Wireless security (was Re: [Wolves] PDAs - a vague question)

fizzy wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk
Tue Sep 2 11:32:00 2003


> This is a good point. I went out recently with my
> Mac
> detecting wireless LANs in my area, and there were a
> fair few with no WEP enabled. The point is - can I
> connect legally? I did'nt because I don't know
> enough
> about it.

It's a bit of a grey area.  2600 people tend to say
that if you connect and they give you a DHCP lease
automatically, it's probably going to be ok.  If you
defeat any security measures (i guess this includes
cracking wep) you could well get done.  The way the
computer misuse act is worded you are breaking the law
every time you visit a webpage or ping something, so
it's all down to the interpretation of the law.

To be on the safe side i'd say not to connect to any
network you haven't got explicit permission to do so,
but let me know if you find any good ones, so i can
inform the owners ;)

Oh, and searching for wireless networks afaik is
legal, all you're doing is testing the air for the
presence of a radio signal, re-load/savvy might know
more about that tho...

>   Jono
fizz

ps - i'll come for a wardrive too if you like :)

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