Netstumbler is nice for windows. If you use nix, try Kismet or Wellenreiter. You can also view the PC Tips for more info on wireless security, etc...

To answer the main question, yes I have used other people's connections. Personally, do I think its wrong? Well yeah, but sometimes I just can't resist.....

 

I'd like you to stop.

 

So did you stop?

 

I promise I wont sponge off your connection after this time....hehe

 

Just to let you know, Netstumbler is detectable. Drive by someone's network who knows what they are doing, and they will know that you are there and running Netstumbler. It is not passive.

 

Most people wouldn't even notice, until you start hogging allot of bandwitdh,
So if your just driving past and wanna check your email (Or surf yota tech real quick ) I cant really see the harm in that.

besides if someone leaves the default user name and password at the um ..well... default settings and your laptop just "Happens" to get access wheres the harm in that ??

Just dont start doing stuiped stuff like trying to guess passwords, or running scans on a target machine. Thats when you'll get noticed....
and you dont wanna get caught by any one with skillz. 3lit3

 

Well today a guy saw me sponging off his network, Linksys 54g, he knew what I was doing because he saw something on techtv. We talked for about 20 minutes outside and I showed him around what I was doing and how it worked. Then I helped him make his network secure, disabling SSID broadcast and enabling WEP. He let me know the password and told me whenever I was in the area he didnt care if I used it and I could even park in his drive way. Really nice guy.....

He wouldnt have seen me but it was nice out and I was sitting on my tailgate with the laptop in my lap (obviously)....I didnt think anyone was home but when I saw him approach I wasnt about to start lying and making excuses....

 

One of my geeky 15 year old cousins was here this weekend, and he secured my network. That is one long a$$ password the computer generated

 

Yea, I was at my Granperents messing with my PDA and decided to see if I had a conection and sure enough I was surfing the net in no time from someware nearby.

 

Mysteriously, all of the unsecured networks in my neighborhood suddenly started showing up with the SSID's "Bush-Cheney 04! 1", "Bush-Cheney 04! 2" and so on...

It's a real mystery in the neighborhood and has become the main topic of the mailbox conversations. Some of the liberals are pretty bent out of shape, but can't figure out how to change their SSID's back...

 

Thats not a could way to get people to vote, breaking into someone router and changing the SSID....I have my SSID hidden...well hidden from windows I can see its just a no name router running other software progs....

 

I use other folks wireless with the following caveats.

If the:
>wireless access-point provides ANY type of encryption,
>attempts to hide its SSID,
>doesn't provide a DHCP address,
>will not accept my computer's laptop MAC ID

Then NO, I won't use it.

There's this legal term “chattel” or trespass of property without actually physically being there. A company or person doesn’t need to put out a sign “No trespassing” to prevent people from using their networks. A reasonable level of security is the same as saying “no trespassing”.

One of my best friends drove around the east side of Sacramento for a couple of hours. I was ‘God smacked’ when he showed me his logs for the evening. Major banks
without any level of security, people using hotmail and yahoo accounts without securing
the link between their PC’s and the email vendor. Viewing the information wasn’t against the law because NONE of the networks were secured. However, using the login and password information was against the law; fraud and ID theft.

I have setup wireless “honey pots” to gather information about the people attempting to use it. To sit down and eat chips while capturing Yahoo, MSN hotmail and whatever passwords and logins can be a real hoot. But, I never use the info. It’s just fun realizing that there are so many IT people who don’t know what they are doing. I think we are all
blessed because of their ignorance.

In the world of hackers you are either, a black hat (bad), grey hat (not too bad), or white hat (the good guys). Which one are you?