| Author |  Topic  |
Cruella DeVilla
 USA
10926 Posts
Joined: 18 May 2004
Status: offline |  Posted - 22 Aug 2007 : 17:21:44  
| A man who was spotted in the street using his laptop to access an unsecured wireless connection has been arrested.
The 39-year-old man was seen sitting on a wall outside a home in Chiswick, west London, by two community support officers.
When questioned he admitted using the owner's unsecured wireless internet connection without permission and was arrested on suspicion of stealing a wireless broadband connection.
The man was bailed to October pending further inquiries.
Dishonestly obtaining free internet access is an offence under the Communications Act 2003 and a potential breach of the Computer Misuse Act.
The move is the latest example of police cracking down on a crime that did not exist several years ago when wireless internet access was relatively rare.
In April, a man was cautioned by police after neighbours saw him using a laptop in a car parked outside a house in Redditch, Worcestershire.
In 2005, a man was fined £500 for piggybacking on someone else's wireless broadband connection in London.
Detective Constable Mark Roberts, of the Metropolitan Police computer crime unit, said anyone who illegally uses a broadband link faces arrest.
He said: "This arrest should act as a warning to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to illegally use other people's broadband connections.
"To do so potentially breaches the Computer Misuse Act and the Communications Act, so computer users need to be aware that this is unlawful and police will investigate any violation we become aware of."
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CDV
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floridadreamvilla.co.uk
 United Kingdom
18663 Posts
Joined: 21 Jan 2002
Status: offline | |
Cruella DeVilla
USA
10926 Posts
Joined: 18 May 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 22 Aug 2007 : 18:28:35
| | This guy was daft enough to tell them! |
CDV
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floridadreamvilla.co.uk
United Kingdom
18663 Posts
Joined: 21 Jan 2002
Status: offline | |
Nina A
 United Kingdom
1691 Posts
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Status: offline | |
Snapper
 United Kingdom
4728 Posts
Joined: 11 Apr 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 22 Aug 2007 : 21:03:03
| | And is it dishonest if the wireless connection is not secured? Who's to say that the owner of the wireless wasn't just altruistic and left it open so that people who didn't have an internet link could use it? |
Steve.
http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/1418.aspx |
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MarkJan
 United Kingdom
2976 Posts
Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Status: offline | |
florida4sun
 United Kingdom
8265 Posts
Joined: 16 Feb 2002
Status: offline | |
Macka
 United Kingdom
1349 Posts
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 10:16:24
| I disagree entirely.
I pay for my wireless broadband access. Why should I subsidise people who don't or won't? and who possibly don't pay for any of the software on their laptops or desktops?
How would you feel if someone kept putting their rubbish in your bin? or watching the match on skysports through your window?
Where do you draw your lines?
It's theft.
Period. |
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Cruella DeVilla
USA
10926 Posts
Joined: 18 May 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 10:32:36
| Being in the business, I totally agree Macka.
Steve if your car is unlocked does it give someone the right to take it
Martin, someone stealing your bandwidth can affect your own usage. |
CDV
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Katys Grandad
United Kingdom
2047 Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 10:38:05
| | Who actually loses anything in this situation? If this is what Community Support Officers (and I note that there were 2 of them!) are spending their time doing it's little wonder the streets are as unsafe as they are. |
Edited by - Katys Grandad on 23 Aug 2007 10:39:29 |
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tezz7628
 United Kingdom
1745 Posts
Joined: 20 May 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 10:40:10
| | does it effect the download speed also? |
tezz 7628 |
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Macka
United Kingdom
1349 Posts
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 11:08:20
| quote:
Originally posted by Katys Grandad
Who actually loses anything in this situation? If this is what Community Support Officers (and I note that there were 2 of them!) are spending their time doing it's little wonder the streets are as unsafe as they are.
Of course there are losers here. The more people who use the bandwidth, the slower the performance. If everyone pays, the isp can invest in infrastructure according to useage. It's not about overzealous coppers. |
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Cruella DeVilla
USA
10926 Posts
Joined: 18 May 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 11:11:06
| quote:
Originally posted by tezz7628
does it effect the download speed also?
Yes Tezz. |
CDV
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Katys Grandad
United Kingdom
2047 Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 11:25:22
| quote:
Originally posted by Macka
quote:
Originally posted by Katys Grandad
Who actually loses anything in this situation? If this is what Community Support Officers (and I note that there were 2 of them!) are spending their time doing it's little wonder the streets are as unsafe as they are.
Of course there are losers here. The more people who use the bandwidth, the slower the performance. If everyone pays, the isp can invest in infrastructure according to useage. It's not about overzealous coppers.
