Almost a citation for wi-fi hopping

So, I was sitting in a park downloading the rest of the tools I need to crack WPA encyption to collect packets to steal wi-fi at home, when guess who rolls up: The police.

Two officers, a male and a female, the female with her hand on her holster.

I almost shit myself, no joke.

They asked me what I was doing.. I quickly switched window to a window filling out my FAFSA.

Long story short, they told me that they've gotten numerous reports about a man with a laptop who MAY have been stealing wi-fi and how doing that is no different from stealing a car.
I gave the excuse that the signal was from my house (which it could have been! my lan router broadcasts that far)

Suffice to say, they didn't believe me. They went on about how it's wrong and if I wanted an internet connection I should have gone to the library (over a mile away by foot) or Starbucks (you have to pay for) and that it's wrong to steal internet from other people.

They both warned me I'd get a citation if seen again. The male cop then told me that if he gets any more reports or sees me again he has my information and he'll forward it to the FCC who will fine me.

But here's the best part: as they were giving me the lecture their radios are talking about a break in at a restraunt then towards the end of the lecture a robbery at a gas station.

WHAT THE FUCK. IS THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THEY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT? I MEAN, FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU. COCK SUCKERS.

Here's my question: Upon release of 802.1x products for the consumer market, one condition set by the IEEE was some sort of encryption or filtering, which the answer to was WEP. That was in 1999. In 2009 now if you don't use it, you deserve it.

lawl warwalk on brother.

its not illegal to use and or listen in on a non encrypted signal... using wifi that is unprotected is not a crime at all,.. those cops dont know wtf they're talking about, push them again, and again, get them to try and give you a citation and then sue the police department for harassment and bring more net neutrality cases to the frontlines

ANOthersandiegaN wrote:

its not illegal to use and or listen in on a non encrypted signal... using wifi that is unprotected is not a crime at all,.. those cops dont know wtf they're talking about, push them again, and again, get them to try and give you a citation and then sue the police department for harassment and bring more net neutrality cases to the frontlines

Really....? Hmmmm... Dox plz. I would totally fucking do it.

There is disagreement as to whether it is legal for someone to use another person’s WiFi connection to browse the Internet if the owner of the WiFi connection has not put a password on it. While Section 502 of the Penal Code prohibits the unauthorized access to computers, computer systems, and computer data, authorized use is determined by the specific circumstances of the access. There are also federal laws, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030 et seq.), that prohibit the intentional access to a computer without authorization.

that is currently the legal standpoint in california, there is no specific law about it and as prior cases have shown precident, as long as you aren't accessing the computers on the network and just using the internet connection, you aren't actually violating the law. but there still has been no successful prosecution of anyone piggy backing wifi that is unprotected... but if you want to be more discreet and you've got a port for an external antenna, you could built a cantenna and boost your wifi range to over a mile

also tell them its not like stealing a car, its more like if someone leaves their basketball at the park, and you shoot some hoops, and then leave the ball their still when you go, you didn't steal it, you didn't damage it, and its still there to be used by the owner... radio waves are just floating through the air, is that air your breathing only yours???? last time i checked air is free to everyone. they haven't found a way to charge us for it yet.

ANOthersandiegaN wrote:

There is disagreement as to whether it is legal for someone to use another person’s WiFi connection to browse the Internet if the owner of the WiFi connection has not put a password on it. While Section 502 of the Penal Code prohibits the unauthorized access to computers, computer systems, and computer data, authorized use is determined by the specific circumstances of the access. There are also federal laws, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1030 et seq.), that prohibit the intentional access to a computer without authorization.

that is currently the legal standpoint in california, there is no specific law about it and as prior cases have shown precident, as long as you aren't accessing the computers on the network and just using the internet connection, you aren't actually violating the law. but there still has been no successful prosecution of anyone piggy backing wifi that is unprotected... but if you want to be more discreet and you've got a port for an external antenna, you could built a cantenna and boost your wifi range to over a mile

also tell them its not like stealing a car, its more like if someone leaves their basketball at the park, and you shoot some hoops, and then leave the ball their still when you go, you didn't steal it, you didn't damage it, and its still there to be used by the owner... radio waves are just floating through the air, is that air your breathing only yours???? last time i checked air is free to everyone. they haven't found a way to charge us for it yet.

I've been thinking about building a cantenna.... I would suck the cock* of whoever built one and would sell it for the amount of materials required [about $10?] (no matter how simple it looks, I would find a way to fuck it up).

* Not literal.

lol they're super easy to make, or you can buy prefabbed ones on ebay for $60, the most expensive part is the pigtail which is like $2 at fry's

ANOthersandiegaN wrote:

lol they're super easy to make, or you can buy prefabbed ones on ebay for $60, the most expensive part is the pigtail which is like $2 at fry's

If I can find a way to fuck up soldering two wires together and have to buy some new wire or can set easy mac on on fire in a microwave, I can probably fuck this up.

scarletbanner wrote:

if I can find a way to fuck up soldering two wires together and have to buy some new wire or can set easy mac on on fire in a microwave, I can probably fuck this up.

l o fucking l. i dont even know what to say

This thread has been found amusing by EpicFawkesGuy.