Using Unsecured Wireless Networks

Sophos (a large IT security company) recently conducted a survey of 560 people. 54% of them admitted to using someone else’s wireless network without permission. That’s more than half the respondents. Why should you care?

If you have a wireless network that isn’t well secured then:

• Someone could be using your internet account and incurring expenses (or pushing you over a capped limit and effectively slowing down your connection)
• Someone could be illegally downloading copyrighted content (such as using a file sharing program to download commercial movies – it’s illegal and you’re liable for providing the connection)
• Someone could be using your internet connection to commit online crimes (just read the posts on this site to get an idea of how common this is).
• It lets anyone within range bypass your firewall, making your computers and other wireless devices vulnerable. This is especially important if you have wireless in an office environment
• It’s easier for someone to install spyware on your computer, making activities like online banking very dangerous

The most important reason of these is how easy it makes it for someone to use your network to commit crimes. Imagine being involved in a child pornography investigation, or having your internet disconnected because your network was used to send millions of spam emails.

I’ve written before on how to secure a wireless network and if you haven’t done so it’s worth reading through here.

If you’re in the 54% of people who wouldn’t think twice of using someone else’s wireless network without permission then you should know that:

• It’s illegal in a lot of countries (people get arrested for this quite often)
• It’s effectively stealing. It isn’t a victimless crime
• You can’t trust the network you’re using. It’s easy for someone to setup a wireless network in such a was that they can record all the traffic from it. This is one way to eavesdrop on other people’s traffic and to capture passwords

So the message here is to secure your wireless network, and don’t use other people’s wireless networks without permission.