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story category Steal Wi-Fi In Maryland? Face 3 Year Prison Stretch
New bill imposes max penalty of 3 years, $1,000 fine
(old news - 08:56AM Friday Mar 21 2008)
tags: legal · business · wireless · security · legislation
Slashdot directs our attention to a bill being proposed in Maryland that would make intentional unauthorized access of another person's computer, network, database, or software a misdemeanor. The bill's creator says his goal is to clarify intentional theft of Wi-Fi versus accidental use. The penalty for freeloading off of another's Wi-Fi signal would be up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000. The Public Defender's office opposes the bill and repeats a common refrain: "A more effective way to prevent unauthorized access would be for owners' (sic) to secure their wireless networks with assistance where necessary from Internet service providers or Vendors."

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Forums » Steal Wi-Fi In Maryland? Face 3 Year Prison Stretch
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beentherenow

@comcast.net

from:
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That's a good thing

About time criminals be held accountable. Now it's time to prosecute music/software Pirates.

i5050MbSoon
Formerly TwoKDialup
Premium
join:2002-06-07
Coloma, MI

Re: That's a good thing

"The bill would make intentional unauthorized access to another person's computer, network, database, or software a misdemeanor with a penalty up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000."

Hmmmm! Sounds like this could be applied to the spyware/adware distributors.
--
Comcast has spoiled me rotten!
jc100

join:2002-04-10
·RoadRunner Cable

Um.... So you want the government to STEP IN AND TAKE OVER because people are too stupid to do things themselves? Have you ever heard that don't use something unless you understand it. Otherwise, take the time to read the manual, then set it up. You're the type that wants the state to give people constant handouts I am sure. People can;t work lets toss them a check. This goes along the same line. If people don't want to take responsibility, let the government take over. It shouldn't be a crime. It's no different than the idiot leaving his or her keys in the car, running, and being surprised the insurance company denies the claim for negligence after it's stolen.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Underway
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: That's a good thing

said by jc100 See Profile :

Um.... So you want the government to STEP IN AND TAKE OVER ...
Law enforcement is a legitimate government function.

Bob
--
Motor Vessel - Tamara B.
43' Long-Range Trawler
Cape Elizebeth ME.
See her Here.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest

Re: That's a good thing

said by TamaraB See Profile :

Law enforcement is a legitimate government function.
Problem is, they have to keep creating new laws to criminalize activity and then enforce it.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Underway
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: That's a good thing

said by KrK See Profile :

... they have to keep creating new laws ...
This is true, and a bad thing.

Bob
jc100

join:2002-04-10
·RoadRunner Cable

Actually, no it's not. That's an excuse. It would be like saying walking into your house at random is a law enforcement function and for public safety. Are you willing to let cops randomly search homes to see if people are breaking the law? I'd hope not. This is no different. Cops would literally have to go door to door to help people secure their networks. I mean, do they REALLY have this much time to be bothered with this crap? This country has 22,000 murders a year. I think we have bigger problems than wifi piggy backing. I mean, sometimes, stupid is as stupid does (forest gump). If the owners are too dumb to know what they are working with, so be it. The government doesn't need to sit there and waste its time and money helping people figure it out. That's part of being an adult and taking responsibility for one's actions and choices.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Underway
·Verizon Online DSL

Re: That's a good thing

said by jc100 See Profile :

Actually, no it's not. That's an excuse. It would be like saying walking into your house at random is a law enforcement function and for public safety....
I agree. I think it would have been a bad law. All I was pointing out is that enforcement of all laws (including bad ones) is a government thing. I was replying to a statement which indicated Gov. has no place in the matter.

Bob
--
Motor Vessel - Tamara B.
43' Long-Range Trawler
Cape Elizebeth ME.
See her Here.

Winerin
Premium
join:2002-03-30
Woodland Hills, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC


edit:
March 21st, @12:23PM

Yes, I think the government should "step in and take over" law enforcement--which does not make sense since government is in charge of enforcing the law. If I failed to lock my car (and that does not make me stupid, mind you) and someone steals something inside and gets caught, I would hope they get prosecuted. Yes, it would be nice if people would could be educated on wireless security, and computing security as a whole, but that does not mean they shouldn't be allowed to use computers nor ignored when theft occurs.

joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
Gainesville, FL

Re: That's a good thing

said by Winerin See Profile :

Yes, I think the government should "step in and take over" law enforcement--which does not make sense since government is in charge of enforcing the law. If I failed to lock my car (and that does not make me stupid, mind you) and someone steals something inside and gets caught, I would hope they get prosecuted. Yes, it would be nice if people would could be educated on wireless security, and computing security as a whole, but that does not mean they shouldn't be allowed to use computers nor ignored when theft occurs.
Theft is illegal. Of course they are going to prosecute (if they catch) someone that breaks into your car... locked or unlocked.

