Does Using Someone Else’s Wifi Make You Untraceable
Using someone else’s WIFI doesn’t make you untraceable. Most of the time people don’t care as long as you aren’t hacking into their information or creating problems for them such as introducing viruses to their systems. There is a debate that using a wireless connection such as that a hotel close by or a coffee shop is harmless. Others view it as being a form of stealing because someone is paying for that service but it isn’t just them that gets the benefits from it.
You may have a friend or a neighbor that has a wireless connection that is not protected and they don’t mind if you use it. However, most of the time this type of activity is going on without asking and without permission. You may assume that no one will ever find out but you better think about that again. Your IP address will be collected by the router. So they can have that matter investigated. More people are taking the time to explore their router configuration too and to find out who has gained access to their WIFI.
Of course there is plenty of anonymity when people are on the go. For example they may steal laptops and then use them to gain access to the wireless connection of others out there. They can do this to gain personal information and even if that IP address is traced it won’t lead back to the person. This is because the IP address is only a number and the name of the owner of the computer isn’t associated with it.
A simple check with any laptop can show you that there are lots of unsecured WiFi networks in their. Sometimes the signal to be very weak and this would be quite difficult to connect to which your device. But sometimes this unsecured wlan can be easily accessed if it has a strong signal. Of course there is debate whether this is legal or not if you are going to access the data on their wi-fi network this of course could be an issue. Accessing personal data is a criminal offense if it is unauthorized. If you are the owner of a WiFi network it is up to you to make sure it is secured and this can easily be done by encryption and setting usernames and passwords to last thing you want is to allow the public have easy access to your network where they can easily access the Web and use your wlan to connect to the Internet.
Yet if someone gives the list of IP addresses collected with their wireless network to the police they can choose to look into it. Generally this would include checking into homes that are within a close proximity. It would only take them a few minutes with either your permission or a warrant to check your computers and to find out if your IP address is one of them on that list.
All of that information may make you a bit more nervous about accessing wireless networks when it is one someone else’s dime. The laws about it are very loose though and since most people don’t get more than a slap on the wrist for it though the activity will continue. Those that are prosecuted are generally those that have been involved in hacking into such systems for personal gain other than just using the internet.
As someone that uses a WIFI program, you need to be aware of all of this. Make sure you know the steps that allow you to explore the collected IP addresses on your network. If you find some that shouldn’t be there make sure you talk to the authorities about it. You also want to change your passwords so that it is harder for people to gain such access.
Got something to say? Click here to reply
