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I would be interested in knowing if you guys get a
lot of hits from NJ due to the Star ledger article (see below if you havn't seen
it.)
I have a wireless network in North Caldwell, NJ and
am somewhat interested in opening it up. Have to secure my network better
before I take off encryption.
Having orther nodes around is a plus, of
course
Only in New York: Illicit park bench Web surfing
Monday, May 13, 2002
I don't know who is providing my Internet access at the moment, but I know it is fast, wireless, and easily available -- for free -- as I sit here with my notebook computer on a marble bench along Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. Am I stealing? Or is this the future of wireless Internet access? Here's what happened. I was in the city for an appointment, and as I sat in a waiting room, I took out my iBook to jot down some thoughts, as I'm prone to do. My iBook is equipped with a special card with a radio antenna for wireless Internet access. Using a base station at my home office, I've got wireless Internet access around the house -- even in the backyard. But here, as I sat in an office waiting room, I learned I was in range of three wireless computer networks, probably from various offices in the building. Intriguing. Could I connect to one of them? I tried each one, just for kicks. No luck. They were closed off to me, just as mine would be to neighbors within my base station's 150-foot range. Access to these networks, like mine, was password-restricted. But it got me thinking. Wasn't it possible some companies, schools, or even individuals hadn't secured their networks -- intentionally or not -- meaning I would be able to tag along, so to speak, for Internet access? After all, the population density of Manhattan would mean I'd probably be within range of a number of wireless networks, even from the street. After my appointment, I walked a few blocks across town, and at a certain spot -- it was close to a school and several high-rise office buildings -- I opened up my iBook. Two networks were listed as available. Seconds later, I had Internet Explorer open and was browsing the headlines, checking my e-mail, and looking over my shoulder, wondering if anyone could detect this illicit Internet interlude. In my defense, all I had to do to gain access was select one of the available networks and open my Web browser. No password was required. It wasn't exactly an elaborate act of hacking. What's more, I'd heard about city residents, or even businesses, opening up their high-speed Internet connections to people in nearby spots, like parks and cafes, with the wireless standard used by my iBook. Could this be one of those? I decided to check out NYCwireless (www.nycwireless.net), which is the hub of a grassroots movement for free public wireless Internet access. My "node," as NYCwireless calls such free wireless locations, wasn't listed in the site's database. But others were, with comments like "feel free to leech as much bandwidth as you like" and notes about where to park your notebook ('confirmed coverage of street, New World Coffee shop and Mimi's Pizza'). And so we're back to my initial quandary. Stealing? Or the wireless future? Maybe it's both. While NYCwireless's nodes were specifically made available for sharing with the public, mine was not (as far as I know). In the future, maybe wireless will be freely available from resources like NYCwireless, set up to facilitate the sharing of Internet access with the public. Until then, I'll refrain from grabbing "free" access when it's not offered as such. But if you've got a wireless network, I've got this advice: Make sure it's protected, or you never know what sort of character will tap into it.
Allan Hoffman writes about the Internet and technology. He can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or in care of Business Edge |
