Verse, Comcast, and any other broadband wireless company. Are you saying you can take THEIR signal for free?

If it is a public place, then yes, go ahead and use it. Don't steal bandwidth.

 

I dont agree with stealing the bandwith.
but people should secure their wireless connections, its like leaving your house door open, but that doesnt give permission to anybody, to enter and steal things.

 

Weren't cities a few years ago encouraging residents to leave their wireless networks unsecured in attempts to completely blanket the city in free wifi?

Can't remember which city it was now, want to say either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, but I'm not really sure.

Not securing your network to me is an open invitation.

 

Yes, it is quite surprising that nowadays there will be users "forgot"/"not willing to"/"dont know how to" protect their wireless network. Just when you are feeling good about using neighbour's bandwidth, on the other end, there's probably a teenage geek happily downloading stuff from your pc.

 

So if one doesn't secure their WIFI, as far as you are concerned, you have permission to use it?

 

Seems easy enough to me: if we have to even ask whether or not it's wrong to do, it probably is. Yeah, you're not technically taking anything from the person next door, and it probably isn't impacting their service at all, but still...you're using a service that you didn't pay for and that someone else did. How is that not stealing?

 

Again, my hang up on this and reason for looking at it this way is that cities at one point recently were encouraging their residents to leave open their networks for others to use. This fact blurs the issue for me.

That said, I don't use my unsecured neighbors'.