I have wireless router do I need to pay someone £25 top access the net when I can get in for free?

Question

I seem to be able to access the net without going through AOL who charge me £25 a month for the privelege - do I need them - Is it something to do with my ISP address ?

Answer 1

First of all to clear something up that alot of people have been saying in response to this question. Using someone elses unprotected wireless connection is NOT illegal, at least not in the UK.
If it was protected and you bypassed this protection in any way then it would be. But if they have not taken any steps to protect it then it is an open access point and you can use it as much as you like :)

In your case however I would say you are connecting to your own wireless router.
Now although you do not need to sign into AOL yourself your router will be doing this for you. So if you stop paying for your connection then your router wont be able to login and bye bye internet!

Answer 2

Your wireless router connects to AOL and your PC connects to your router. If you get rid of AOL you no longer have the internet.

The other thing you may be doing is connecting via a neighbours wireless internet, connecting through someone elses internet would probably be illegal unless you had permission as this would be stealing bandwidth they pay for. It may be against their ISPs terms to share the connection in this way.

Answer 3

If your signal is weak, maybe. Your true bottleneck though is your modem. For instance, if your wireless card does 11Mbits/sec, and your modem's maximum download speed is 5 Mbits/sec, then the card is easily able to utilize the modem's maximum speed with room left over. If on the otherhand your signal is so weak that you are only getting 2Mbits/sec from your wireless card, then using an ethernet cable instead is a definite advantage. Now, as for internal network functions such as transferring files etc. from one computer on the network to another, then a cabled connection is almost always way faster.

Answer 4

You may be able to connect to other unsecured networks but you won't be able to use their connection to use the internet on your computer (it doesn't work for some reason)
So, yes you do need to pay AOL or another isp to access the internet. Your IP address won't pick up the correct signals from other networks and its possible to tracks attempts to use their internet on a firewall (and they can track you down.)

Answer 5

It sounds like you are using someone else's connection who obviously aren't protected by a WEP key. Using someone else's connection without their permission is illegal and if caught you could get in alot of trouble. The only place where you can legally use the wireless internet for free are places like Macdonalds where they have the security open for all to connect. Hope this helps

Answer 6

You don't need to sign in to AOL to be able to use the internet, but you do need to have an internet subscribtion on your line, so unless you're picking up someone elses wireless signal, then you need to have your router hooked up to a line that you are subscribed to.

Answer 7

It's impossible guess what is happening based on your question or guess what you are asking us.

One possible interpretation is that you are logging on to an open wireless network in your local area without paying for it.
Is that what you are saying?
Be aware that doing this is treated as theft in most countries.
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Answer 8

goto bt they will give a good basic package for around 10 pounds.

you are paying the same as my top of the range BT broadband account.
leave them

sky also do free broadband
as do orange and talk talk.

these aren't great but if you already have sky or want a good phone package you can't get better

Answer 9

well, no. Your computer connects to your wireless router which I presume connects to your ISP modem. Otherwise, it's black magic. Which doesn't exist.

Answer 10

Just stop paying and watch your connection disappear