But I don't think using an unsecured wifi network is a crime. Look at the low level processes that take place:

1) Your computer sends its MAC address and other details to the router
2) The router grants or allows access to the network based on the provided information.
3) Now on the network the PC provides identifying information such as MAC address and hostname and requests a DHCP lease
4) The router either responds with a DHCP lease or it denies the request based on its configuration.

Sorry, I don't think ignorance is an excuse. If I let someone into my house and offer them a glass of soda I can't turn around later and say they broke into my house and stole a glass of soda.... same goes for the wireless. Ignorance is no excuse... use even WAP or MAC address filtering and then I'll be sympathetic to the computer-n00bs... read the manual the info about encryption is right there!
--
09:F9:11:02:9D:74:E3:5B:D8:41:56:C5:63:56:88:C0

JoeOnSunset
Doublethink Is Doubleplus Ungood.
Premium
join:2002-11-25
Ormond Beach, FL

Re: That's a good thing

This is totally stupid. The fact is, unauthorized access to a computer network is already a crime in most jurisdictions. The only issue is, it's hard to prove a wi-fi freeloader is "unauthorized," since an open network is, by definition, OPEN.

To anyone who thinks that setting up a WiFi network configured as open is analogous to leaving your car unlocked: you're wrong. Analogies like these do not work in the world of networks. (Also, the internet is not a series of pipes, okay.)

A network is a RESOURCE, not a physical object like your car or your house. And it has a SYSTEM TO ADVERTISE ITSELF that STATES WHETHER it is OPEN ACCESS, or CLOSED.

Just because you're ignorant of that, and that hardware manufacturerers aren't responsible enough to educate you, doesn't mean legislation is warranted--unless perhaps it's legislation mandating that WiFi routers come with a big red notice.

Winerin
Premium
join:2002-03-30
Woodland Hills, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC


edit:
March 21st, @02:28PM

Re: That's a good thing

It is true, it is hard to prove unauthorized access. That is another issue and not what I was debating. I'm pretty sure that there are some out there that could care less on who uses their wireless access. Casual access (intentional or not) really shouldn't be a crime in itself, I do agree that much.

in regards to what is considered theft, however, most "unlimited" services are capped. If someone downloaded a bunch of stuff that caused you to get frozen, then in a sense something was stolen (bandwidth).

That would be an extreme case as it probably would take a lot of data to cause an account closure. However, something does not have to be tangible to considered stealable.

I am all for more education on computer security. But someday it may come down to forced encryption and security (i.e. registering your hardware MAC to your provider) if you want to or not. If it comes that far, then we place even more power to the government since we couldn't find a more independent solution.
jc100

join:2002-04-10
·RoadRunner Cable

Re: That's a good thing

Wine,

You totally have missed the boat.

1) One theft of a car would be very similar to theft of wifi. The person leaving themselves open is negligent. As I stated above, if you leave your car running with the doors unlocked, you ARE RESPONSIBLE if it gets stolen. Sure the police will not press charges against you (though they could if say a child got into it and harmed people). Most likely, your insurance company would refuse to pay any claim due to the overall ignorance that went behind leaving your car running with the doors open. Similar to wifi, if you leave it open and people use it, it's your own damn fault. Learn the technology or the item in use, before enacting it. That's part of being an adult. The government HAS NO RIGHT to step in and enforce that fact. You pay for the internet, the equipment, etc, it's your responsibility to set it all up properly. Not doing so leaves you open to whatever headaches might arise from such negligence.

2) Unlimited is UNLIMITED. ISPS that advertised this have gotten in a LOT OF TROUBLE or changed their marketing. You do not promise customers something you cannot adhere to. Therefore, there is no stealing when one is promised the world and then some.

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Underway
·Verizon Online DSL

said by JoeOnSunset See Profile :

... Just because you're ignorant of that, and that hardware manufacturerers aren't responsible enough to educate you, doesn't mean legislation is warranted--unless perhaps it's legislation mandating that WiFi routers come with a big red notice.
Here is the crux of the entire thread. When my neighbor bought his first laptop (an HP with XP), he turned it on, and after putting in all his info, and answering yes to everything (this guy never owned a computer before), he was presented with a pretty desktop Connected to my OPEN wireless network. He came running over shouting "I have Internet", I got updates! how do I use email??

