What are the laws regarding the use of Wi-Fi on my laptop computer?

Question

We just bought our first laptop. In addition to Windows Vista it has built in wi-fi. I have never dealt with wi-fi before and (at first) didn't realize that this feature has on on/off switch. I saw that I was picking up signals from other spots and logged on thinking this was kind of neat. I didn't really do anything much beyond that point before I logged off again.
But I thought I'd check it out and once I got back on my dial-up I discovered that this is really frowned upon and illegal in some cases.
Can somebody fill me in on Federal and Arizona State laws specifically regarding the use of wi-fi?
It seems to me that laws (that I saw) were to protect the privacy of the Wi-Fi customer not the provider, so can it really be equated to stealing cable? I also understand (now) that it would be only courteous (even if it were to be legal) to ask your neighbor first.
Please give me details and fill me in. I'd like to learn alot more but everything I see on the internet is very vague

Answer 1

If it's unsecured, then technically it isn't ILLEGAL per se to connect to it, unless you're performing illegal activities over that internet connection. However, I wouldn't really recommend it, especially if you plan to input any personal information, usernames, passwords, banking info, etc., as the person running the network can easily set up to see exactly what you are doing on the network.

However, there are several places (hotels, coffee shops, delis, etc.) that offer free WiFi access. These are usually secured, but you can get a passcode to get on from someone at the register. These are more secure than just connecting to a random Linksys router that you find, although I still wouldn't do anything too personal on a connection like this, especially banking information or CC numbers.

Answer 2

I don't know about Arizona state laws, but the Federal law is not explicit on wireless theft. What you would be stealing would be the neighbor's cable signal, not the cable company's signal. By the time your wireless gets it, it has become the paid-for property of the neighbor. So, he/she can prosecute you, and vice versa.
It's definitely frowned upon, and is variously called wardriving - piggybacking, and a few other not so nice terms. Your wi-fi was included with your new laptop so that when/if you went off on a trip, you wouldn't have to depend on a hotel's slow dial-up service. You could just jump onto any available wireless signal. That's provided you can find one that doesn't knock you back off.

Answer 3

there have been people prosecuted before for doing exactly what you are describing.
Florida, the state known for not being able to keep pants on their spammers, has become what is believed to be the first state in the nation to prosecute someone for using someone else’s open wifi.

Mind you, there is no evidence that Benjamin Smith III did anything else illegal while accessing the Internet through Richard Dinon’s unsecured open wireless access point in a residential neighborhood of St. Petersburg, Florida. It appears that he is guilt of - only - using that open wifi to get out to the Internet. Which is “unauthorized access of a computer network”. Which is a third-degree felony in Florida.

Of course, Aunty first reported this very incident back when it first happened, when Mr. Smith first was apprehended for wardriving outside the Florida veterinarian’s home. What’s news now is that Florida is actually going forward with the prosecution.

Now, Aunty is not saying that what Smith did was right. But it’s ironic that when so many spammers spew millions of pieces of spam a day in their own version of “unauthorized access of a computer network” in Florida, the one poor schmuck who gets nailed there is the schmuck who parked outside someone’s home and used their open wifi access point to - who knows what. Maybe to search Google to find the address for which he was looking, maybe to send an instant message to his girlfriend to let her know that he’d be late for dinner (he just didn’t realize at the time just how late he’d end up being!) Again, we don’t know what he was doing, but we do know that there are no allegations that he was doing anything otherwise illegal, other than the unauthorized access.

But Aunty’s real point is this: how many of you have used someone’s open wifi access point without express permission? For goodness sake, sales of the Canary wifi finder, and similar products designed to find open wireless access, have never been better!

Perhaps more importantly, how many of you will use someone’s open wifi access point without their express permission now, after reading this?

Answer 4

You were able to log on to the Internet through your wifi because someone didn't secure their wireless router somewhere. In my condo complex I have 10 unsecured routers that I could log onto, but I don't. I have my own router and it is alpha-numeric protected. In other words, nobody can sign on through my router.
Its not very nice to go through someone Else's router to get on the Internet. But hey, if they were stupid enough to set up a wifi connection without securing it, then too bad for them.
However, just keep in mind that if you are on an unsecured wifi network, then others can intercept your transmission. There IS a problem with identity theft this way throughout the country.
My suggestion is to drop $60 on a Linksys router, set it up securely and set the default connection in your laptop to connect ONLY to your router.

Answer 5

There could desire to be many stuff that could consequence the wireless connection along with your laptop. i could in simple terms advise reformating your complicated disk (be advantageous you're taking all significant documents) Or examine out tech guy boards.