Half of UK computer users found guilty of Wi-Fi thievery
By Triston McIntyre
Though I think nearly everyone is guilty of a little piggy-backing at one point or another, a recent poll revealed that over 50% of UK computer users admitted to piggy-backing their way to the internet at least once.
These findings are result of a little polling work coming from Sophos; the poll revealed that 54% of UK computer users have used someone else’s WiFi without their permission.
I have to say I find those numbers actually low; in the near future there’s a good chance WiFi networks will overlap so extensively that there won’t be any need to differentiate between one network and another.
However, we haven’t reached that point. Security is of paramount concern, and everyone rightfully bristles at the idea that someone might be leeching bandwidth or even endangering the safe-kept documents on networked computers.
In that mind, Sophos provides a few pointers for maintaining a secure network. Always secure your network with some sort of encryption (ideally WPA or WPA2 as those setups are more secure than WEP), block all non-approved MAC addresses from joining your network, and secure each machine on the network individually.
It is also important to note that laws on violating networks are being debated and written; if you can’t wait to check your email or update your Facebook status until you get back to your own network, find a Starbucks.
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November 18th, 2007
I don’t think most people care if someone is using a bit of their bandwidth. Why would they? People naturally like to share things.
Although I’ve seen a couple of folk who were too poor to pay for their own connection, most computer users that I see just use a cable connection or ADSL or whatever their home connection is. They just don’t have any reason to connect elsewhere and a lot of people don’t even have any wireless capability. I really wonder where that 50% figure came from… I bet they just polled two people.