On Jan 14, 2006, at 8:31 AM, Howard Katz wrote:
There's a difference between sitting outside a public library that
offers free internet (with the permission and understanding of their
service provider) and sitting outside someone's home and accessing a
wifi signal that wasn't locked down. To say there isn't, or that just
because it's there and you can use it, is just rationalization of
theft. If the laws change to allow that, fine, but 1) the laws aren't
written that way, and 2) with the vested interests that the service
providers have in selling service, they probably won't be.
Have I done some signal sniffing? Sure, I'll bet we all have, just to
see if we could do it. Did I continue to do so? Nope--in fact I
tracked down the person who had the open signal in my area and advised
them to encrypt their signal. At that point it's their
responsibility.l
My Airport widget tells me there's 2 WEP signals nearby--at least
these folk know how to turn their security settings on. :)
Later..............Howard
--
Is there a difference then between someone who knows how to turn
security on and someone who doesn't if they both have open networks?
I kind of like the idea of leaving mine unencrypted. I'm a bit of a
commy nist at heart. I haven't left it open because I'm too dumb to
set a password.
And maybe my ISP will come after me some day. But as long as there's
a marketplace out there I can drop them. The reality of the
marketplace is that no ISP is going to find it worthwhile to chase
down it's subscribers who don't encrypt. They want more customers,
not fewer.
For a prime example of what's really happening take a war drive
through a college campus. You'll find more open and encrypted
networks than your screen can scroll through. If service providers
wanted to hunt down malefactors they could do it easily. So far the
only example of a theft of services trial was the result of a guy who
noticed that there was a neighbor parked in front of his house all
the time and when the home owner asked him to stop he didn't. So the
homeowner called the cops.
It's a bit like the laws about copyright infringement on music CDs.
Is there anyone out there who hasn't burned a music CD for a friend
or relative? Like the service thing I much prefer paying for my music
and I like having the real thing when it's a bit of art I really
enjoy. I even like the idea that I'm sending money to the artist.
Allows him to keep making music. But the idea of copy protection for
CDs is just laughable. Nobody listens, not the industry and not the
consumers. Even been through Camden Yard in London? They actually
sell green discs in public and nobody stops them.
J
--
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