I was browsing over at the alt.boats forums (I must have been really bored).
Aside form the constant political harangues and personal flame-wars that
continue forever over there I noticed another concept there that surprised
me.

The idea seems to be that it is fair game to hijack an open WIFI connection
any time you can.  Discussions there range on about the "stinginess" of the
WIFI networks that use security to keep intruders out.  I see boater that have
YAGI antennas that are steerable for the express purpose of trying to find a
shoreside WIFI circuit so they can steal someone's Internet bandwidth.  There
are listings of bays and harbors where one can find good pickings to invade
shoreside Internet connections.

I'm not naove on this subject.  I know there are folks who drive around in
cars looking for open WIFI and websites dedicated to publishing this kind of
info.  But I always assumed it was for hacker's delights.  That is, like
counting coup.  How many can you find?

But these guys seem to feel it is their right to use your WIFI as long as they
can get away with it.  They do not see it as stealing.  They are quite
indignant that someone would suggest it was stealing.  "I am not a thief, I am
an honorable cruiser taking advantage of my given rights."

Weird

Joe Engel
Portland, OR

As I understand it, if you have a WIFI you can password protect it so
unauthorized users cannot avail themselves of your setup. The password
protection is a very simple setup procedure.

Although I am not the kind of person to walk into someone's house just
because his front door is unlocked, my take is that if a WIFI owner has not
setup password protection for his system, then he is offering his system to
those in the neighborhood to use.

And I am very thankful for his largess.

-- Jim

Jim & Rita Ague
M/V Derreen, Monk 36

It is not all about 'stealing', there are many WiFi sites set up for free
access, both by public as well as private parties.  Hey, in Portland
Pioneer Square has free access as well as the Park Blocks.  And some cities
are seeing it as a Public Service across the whole town (I seem to remember
Ashland Oregon and Boston MA being two of them...)

-al-

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Engel" joe@jre.com
<Clip>

Weird

Joe Engel
Portland, OR

(SNIP) The idea seems to be that it is fair game to hijack an open WIFI
connection
any time you can.  Discussions there range on about the "stinginess" of the
WIFI networks that use security to keep intruders out.  I see boater that
have
YAGI antennas that are steerable for the express purpose of trying to find a
shoreside WIFI circuit so they can steal someone's Internet bandwidth.
There
are listings of bays and harbors where one can find good pickings to invade
shoreside Internet connections. (Joe)

In the insurance business, we used to call it an "attractive nuisance"--a
swimming pool without a fence, for example.

Anyone operating a WiFi network without turning on encryption, changing
default channel numbers and network names and implementing MAC address
controls is leaving their network open to "visitors".

My guess is the cruisers who seek out WiFi access simply want to experience
some speeds faster than 14.4.  I also know cruisers who have buried the
anchor, live by an anchorage and leave their network available to fellow
cruisers. Some people care and are ignorant of the risks, other simply don't
care if cruisers share their DSL or cable access and use ICS.

Bottom line is you are right, it is stealing, but I think there should be
some culpability on the part of the careless network operator.

                                      Regards....

Phil Rosch
Old Harbor Consulting
M/V Curmudgeon MT-44TC
Currently moored in Fort Myers Beach, Estero Island, FL

Joe and Phil,

Before we jump all over Wi-Fi interceptors cruising all around the world,
let's remember that there is a fair number of businesses located near
marinas and other places where cruisers gather, who offer free Wi-Fi access
solely for the purpose of offering a valuable "freebie" for their customers.
One can argue that a waterfront hotel that provides free Wi-Fi access to
guests, those who hang out in the lobby, those who camp out near the pool,
etc., knows that others within range can access the signal and gain internet
access that way.  This is NOT always a one-way street.  I have made a point
of purchasing supplies and services from shoreside firms who made Wi-Fi
access readily available, and told them so.

In fact, I was delighted to find a hotel at the marina where we will be
living aboard mentioned in a listing of free Wi-Fi "hot spots".
Unfortunately that delight was short-lived as it turns out they yanked out
the service long ago, not due to interception by "pirate" cruisers, but
because their guests simply weren't into 802.11x connectivity.

As it turns out, this business of supplying free wireless "hotspots" is
gaining in popularity.  There are at least three different web-sites which
try to list them all.  Consult:
http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm;jsessionid=aG1qCxgEIMTh
To see how they operate.  If someone goes to all the trouble to advertise
their free "hotspot" on such sites, it would be a shame to not use their
freebie services, put there for all users.  One need not fear reprisals or
feel guilty about using what's put out in the air for all nearby to use.
Quite a different scenario from what some TWListees have portrayed such
services as.

Bob Peterson

-----Original Message-----
From: Philip J. Rosch
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 11:12 AM
To: 'Trawler World List'
Subject: TWL: RE: Strange concepts regarding WIFI

(SNIP) The idea seems to be that it is fair game to hijack an open WIFI
connection any time you can.  Discussions there range on about the
"stinginess" of the WIFI networks that use security to keep intruders out.
I see boater that have YAGI antennas that are steerable for the express
purpose of trying to find a shoreside WIFI circuit so they can steal
someone's Internet bandwidth.
There are listings of bays and harbors where one can find good pickings to
invade shoreside Internet connections. (Joe)

In the insurance business, we used to call it an "attractive nuisance"--a
swimming pool without a fence, for example.

Anyone operating a WiFi network without turning on encryption, changing
default channel numbers and network names and implementing MAC address
controls is leaving their network open to "visitors".

I run a multiple node wifi network in my house and one on my boat. Both are
WEP protected because I don't like to share my toys in my sandbox <grin>.

That said, I think that we need to consider the types of wifi nets and the
"correctness" of using them:
Type 1. Public or free networks - these are quite popular and can be found
in many cities and coffee shops and libraries and are usually
user-maintained as a public service. The operator is providing the service
as a benefit to the community and the concept of "shareware" ("sharenet"?)
applies. These people provide a real public service.
Type 2. Commercial or "for fee" services - more professionally built and
sometimes more robust. These are the ones you find in hotels, Starbucks,
Kinkos, and many marinas. They are commercial enterprises and require that
the user be authenticated as a proper fee paying user.
Type 3. Private business networks - these should locked down, just because.
Unfortunately these nets can be real hacker targets.
Type 4. Home owner networks - this is where the issue resides. The typical
home network is often installed by a non-professional and these networks are
totally open. Most of the time the owner doesn't know it because none of the
low cost wifi equipment providers enable WEP (or better) security tools.
This user is paying $30-50 monthly for his usage and probably doesn't want
some stranger freeloading on his costs. This network is not the same as type
1 above and should be considered off-limits.

Unfortunately, there is often no way to determine between a Type 1 and a
Type 4 network.

IMHO,
Bob Miller
M/V Loon Song
Anacortes, WA

-----Original Message-----
<< snip>

Understood, but there are also other issues.  For example some of my "black
hat" colleagues, put a WiFi lan out there as a "honey pot".  Unsuspecting
users who have their root drive shared find they are in big trouble as their
identities are stolen.

I ran the Security Service at a large management advisory firm before I
retired...

                                      Regards....

Phil Rosch
Old Harbor Consulting
M/V Curmudgeon MT-44TC
Currently moored in Fort Myers Beach, Estero Island, FL