OK? WindoZ, in league with the wifi card manufacture made his laptop find and connect to the net automagically.

Like putting "do not take with alcohol" printed in red on some medications, it is the responsibility of the manufacture to put a warning on their hardware/software stating that if you don't do X and Y, you will be sharing your connection with anyone who wants to use it. This entire issue boils down to the industry catering to the lowest common denominator, to the dumbest of the dumb.

If I sold a car which came with a hard to remove sign saying "drive for free", and I made the doors hard to lock, and the keys hard to remove, whose fault is it if the car is used by a neighbor? The owner? Or the manufacture. You answer.

Apply this same normal life-logic to the issues of botnets, trojans, and viruses. Who is at fault? The same money-grabbing corporations, who sacrifice security for profit.

Bob
--
Motor Vessel - Tamara B.
43' Long-Range Trawler
Cape Elizebeth ME.
See her Here.
BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

said by joako See Profile :

Theft is illegal. Of course they are going to prosecute (if they catch) someone that breaks into your car... locked or unlocked.

But I don't think using an unsecured wifi network is a crime.
But it IS a crime whether you think so or not. Some people think smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. It is. If a law is on the books then it's a crime whether you agree it should be or not. If you don't think it should be a crime then you need to petition you state government to change the law.

So if I think stealing a rich persons wallet shoudn't be a crime, since they have so much money, then I guess it's ok to do since if I think it's not a crime it's not a crime.

joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
Gainesville, FL

Re: That's a good thing

said by BF69 See Profile :

said by joako See Profile :

Theft is illegal. Of course they are going to prosecute (if they catch) someone that breaks into your car... locked or unlocked.

But I don't think using an unsecured wifi network is a crime.
But it IS a crime whether you think so or not. Some people think smoking pot shouldn't be a crime. It is. If a law is on the books then it's a crime whether you agree it should be or not. If you don't think it should be a crime then you need to petition you state government to change the law.

So if I think stealing a rich persons wallet shoudn't be a crime, since they have so much money, then I guess it's ok to do since if I think it's not a crime it's not a crime.
Where is it a crime? Under what law?
--
09:F9:11:02:9D:74:E3:5B:D8:41:56:C5:63:56:88:C0
BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

Re: That's a good thing

said by joako See Profile :

Where is it a crime? Under what law?
Under the bill being proposed, idiot.

joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
Gainesville, FL

Re: That's a good thing

said by BF69 See Profile :

said by joako See Profile :

Where is it a crime? Under what law?
Under the bill being proposed, idiot.
So its not a crime, only a proposed crime!
--
09:F9:11:02:9D:74:E3:5B:D8:41:56:C5:63:56:88:C0
BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

Re: That's a good thing

said by joako See Profile :

said by BF69 See Profile :

said by joako See Profile :

Where is it a crime? Under what law?
Under the bill being proposed, idiot.
So its not a crime, only a proposed crime!
Um that's kind of the way things work. At one time a man could leglaly rape his wife. It wasn't a crime. Now he can't, because it is NOW a crime.
nitzan

join:2008-02-27
·ViaTalk
·Comcast

Re: That's a good thing

said by BF69 See Profile :

Um that's kind of the way things work. At one time a man could leglaly rape his wife. It wasn't a crime. Now he can't, because it is NOW a crime.
Oh, I think I get it now!!
What you're trying to say is, Stealing WiFi is the same as stealing someone's car, and then raping their wife, right??

You get extra points for calling people names, idiot.

jeez. hopping on an OPEN network should NOT be a crime. I'm sure each and everyone of us here on the forums has done it at least once in their life.

What, you want YOUR taxes wasted on some poor schmoe going to jail because they used their neighbor's open network a couple of times to read their email during an internet outage?
irsean

join:2001-05-10
Redlands, CA
·Verizon FIOS

said by joako See Profile :

said by Winerin See Profile :

Yes, I think the government should "step in and take over" law enforcement--which does not make sense since government is in charge of enforcing the law. If I failed to lock my car (and that does not make me stupid, mind you) and someone steals something inside and gets caught, I would hope they get prosecuted. Yes, it would be nice if people would could be educated on wireless security, and computing security as a whole, but that does not mean they shouldn't be allowed to use computers nor ignored when theft occurs.
JUMPIN' JESUS on a Pogostick!!!
Unauthorised use of WiFi is nothing like stealing a car. It's more like looking at a person getting undressed when they're too stupid to close the curtains.

