is it ok to leech wifi from your neighbour?

Professor Knowall

I overheard a guy telling his friend how to link in to his neighbours broadband. Not sure how I feel about it. What do others think?

Mint Sauce

Professor Knowall wrote: »

I overheard a guy telling his friend how to link in to his neighbours broadband.

And your thoughts are?

looking_around

No, many people have limited broadband, and that could end up costing them a small fortune.
Should just talk to said neighbours, and offer to pay a fair amount etc.

I overheard a guy

You mean, you've figured out your neighbours wifi is easy to get into, right >_>

Praetorian Saighdiuir

It's ok Professor, looks like you don't Knowall.

Also, meh

madchild

Cheap feckers in my eyes thats thieving.

Mr. CooL ICE

I voted everything.

Everything.

Professor Knowall

I don't think anyone should do it. A mobile dongle only costs about twenty a month. Also, imagine if they found out? The shame... :eek:

hfallada

If they dont have a password on their wifi theyre a fool... Someone can easily see what theyre doing on the internet eg internet banking,emails. But if I go on their wifi people can see what im doing so I would not do it. Where I live 95% of people use UPC moderns which all are password protected

Just go over and offer to share - cheaper for both of you!

Ruudi_Mentari

I wish not, because my new neighbour is the only person with no password on and my device often switches to his connection....

not saying anything either as he didn't respond last time.... first time........ only time. Last impressions count?!

Professor Knowall

hfallada wrote: »

If they dont have a password on their wifi theyre a fool... Someone can easily see what theyre doing on the internet eg internet banking,emails. But if I go on their wifi people can see what im doing so I would not do it. Where I live 95% of people use UPC moderns which all are password protected

How??

pragmatic1

Yes. Sharing is caring.

B.A._Baracus

I think such a question would generally be met with a hypocritcal answer

That being: No one wants their wifi to be stolen. But stealing another's is a different story.

Gran Hermano

Professor Knowall wrote: »

How??

By sniffing your package packets

Jester252

You/Your friend is cheap

Merkin

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

I think such a question would generally be met with a hypocritcal answer

That being: No one wants their wifi to be stolen. But stealing another's is a different story.

Yep, potentially quite a bit of mock outrage. If it's there to be used then people will take advantage eventhough the thought of someone doing it to you is ****ty and a pretty scummy thing to do.

Kintarō Hattori

I have more broadband than I need and when my older neighbours quizzed me on current packages I said I'd happily share it with them at no cost as in fairness they are pretty decent neighbours.

Straight up leeching however is not cool.

GalwayKiefer

Call me paranoid if you will but whenever I see an open wifi signal (that's not a cafe etc) I assume it's someone waiting to nab info off leecher's computers. Who doesn't know in this day and age to secure your wifi.

Super-Rush

If someone asks can they access it for a while then sure, go ahead.

Otherwise piss off cheapskate.

annascott

It sounds a bit dodgy. Is it like taking electricity or phone, will it cost them more?

moc moc a moc

Professor Knowall wrote: »

Not sure how I feel about it.

Well that's a great start to a fascinating thread in the making....

B.A._Baracus

Merkin wrote: »

Yep, potentially quite a bit of mock outrage. If it's there to be used then people will take advantage eventhough the thought of someone doing it to you is ****ty and a pretty scummy thing to do.

Exactly.
Such is life. Doesn't matter what it is .... if there is a way to get it for free there will be no shortage of takers.

I just checked my modem to see if anyone was stealing :P Does no harm to check now and again. Guess the buck stops with us all.

Antar Bolaeisk

It should only ever be accessed in order to change the ssid to something suitably hilarious.

Port spelunking can be great on a boring night.

not1but4

Poor student like I was would take advantage of easily hacked eircom WiFi signals coming into my student house from next door. Wouldnt do it now but that because I now have money to afford it.

fussyonion

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

Exactly.
Such is life. Doesn't matter what it is .... if there is a way to get it for free there will be no shortage of takers.

I just checked my modem to see if anyone was stealing :P Does no harm to check now and again. Guess the buck stops with us all.

Sorry if this sounds stupid but how do you check?

I have no idea if someone is using my Internet, although someone said they can't if they haven't got my password, printed under the modem.
Is there a way of checking if someone is using your connection?

TheUsual

You wouldn't steal a car.

Chuck Stone

You wouldn't download a delicious stone oven baked pizza with a selection of delectable toppings on it would you?

TINA1984

Sometimes its justified....

Moving into a new apartment, no elevator in the building so had to walk up several flights of stairs at a time carrying stuff, all on my ownsome. On a couple of occasions, when carrying heavy furniture and manouevering thorugh the door of my apartment, which is a fire door, the kind that will slam if you let it close, I wasn't able to hold the handle of said door without dropping furniture so I had to let it slam closed.

It was once or twice in the middle of the afternoon, no big deal or so I thought.

