Is wardriving legal?

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Thread: Is wardriving legal?

  1. #1
    Great White Shark Terry's Avatar
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    Is wardriving legal?

    What happens if you are caught by the owner of the signal?
    Can he prosecute you?
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  2. #2
    Great White Shark
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    In places of the world the answer is yes because of laws against unauthorized access to a computer or computer network.

  3. #3
    The Medieval Mod freedon's Avatar
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    What is wardriving?
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  4. #4
    Catfish
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    Originally posted by ua549
    In places of the world the answer is yes because of laws against unauthorized access to a computer or computer network.
    I'm pretty sure it's what used to be done a lot more often. Programs that scan selected phone number ranges for a computer on the other end (the o so great internet connection type sound we always used to hear) and records them.

    People then used these as potential explorations

  5. #5
    Defiant Shark Johnmcl7's Avatar
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    Originally posted by freedonX
    What is wardriving?
    Wardriving, or warwalking as the on foot version is called, is when you walk or drive about trying to find open wireless access points that you can connect into with a laptop or PDA. Then you 'warchalk' or something like that, mark the access point on a map so other people can abuse it as they want.

    By the way, this is not something I do myself, just heard rather a lot about it.

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  6. #6
    Great White Shark
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    Originally posted by Murder
    I'm pretty sure it's what used to be done a lot more often. Programs that scan selected phone number ranges for a computer on the other end (the o so great internet connection type sound we always used to hear) and records them.

    People then used these as potential explorations
    You are referring to wardialing.

  7. #7
    gran tiburĂ³n blanco ewitte's Avatar
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    Originally posted by ua549
    In places of the world the answer is yes because of laws against unauthorized access to a computer or computer network.
    The law should be against people leaving it open in the first place Its like leaving the keys in your car with the engine running, a sack of money on the drivers seat and the door open. I'd not use wireless just because 9/10 times its unstable. Those people in front of the house probably get a better signal than you do

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    Last edited by ewitte; 04-04-2004 at 10:50 AM.

  8. #8
    Great White Shark
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    Just because a door is not locked, does not give someone the right to go through it. Should folks whose computer is infected by malware be guilty of a crime for not taking precautions? Blaming the victim for a crime in not ethical under any circumstances.

    I agree that folks should use common sense in these matters, but we can't legislate common sense. If we did there would be no more freedom.

  9. #9
    Catfish
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    Q'

    Should folks whose computer is infected by malware be guilty of a crime for not taking precautions?

    Isn't that the case in California now though?

    I seem to remember seeing something on UK news about California being the first place to prosecute a company that in effect was an 'innocent' party whose systems were being abused without them being aware???

    Sure I heard it on TV / Radio and also read it on THG ...but it is 'news' after all so may not be 100% true

  10. #10
    Goldfish
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    I work for one of the US Federal Law enforcement agencies (shouldn't say which one). What the current feeling is among us non-supervisory (read: not the govt's official position, just our water cooler talk) is that if you access a company's or individuals wi-fi, you may be able to use it provided a) the wifi wasn't encrypted so you didn't "hack" in and b) you do not access the company's/individual's system computer.

    The sticky part is if you use up enough of their bandwidth that it actually costs the company/individual money (even if you don't access the internal system), you can technically be prosecuted for affecting a computer used in interstate or foreign commerce due to the loss you caused that company.

    I guess a good rule of thumb is, if it feels wrong, it probably is. And don't surf someone's wi-fi, get caught and go "Hey, some federal agent on sharky's forum board said it might be legal." Like i said, this is MY opinion, not the official opinion of the govt.

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  11. #11
    Tiger Shark
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    The law should be against people leaving it open in the first place Its like leaving the keys in your car with the engine running, a sack of money on the drivers seat and the door open.
    Heh go and try this~ you'll still get arrested for stealing a car whether or not it was fully locked, or unlocked & running. We use wireless at home.. keycode is changed once a month. Even then I think someone would notice if there is a person outside their house 20 hours a day since that's how long it would take to crack the 10 digit code. I see my neighbors wireless network though, but he has it encrypted so cant get on, havn't tried "hacking" into it.
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  12. #12
    Mako Shark
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    In short, it is not illegal. Unless the owner of the network equipment expressly places a warning for those logging into their network. I worked for a Sheriff's department a while back and we had to deal with this. The prosecutor basically said that the only way you could prosecute is if you could 1) prove damage, or 2) issue a disclaimer to those logging in.

    So have fun. Just don't break anything. However, with the new anti-terror laws this could have changed. But I am not aware of it.
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  13. #13
    By the Power of Greyskull Colossus's Avatar
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    Originally posted by irwincur
    In short, it is not illegal. Unless the owner of the network equipment expressly places a warning for those logging into their network. I worked for a Sheriff's department a while back and we had to deal with this. The prosecutor basically said that the only way you could prosecute is if you could 1) prove damage, or 2) issue a disclaimer to those logging in.

    So have fun. Just don't break anything. However, with the new anti-terror laws this could have changed. But I am not aware of it.
    No offense, but just because the Prosecutor decides not to press charges doesnt mean it is illegal There are plenty of cases where they have no, due to financial reasons or gains....

    But I would side on the side that it is illegal, You have no right to access a network that you are not given permission too.. That is a crime... Doesnt matter the means in which you access it...

    Just logging in will uses corporate resources which is costly So there is a financial loss...

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  14. #14
    Mako Shark
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    No offense, but just because the Prosecutor decides not to press charges doesnt mean it is illegal There are plenty of cases where they have no, due to financial reasons or gains....
    Consdiering that I was working directly with the prosecutor in this case, on a guy that they wanted to nail, I am sure that there was nothing that they could do. This case even involved wire fraud, but it is all too questionable. It was not that they did not want to, it was that there was no law on the books authorizing them to. They spoke to numerous judges including federal, and the consensus was, if you do not warn people, an unsecured network is as public as the lines it runs over.
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  15. #15
    By the Power of Greyskull Colossus's Avatar
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    Originally posted by irwincur
    Consdiering that I was working directly with the prosecutor in this case, on a guy that they wanted to nail, I am sure that there was nothing that they could do. This case even involved wire fraud, but it is all too questionable. It was not that they did not want to, it was that there was no law on the books authorizing them to. They spoke to numerous judges including federal, and the consensus was, if you do not warn people, an unsecured network is as public as the lines it runs over.
    The only thing I think that can dispute it, is that its free air.. The data wasnt encrypted and you are allowed to take anything out of the air without being a crime...

    But that is different when one can transmit.. So I am not sure, I guess it depends what kind of judge and time they want to put into it.

    I would think they would be able to pull a conviction if they tried, There must be some small silly law he broken if you search the massive law books...

    I know the attornies I work for can find small items to toss into cases, that are basically pulled out of thin air! LOL

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