Speaking of theft...isn't your sig a violation of law, theft, in fact?
--
Message of the Day
There is no message of the day
jc100

join:2002-04-10
·RoadRunner Cable

If you failed to lock your car, and left it running, you would also be liable. Why? Well the cops couldn't criminally charge you, but your insurance could hold you as negligent. I mean, you gave a thief the right situation to steal. Sure you didn't intend for it to happen, but you set it up for it to. Therefore, the thief would face criminal charges and you'd probably get stuck buying yourself a new car. See, that's what happens when stupid choices are made. People should not setup wifi if they don't know how to properly secure it. The same with driving. If you're too damn lazy to lock your doors or take out the keys, then don't drive. It's all part of being an adult where choices and responsibility are key. If you aren't able to make them, then the other choice is DON'T said items. Simple. The government doesn't need to waste its money or manpower telling or enforcing what one should already know.

Tzale
Ron Paul - No Bailout Conservative
Premium
join:2004-01-06
NJ, USA
·Verizon FIOS
·Optimum Online

said by beentherenow :

About time criminals be held accountable. Now it's time to prosecute music/software Pirates.
Be careful... There is a politician somewhere in the hills of Kentucky who is looking to put you behind bars for posting anonymously!

-Tzale
--
Neoconservatives (G.W.B) are not true conservatives. A conservative believes in defending the Constitution. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - RON PAUL 2008 »www.usconstitution.net/const.html
wvcaver

join:2005-04-17
Millersburg, OH
then the person that is handing out the insecure wireless signal should be charged with accessory to the crime !

tomkb
Premium
join:2000-11-15
Avon, OH
clubs:

yes

I think it's worth the risk. I mean, according the a news article I just read, slightly more than 1 in 100 are now in prison.

jonnyb

join:2008-03-15
Haverhill, NH


edit:
March 21st, @09:10AM

Security Security Security

It is beyond me why people cant set up security on there wi-fi connections, it is a matter of running a disc...anyway good luck trying to catch someone using a wi-fi connections especially someone on the move. Just to add to what i just said most people that dont know how to set up a secure connection arent going to know if it is being used by someone else.

gaforces
United We Stand, Divided We Fall

join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA
·Cruzio Internet


edit:
March 21st, @09:50AM

Re: Security Security Security

I would think that 3 years is a bit harsh punishment unless illegal activities were performed with the connection.

Perhaps the punishments should be for the ones who are carelessly allowing unauthorized access to their connection.

If there is really a big problem with this, maybe private industry with help from local districts, can advertise a service to help people to secure their wi-fi. Thereby helping the local economy and putting people to work instead of in jail.
battleop

join:2005-09-28
00000

Re: Security Security Security

Use higher fines and no jail time. It's a waste of resources to jail someone like this. Besides these freeloaders are often cheap asses and they are just looking for free internet. Hit them where it hurts a cheap ass the most, in the pocket.

Nightshade
My political statement
Premium
join:2002-05-26
Salem, OR

Re: Security Security Security

Exactly, and on the flipside the judge should also berate the person who didn't secure his Wi-Fi after convicting the person who freeloaded off of their connection. Don't make yourself a target and secure your hotspot!
--
True Happiness Must Come From Within
DemonicLlama

join:2007-11-19
Potomac, MD
·DIRECTV


edit:
March 21st, @10:16AM

Its more about getting them to pay the $1,000 into annapolis' pocket. The state is hitting all IT related issues in order to come up with more money for their reckless spending.

edit: $1,000 fine not $10,000....well for now. I would not put it past them to increase the fine.

TheHelpful1
Premium
join:2002-01-11
Upper Marlboro, MD
·EarthLink

Scrap the three years - if they freeload someone else's wi-fi connection it means the owner has broadband. Make the freeloader pay the victims ISP Bill for the next 3 years. That is what, $3600 if they're on FIOS?

Oh wait, the state doesn't profit.....
--
"My weakness is that I care too much"

TamaraB
Question The Current Paradigm
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Underway
·Verizon Online DSL

said by gaforces See Profile :

...
Perhaps the punishments should be for the ones who are carelessly allowing unauthorized access to their connection. ...
If access is "allowed" there is no "theft", so neither party are guilty of anything. As it should be.

Bob
--
Motor Vessel - Tamara B.
43' Long-Range Trawler
Cape Elizebeth ME.
See her Here.

