Wireless Connections?

If you are not within range of known free hotspot (coffee house, restaurant, hotel, airport, etc.) these are probabaly your neighbor's wireless networks.  Furthermore, if you can connect to the internet through these networks, it means that they are non-secure networks and in a sense you would be illegally using someone elses broadband connection unless you explicitly have their permission.  Furthermore, since it is a non-secure network, anything you transmit accross that network (i.e credit card numbers, bank account numbers, social security numbers, etc.) can be picked up by anyone with the capabilities of listening in, and the files on your computer may be read by anyone else that can access that network.

Steve

while I think volcanoe overstates the risks (no one can view your files unless you enable sharing and most credit card web transactions are encyrpted), i strongly agree with his points that connecting to those connections and using them to access the internet is stealing and illegal.

he was not overstating when he said that all your non-encypted data (emails for instance) can be read.

i would also add that if the network owner is particularly evil he could redirect all your traffic or spoof sites you were connecting to -- in which case any credit card info would likely be compromised ;p

Volcano:

Over what distance does wireless work? I know there is a Premier Travel Inn down the road from me, which has wireless. Maybe it is theirs? Or did you mean neighbours as in next door neighbours?

Thanks

Hmm... It didn't occur to me that it would be a neighbours' network. I don't know really know much about wireless. It seems a bid odd though that I switched my computer on for the first time and it prompted me to connenct illegally to a network.

I'll just have to stick to my dial-up connection!

The wireless signal normally has a range of about 300 feet under ideal conditions.  The range is reduced by walls and floors, but it depends on the physical properties of these obstacles.  Metal gratings tend to reduce the signal substantially.   Wireless routers are common these days, so it is more likely that you are picking up a neigbors signal.  Unfortunately, it is very easy to set up a wireless network, but takes a bit more effort to make it secure.  I have at least 5 neigbors in my neighborhood running non-secure networks.  I've explained to each of them what they have to do to secure it.  But even after 2 years, they have not bothered to take those steps, and probably won't until they suffer an attack or theft of information.

Steve