Password protecting your wifi would not prevent a knowledgeable user from pirating bandwidth. Using WEP or WAP or even MAC address filtering would not prevent a knowledgeable user from doing so, though it would certainly narrow down the number of attempts made on your system, it wouldn't be sufficient to stop illegal usage of your bandwidth.
Even if one were able to completely secure their wifi router *and* their wired router and completely prevent unauthorized access to their network, ip addresses can be spoofed, sending the police to your door anyway. Or someone could accidentally switch IPs from a log. The problem here lies with the police not doing their homework. They took the simplest and easiest route without making any effort to understand what could be happening or regard to possible innocence. Our security forces have become so jaded that 'guilty until proven innocent' is not only a belief, it's a methodology. I'm reminded of the floating test for a witch. Bind her hands and legs and toss her in a nearby pond or lake. If she floats, she's a witch and hung or otherwise executed. If she drowns, then she's cleared of all charges. -- Alan Young /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
