Illinois Man Fined For Piggybacking On Wi-Fi Service

[NamingJournal.com]

In Illinois, riding piggyback on someone else's Wi-Fi could cost you some money.

David M. Kauchak, 32, pleaded guilty this week in Winnebago County to remotely accessing someone else's computer system without permission, the Rockford Register Star newspaper reported. A Winnebago County judge fined Kauchak $250 and sentenced him to one year of court supervision.

Kauchak has the dubious distinction of being the first person to face the charge in Winnebago County, and prosecutors say they're taking the crime seriously.

"We just want to get the word out that it is a crime. We are prosecuting it, and people need to take precautions," Assistant State's Attorney Tom Wartowski told the newspaper.

A police officer arrested Kauchak in January after spotting him sitting in a parked car with a computer. A chat with the suspect led to the arrest, Wartowski said.

courtesy of By Antone Gonsalves, TechWeb.com


www.namingjournal.com

 

[stscac]

Did he access the actual computer system of just the Wi-Fi network?

I think that might have a big difference. What I got from the article is that he accessed their computer system on the other end. Maybe they were trying to reference the wireless system

-Steve

 

[Peter]

this also happened here in the UK in the middle of last year.

http://www.engadget.com/2005/07/22/u-k-man-arrested-fined-for-using-open-wifi-signal/

stscac if it is the same as the UK trial they accessed the wi-fi network to get the internet remotely. Alot of people do it looking for open networks so they can get free access in fact last year a big magazine told you how to go about doing it and suggested going around industrial areas to do the search)

 

[NamingJournal.com]

I think he access just the WiFi

 

[Tree]

And this is why I have a MAC address filter on my wireless network.

 

[Humdizzy]

I piggyback all the time with my laptop on road trips. I hope I don't get caught. I don't think this should be a crime. I think it should be that people who don't secure their router are just letting people use their connection.

 

[Tree]

I do as well. I was in North Carolina visiting family for Christmas, and my grandparent's neighbors had Wi-Fi, so I used it. I could have accessed their files, but didn't, I was just checking my email and such.

 

[Peter]

Many places around me have free wifi. Even mcdonalds in the US have free wifi hotspots... how sick is that.

Some business' offer that so that is nothing to worry about, there are many places in the major towns here in the UK that have similar services.

I piggyback all the time with my laptop on road trips. I hope I don't get caught. I don't think this should be a crime. I think it should be that people who don't secure their router are just letting people use their connection.

And people who run shops should secure all merchandise so that nobody steals it (jk)

Although yes they should secure there wifi network that is not an excuse for people to steal their resources.

 

[lynch88]

Sorry but what is Wi-Fi?

 

[Robert Allen]

Wi-Fi is a wireless internet connection. I do not know the exact details since i do not use it.

 

[brewmonkey]

Did he access the actual computer system of just the Wi-Fi network?

I think that might have a big difference. What I got from the article is that he accessed their computer system on the other end. Maybe they were trying to reference the wireless system

-Steve

That's what I got from it as well in which case he was committing a crime in most localities. I know in my area riding the wi-fi signal that someone else is broadcasting is not illegal provided you only go online but if you hit their computer at all or anything on their network you can get in some trouble.

How many of us though have neighbors who have their wi-fi unsecured? I know my neighbors have a few boxes wide open. You log on and hit the network and you can usually see 3 or 4 others running at the same time.

 

[CrazyTech]

Ignorance is not an excuse for someone else to break the law. Sure, people should secure themselves but a lot of this technology is new and, unfortunately for them, a lot of people don't know much about it.

 

[Darren884]

Do you think they will enforce this law alot?

 

[FluxAds.com]

I had no idea you could be prosecuted. Crazy.

 

[jstep]

There is a new site built for people to share their networks when they go on vacation, I cant remember what it was called