http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardriving
Quote:
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Wardriving is an activity consisting of driving around with a Wi-Fi-equipped computer, such as a laptop or a PDA, in one's vehicle, detecting Wi-Fi wireless networks. It is also known (as of 2002) as "WiLDing" (Wireless Lan Driving), originating in the U.S. with the Bay Area Wireless Users Group (BAWUG). It is similar to using a scanner for radio. Many wardrivers use GPS devices to measure the location of the network find and log it on a website. For better range, antennas are built or bought, and vary from omnidirectional to highly directional. Software for wardriving is freely available on the Internet, notably, NetStumbler for Windows, KisMac for Macintosh, and Kismet for Linux.
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Article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050707/ap_on_hi_te/techbits_wi_fi_theft_1
Looking at my AirPort, I have 9 unsecured wifi signals coming into my computer room. My wireless router is hidden and mac address exclusive, it took all of 45 seconds to set up... Log into router, check two boxes, enter laptop's mac address.
I'm not sure what I think about this guy getting arrested... technically, he was stealing bandwidth at the bare minimum, even if he wasn't doing anything else michevious... While at the mall last week, I hopped onto what I believed was the mall's public wifi to check my email. Public wifi is everywhere, so how are you to know if it's a public or private network, and how do you know when you're breaking the law, unless the network name is "Sam's private network" which they never are.