Snickerdo
Premium
join:2001-02-28
St Catharines, ON
·Cogeco Cable

Re: Security Security Security

said by TamaraB See Profile :

If access is "allowed" there is no "theft", so neither party are guilty of anything. As it should be.
This is exactly how it works in Canada.

joako
Premium
join:2000-09-07
Gainesville, FL

said by gaforces See Profile :

I would think that 3 years is a bit harsh punishment unless illegal activities were performed with the connection.

Perhaps the punishments should be for the ones who are carelessly allowing unauthorized access to their connection.

If there is really a big problem with this, maybe private industry with help from local districts, can advertise a service to help people to secure their wi-fi. Thereby helping the local economy and putting people to work instead of in jail.
I agree. And using the internet, no matter how you connect, for illegal purposes is already well, um, illegal. No need to further legislate illegal things.
--
09:F9:11:02:9D:74:E3:5B:D8:41:56:C5:63:56:88:C0
BF69

join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN

said by gaforces See Profile :

I would think that 3 years is a bit harsh punishment unless illegal activities were performed with the connection.

Perhaps the punishments should be for the ones who are carelessly allowing unauthorized access to their connection.

If there is really a big problem with this, maybe private industry with help from local districts, can advertise a service to help people to secure their wi-fi. Thereby helping the local economy and putting people to work instead of in jail.
No one will get 3 years, it's just a threat. Even if someone did get 3 years they'd serve less than half with good behavior.

dglenn

@BELIEVEWIRELESS.NET

Proportionate Punishments

To put things in perspective: just over a year ago here in Baltimore, a drunk idiot without a driver's license swiped the keys to his girlfriend's mother's car, totalled that car and two parked cars on my block (one of them mine, as a result of which, since I'm poor, I had to go without a car for a [expletive]ing year before I was able to get another one) and damaged two more cars on my block to a lesser degree ... after which he shot holes in the stolen car with an illegally-owned handgun to try to convince people he'd been carjacked and wasn't the one driving he wrecked it.

He got the maximum sentence possible for the charges that were filed against him. A whole whopping sixty days. I don't know how much of that he served, whether good-behaviour bonuses kick in on such a short sentence or not, etc.

Sixty days for depriving three people of their transportation and causing additional monetary harm to two more while being an actual danger to anyone else on the road that night...

...versus what, three years for piggybacking on somebody else's signal for a spell?

I can see both sides of the "should it even be a crime or not" debate (I do have an opinion, but I can see the sense in both viewpoints), but in any case the punishment proposed is way out of line with other penalties for more serious crimes. Something is seriously out of whack here.
openbox9

join:2004-01-26
Navarre, FL
Because a vast majority don't know, or care, about security concerns revolving around their home computers. And it's not just a matter of running a disc.

See 11 replies to this post

PGHammer

join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast

It is beyond people for the same reason that the Code Red worm (which took advantage of an already-patchable security hole in Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 computers; Windows XP-based computers were utterly immune) exploded; most *don't want to be bothered*. All too many folks are barely beyond the simple-user satage when it comes to the computers they actually own (Ever watch the Video Professor ads where the mom shamefacedly admits going to her school-age *daughter* for computer-usage advice? And said daughter is in elementary, not high, school!). Mac users, are, in fact, even worse than Windows users (a trend that Apple is fostering, by the way) when it comes to security.

ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs:

Analogy time...

Here comes the analogies of "if you leave your front door of your house wide open" and the "if you have your car door open with the keys in it".....

See 11 replies to this post

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

all i can say is...

goodluck finding the user that is "stealing" your internets.

You'll never see me browing my neighbors net from within my home.

such a waste of tax dollars when you cant even find these people, and when you do, it's like finding a needle buried at the bottom of the ocean.
--
Religion does three things quite effectively: Divides people, Controls people, Deludes people.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

It's Cool!

You have to understand something about Maryland. We have zero crime in this state. None. It is all taken care of. Every last crook is in prison rotting away and since speeding cameras are becoming more prevalent, cops really have nothing much to do.

So we should be thanking the government for proposing a new crime.
--
This isn't fair! I was only supposed to hate just ONE presidential candidate!

See 21 replies to this post
russotto

join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA

So what's unauthorized use?

Hmm. So I (through my WiFi card) request authentication to your WiFi router, your router says, "OK, go ahead". I then request an association to your router, and your router says "No Problem". Then I ask for an IP address, some DNS servers, and a gateway to the Internet, and your router says "Here you go", and this is somehow unauthorized?

