Re: Anyone ever prosecuted for leaving their window open?

On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:47:23 +0100, Alex Heney <me8@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

No idea, but anyone having an open WiFi connection or even one
encrypted with WEP (usually crackable in minutes) is just asking for
trouble.

What sort of trouble do you have in mind?

Well if he is using your connection for criminal purposes, that could
get you in a lot of trouble.

IMO, so long as you know your neighbours reasonably well, that
scenario is no more likely than a visitor to your house doing the
same. It is only neighbours who would be likely to be using your
connection regularly, and very occasional criminal use by people in
the street outside your house will be unlikely to attract the
attention of the police (unless it is serious terrorist related
activity)

My position is unusual in that I have some "neighbours" who are around
only over weekends for part of the year. They do not have a Internet
connection because it would not be worth paying for one for such
infrequent use. But some are also businessmen who are very grateful
to be able to connect to the Internet without fuss (though their wives
are sometimes less appreciative).

And yes, we all know they would have very great difficulty in
convicting you of anything without evidence that you were the person
using the connection, but that will not stop them taking your computer
away for months, and generally making things awkward for you while
they attempt to find that evidence.

As I said to Periander, IMO that is a serious issue wrt the way that
these sorts of suspected crime are investigated. Rather than attempt
to get everyone to make their computer and credit card details 100%
bullet-proof (and open WiFi connections are only one way such
sucpicion can come about), the emphasis should be on preventing the
police from seriously inconveniencing people unless and until
corroborating evidence is found.

I have given details before of how that could be achieved pretty
easily so that a suspect can have their equipment back within a few
days without compromising the investigation.

--
Cynic

.

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