On day when we awake to the news of another horrendous tragedy with street crime, discovering that the people paid to support the community on the streets are spending their time with this trivia just saddens me further.
Reduced Bandwidth? Who cares? |
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steph_goodrum
 United Kingdom
7955 Posts
Joined: 12 Feb 2002
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 12:20:30
| I tend to agree Katys Grandad, as long as the connection isn't being used to try to hack into the computer and steal personal info etc then I kind of equate it to sitting on the front garden wall and reading your newspaper by the light coming from someones front room.
If it is not being significantly abused then it shouldnt make too much difference to download speed if you are using broadband, I dont find if my daughter uses her laptop and I am on the computer sharing the connection any problem and I know my daughter and her 2 flatmates last year shared the same connection at the same time with no loss.
At the end of the day, it's a small gesture that can enhance peoples lives at no extra cost to ourselves, imagine if you are lost and want to use the internet on your phone or laptop to get somewhere how useful that could be. |
Babblin Boo
http://www.orlandovillas.com/villas/92.aspx
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flyrr100
 USA
823 Posts
Joined: 06 Jun 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 14:27:04
| They should have had a good password! I get at least six wireless signals in my home! All are encrypted. Mine is password protected. I can sit in a hotel parking lot, or in most shopping plaza parking lots, or in any office park and reveive countless un-secured wireless connections. As I type I'm in the Hilton, Baton Rouge, LA, and am using the hotel's free unsecured wireless connection, and I'm also picking up a connection from the office next door.
To be arrested for 'stealing' a wireless signal is basic stupidity, because there are just too many free signals out there! |
Jeff & Amy Stephens |
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Cruella DeVilla
USA
10926 Posts
Joined: 18 May 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 14:40:35
| But that's just it Steph in some cases who knows what they are actually doing. Or perhaps another harmless use angle to relate it to, what if it was someone using your villa photos or text would you be so accomodating it's not doing anyharm to anyone after all!
I also agree you should have a password and that would be the end of it.
People do care that's just it KD,I would be annoyed if someone was using my connection and using up all the bandwidth and reducing the speeds, I need a high speed connection for my various projects and in my opinion they should pay for their own. What happened last night was blinkin awful but in my book not related this is a much deeper and difficult problem to address and goes beyond the duties of a CSO.
In this tale a "crime" was committed and he was caught so the CSO did achieve smething and I doubt he will do it again in a hurry.
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CDV
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Edited by - Cruella DeVilla on 23 Aug 2007 18:10:53 |
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sammibabe
United Kingdom
618 Posts
Joined: 19 May 2003
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 17:23:15
| | I do agree that it is wrong. It does affect download speeds (we have 3 wireless connections in our house and if all being used we notice how much slower our connection is). I understand that whilst there are horrendous things happening out their, and my heart goes out to the family of the boy in Liverpool, does this mean that lesser crimes should be left alone. Absolutely not. Where do you draw the line - if it's a crime it's a crime. |
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Katys Grandad
United Kingdom
2047 Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2004
Status: offline | Posted - 23 Aug 2007 : 17:52:32
| quote:
Originally posted by sammibabe
Where do you draw the line - if it's a crime it's a crime.
Last word from me on this.
I am not attempting to justify this man's actions which are clearly against the law.
My only point is that the police know they can't possibly deal with every crime, as much as they might wish they could. What they have to do is prioritise and are constantly telling us they do so for the benefit of the community they serve. I just cannot see how this arrest and the the resources devoted to it best serves the community when there are so many other problems out there. Last night's tragedy brings that into focus for me. if I was a cynic I might also add that it's a lot easier and less challenging to spend your time dealing with things like this than it is tackling street gangs and gun crime.
Would I like somebody illegally accessing my wifi connection? Probably not. Do I want the only 2 CSO's who serve the community in which I live spending their time making arrests like this rather than dealing with the real problems? Most definitely not!
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MTP
 United Kingdom
1699 Posts
Joined: 17 May 2003
Status: offline | Posted - 24 Aug 2007 : 00:41:42
| In this case, it seems, the assumption is that the crime is that the person is stealing internet access bandwidth and most people are agreed that this is bad, but not hugely so, in the grander scheme of things.
There is one factor that may be being overlooked.
Who knows what this person was doing with this connection? If the person was carrying out something particularly nefarious, and there are some particularly evil people our there, then their actions could perhaps be traced back to the IP address of the wi-fi connection they were sharing. This may be a little extreme and scaremongering-ish, however it is not outwith the realms of reality. |
http://www.orlandovillas.com/florida-vacation-rental-3204.aspx |
Edited by - MTP on 24 Aug 2007 00:43:34 |
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