Nearly finished moving my stuff up when I come across a middle-aged women with a puss on her, standing at my door.

her: "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SLAMMING THAT DOOR REPEATEDLY?!??1"

me: "sorry bout that, as you can see (I was holding some chairs) it's kinda difficult to close the door lol"

her: "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO MAKE SUCH NOISE...(much ranting & raving)......I'M CONTACTING YOUR LANDLORD & THE GARDS!!!"

me "but..."

her: "(more ranting)... I'VE RANG MY DAUGHTER, SHE'S GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU!!!!"

me: "right...."

...Cue daughter arriving and having a moan to me. All because I let a fire door slam shut twice, maybe, thrice. After trying to paly good neighbour and trying to reason with mother/daughter, I gave up and told 'em to fcuk off.




Later that evening, talking to my new flatmate about getting broadband, she mentioned that the neighbour upstairs, a middle-aged women apparently, has unsecured broadband.

"O RLY?" Says I....

A couple of months and several new external hard drives later, the irate women and her daughter accosted me again, this time knocking on my apartment door holding what looks like an eircom bill.

her: "ARE YE STEALING MY INTERNET!!! MY EIRCOM BILL IS ENORMOUS!!! THEY TOLD ME ON THE PHONE YOU ARE STEALING MY INTERNET!!!?!!"

me " I don't know what you're on about lol" and then I let the door slam shut in her face.

Dunny

People with no WPA deserve to have it stolen.

bluefinger

i always thought that people who didn't use a password just like to share.

wandatowell

just changed my wifi password incase my neighbours are leeching off me

TheUsual

bluefinger wrote: »

i always thought that people who didn't use a password just like to share.

Does your girlfriend have a password ?

Siuin

TheUsual wrote: »

You wouldn't steal a car.

You'd be shít at GTA

Richard Dower

Dunny wrote: »

People with no WPA deserve to have it stolen.

Or worse...WEP :rolleyes:

smileyj1987

Ah now if you have a bandwidth cap and its nearly full its the only way to roll !

mister bishi

the neighbours wont mind sure what they dont know won't piss them off

victimless crime,,

like punchin someone in the dark

efb

Richard Dower wrote: »

Or worse...WEP :rolleyes:

Jesus WEP-T

Xavi6

TheUsual wrote: »

You wouldn't steal a car.

If I wasn't going to get caught and there was zero fallout then yes I would, which is why I download and use open wifi.

JD DABA

Leech is such a vulgar term, 'surprise sharing ' or 'excess redistribution' fits just as well.
Think of it as providing free service quality supervision.

BOHtox

I voted for all of them. 'Murica!

orestes

TheUsual wrote: »

You wouldn't steal a car.

I don't have to, my neighbour has one.

a5y

I wouldn't myself. I like my neighbours.

Years ago when I had drunken screaming rampaging neighbours and flatmates however you can bet the router mysteriously kept reseting or grinding to a halt.

I only wish I'd trying experimenting with operant conditioning on them.

joe stodge

looking_around wrote: »

No, many people have limited broadband, and that could end up costing them a small fortune.
Should just talk to said neighbours, and offer to pay a fair amount etc.


You mean, you've figured out your neighbours wifi is easy to get into, right >_>

The fathers next door neighbor was at it for a while, for about 2 months the download speed dropped and he got 2 huge bills. My dad changed the password weekly and it still kept happening.

He only stopped when my dad called in and threatened to kick the ****e outta him.

heroics

Professor Knowall wrote: »

How??

Download wireshark and run it on the network. Most web addresses etc will be in plain text

Nabber

I let people connect to mine. You find that we can all share alike

Einstein

I don't need to thanks to my super-dee-dooper connection....but If someone is silly enough not to password protect their wifi, they kinda deserve it

BizzyC

My brother in law works from home so has a pretty good broadband connection.
His neighbors, who he was friendly with mentioned that they were switching provider and would have no service for a while, could they borrow his while theirs was down etc.
He didn't mind, so gave them the password.

Since he works US hours though, his neighbors would be home eating up his bandwidth while he was trying to work in the evenings.
After a few months of this with no sign of them getting their own setup, he changed password.

Que herself from next door, "we're not able to get on the internet anymore, can you fix it"
His response, "oh weird, works fine for me, I don't know why you're having trouble"

Real Life

Its only ok to do so in cases where you want to look at something illegal on the internet. otherwise use your own.

Dravokivich

Wouldn't do it no. Even mentioned it to neighbours whenever I noticed their wifi was open.

circadian

Richard Dower wrote: »

Or worse...WEP :rolleyes:

I still spot those old eircom routers secured with WEP. Someone made a web app to convert the SSID into hex which just happens to be the password.

I have no idea how they were allowed to be shipped to customers like that.

johnny_knoxvile

I tried to train a leech to get me wi-fi...
total failure, just like my flee circus.