The legalities of wardriving.

**Silentbob343** · 05-17-2006, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by yrean

sigh...... and you think it would be that easy. first off, prove that i was on your network when that picture was taken. a picture of my car doesnt mean ****. look at my worklog and take all the pictures you want. chances are im sitting outside your house for a total of a minute to check weather. the chances of you getting back to your window with a camera before i drive off are slim to none. and then theres the fact of court costs. lol .. go ahead spend 5 grand trying to take someone to court for 200kb. secure your network with a mac if you dont want anyone on it. otherwise an open AP is just that. an OPEN ap. when you start broadcasting wireless it is also your job to secure the network. if you dont the only person at fault is you.

heh, he would spend the five grand and then tack on court fees for you to pay as well. Would he win....hell if I know

**Silentbob343** · 05-17-2006, 02:47 AM

Originally Posted by 3g Jester

cant we all just admit we surf the web using more then a starbucks or panera connection with our carputers? lol parked in a hotel parking lot leeching off their high speed wifi connection? hah. good or bad its what happens :P

Finally some who gets it and admits it. Yes what we do is perhaps illegal and some what wrong, but email and web surfing isn't a big deal. Now if somebody is using uTorrent, which kills bandwidth, or raping newsgroups you are defiantly stealing bandwidth as it slows the connection to a crawl.

To the other people in this thread who see nothing wrong with it:
If you say checking email and surfing is not illegal, then where dose the line get drawn and why? We are taking bandwidth no matter how small or how short it may be, just be reasonable when doing it. I'm as guilty as the next, but if you try to jusitfy it then it's all or nothing.

**yrean** · 05-17-2006, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by Silentbob343

Toms hardware had write up on how to do it, what software was needed etc. Just using WEP 128 it was a fairly time consuming process that is beyond most people's abilities.

when your talking about WEP. every bit of data sends part of the hash out. so when your wireless card sends data the router sees the hash and allows you to connect and transmit. programs like airsnort can(over time) decifer that hash value and spit out what the hex key is for the WEP. in reality most people will not sit around for the 15 mins or so (depending on how much wireless traffic there is on your network) to get your key. MAC addresses can be cracked also, but are a little harder in reality there also really easy to setup. just open up your network. connect with a device wirelessly. look at the wireless log, it gives the MAC Addresss, goto the filter by mac page, restrict by mac and add the address as one allowed. on a wireless connection, nothing is 100% secured.

As far as data usage, and electrical usage. lol i think your 5 dollars for a couple minutes worth of electricity is kinda high... since the electronics are already on, there is no power on condition(where alot of power is consumed) your added strain on the electric would probably result in 20 cents. not 5 bucks. i have 3 pc's, a router, a modem, and other electronics that run all month long and my bill is only 40 bucks. now if we were talking about gas powered stuff well...lol with todays gas prices i would shed a tear for you. and agree with the $5 cost.

And just for the record, I pay for unlimited verizon wireless broadband thru a pcmcia card, i have no need to wardrive since im always connected. If i did wardrive, id have no problem with it. if you dont secure your network, its your fault. and btw. I have no conceince. I stuffed it in a locker when i was in highschool.

**BarryWoods** · 05-17-2006, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by yrean

And just for the record, I pay for unlimited verizon wireless broadband thru a pcmcia card, i have no need to wardrive since im always connected. If i did wardrive, id have no problem with it. if you dont secure your network, its your fault. and btw. I have no conceince. I stuffed it in a locker when i was in highschool.

That's freaking hilarious! Always on internet would be sooo cool.

**PURDooM** · 05-17-2006, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by BarryWoods

That's freaking hilarious! Always on internet would be sooo cool.

Its very achievable, $6 a month with a cheap boost mobile cellphone...

**BarryWoods** · 05-18-2006, 02:48 AM

Not up here....

**TruckinMP3** · 05-18-2006, 08:27 AM

It is really simple. Using without permission is not OK.
All justifications are just that.
Do what you want but, it is not legal.

**Wiredwrx** · 05-18-2006, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by Silentbob343

Hell, you can't tap in to your neighbor’s cable and water, neither requires access to the inside of their house, so why can you tap in to their internet service legally?

There is a difference. The difference is that those things are not sent out to the world, they are kept exslusively, and used exclusively in the home/for the property, refering to tapping into a water supply or the cable. If your sprinkler/hose gives off so much water that it spills into the neighbors yard, or you make it that the cable can be received by everyone somehow (say convert it wiresless somehow) has your neighbor done something wrong by using the water or receiving the signal. Lets say the neighbor collects the water, and waters his plants with it, instead of using his own water, is he wrong. No, and it is not illegal. It is the homeowners responsibility to contain his resources. If he does not, I can use it, no matter what he wants or thinks. With WIFI, the signal is broadcast through out the neighborhood, or however far it reaches. It is the owners responsibility to secure the WIFI, to keep people from accessing it.

**Wiredwrx** · 05-18-2006, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by Silentbob343

heh, he would spend the five grand and then tack on court fees for you to pay as well. Would he win....hell if I know

You don't understand how the courts and lawsuites work. It's O.K., there is a whole semester in lawschool specifically that teaches you Remedies, what one is entitled to, can win, for each type of cause of action. You can't just sue for whatever you want.

Even if it were some sort of cause of action, say theft/larceny, the only thing one is entitled to is actual damages. Since the actual damages are the amountof electricity, and the cost of the bandwidth, that is all he is entitled to, plus court costs. Not lawyers fees, and not preparation costs, just COURT COSTS.

Michael

**Wiredwrx** · 05-18-2006, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Silentbob343

To the other people in this thread who see nothing wrong with it:
If you say checking email and surfing is not illegal, then where dose the line get drawn and why?

Not sure what you are asking. What line needs to be drawn? How far to you think this will extend if bandwidth is "allowed" to be used?

Michael