See 6 replies to this post

Slava
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Fair Lawn, NJ
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable

big deal over nothing

Lying brokers at banks gave out mortgages to many people who could not afford it are they being held accountable?

Many homeowners who were subject to predatory lending practices,including brokers who misrepresented payments are trying to rework their loans.
Why not just send them all to jail?

Why worry about wifi that can be easily secured by the host and eliminates all chances of theft?
Maybe it's just me, but to me this is silly and there are many more pressing needs out there then worry about your neighbor possibly sharing your wifi signal.

TScheisskopf
World News Trust

join:2005-02-13
Belvidere, NJ
·Sprint Broadband D..

Re: big deal over nothing

Sadly, it is the almost exclusive domain of ineffectual backbench politicians who want to make a name for themselves to introduce laws that address things that are fundimentally not a problem, or of such low probability of causing widespread societal damage as to be negligable. It gives them something to point to, at campaign time, ans crow "Ain't I just sumthin'? Look at what I did to protect you!". It's politics at its basest level. Both parties play it with nauseating regularity. A lot of tightly special interest laws come into effect this way.

Here in NJ, we have a long and scabrous history of this sort of lawmaking. Any act, behavior or social trend that gets anyone's knickers in a twist, no matter how trivial, eventually gets made illegal. What this has resulted in is a lot of chaos. Case in point: There are over 300 ways to lose your driver's license in NJ. Less than 100 have anything to do with driving. What is the effect of this orgy of driver's license suspension? Loss of license is the #1 cause of people going on welfare and a huge contributor to childhood poverty and family breakup. Because our mass transit could not suck more, fully 80% of people with a first license suspension get a second offense for driving on the suspended list. Because they have to work. Feed their family and whatnot.

This is what cheap, retail lawmaking causes. Because it's easier than addressing the real problems.

Slava
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Fair Lawn, NJ
clubs:

edit:
March 21st, @09:51AM

double post...

DataDoc
Nilsson Schmilsson
Premium
join:2000-05-14
Greenville, NC
because you neighbor clicked the link, are you willing to do the time?
birdfeedr
Premium
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI
·Verizon FIOS


edit:
March 21st, @11:13AM

The real reason for this law is not so much to look for and catch people using someone else's connection.

It's to have something on the book to charge the perps when evidence is flimsy on what they were really doing. "We can't get 'em on this one, but this one will stick for sure."

Got a leech sitting in his car, you can't call it loitering or jaywalking. No sweat! Get him on freeloading.

The fines ought to be used to fund router security education programs, at least.

Edit to add: Topic subject is not displayed.

Transmaster
Onward Through The Fog

join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Yet another case of, "we are doing something about it" crap from a politician. We have protected you, we have passed a law to make it illegal, so now we have war riders shaking in their boots......NOT! They would have been better off hiring a group of people to do the job. Perhaps computer science students from Universities, or Jr Colleges. This group would announce in advance they are going to ride around a neighborhood and offer to secure any unsecured wireless networks they find free of charge.
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Send a prayer to Allah, eat Beans.

AZ_OGM

join:2007-01-12
Phoenix, AZ

Re: Here we go again.

Sounds like a good idea on paper. But I'm not sure many would trust college students with access to their computers and their routers. Especially if they were wearing white shirts and thin black ties driving around in matching VW Beetles.
Mr Matt

join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
·Comcast


edit:
March 21st, @02:42PM

I gave a friend of mine a wireless router Christmas 2007. I was dismayed to see that his home was surrounded by other wireless networks so I set up both of his laptop computers, clients with WPA security. For future reference I gave him written instructions on how to install a new computer on his wireless network. I visited his home on the Fourth of July and asked how his wireless network was working. He indicated that he was dissatisfied by his broadband provider. He claimed that his new laptop kept disconnecting from his network and he had other problems with reliability of his internet connection. His firewall portion of his virus protection kept indicating that someone was attempting to access his computer. When I checked his wireless connection, I found that he had connected to another homeowners unprotected wireless network. When I asked how that happened he claimed that his Twelve Year old daughter had set up the computer. When I offered to correct the situation, he had trouble finding the instructions on how to connect the new laptop to his network along with the necessary passwords. Fortunately I written the WPA and Router password on the bottom of router. Within Two Minutes I had his laptop connected to his network and well the problem fixed itself. No further attempts to access his computer, no disconnects.

I have found that very few homeowners are technically qualified to properly set up a wireless network and secure it. I guess if the law was passed and he resided in Maryland he would go to jail.

Chuckles
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Saint Paul, MN
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