Perhaps the broadband providers are somewhat to blame for this, after all they must know that the majority of there subscribers have very little or no idea when it comes to network security yet every wireless router I have ever installed has unsecured wireless turned on out of the box, maybe the default should be off. Although that would generate a lot of calls to thier helplines, so they take the easy option....

I agree anyone who is not so technically proficient probably shouldn't run an open network, but if you do it right (and use the right type of router) tI wouldn't see any of those issues being real problems:

1. I restrict the upload an download bandwidth available on the open network (in the router setup) so that it is unlikely to cause any problems to my usage (plus I have an unlimited account).

2. I'm not the police, I don't believe its my duty to police what users do on the internet. I'm trying to assist my community and promote sharing of internet access as an essential and open utility, something that has greater benefits than disadvantages. Its also important for free speech that it remains possible to access the internet without being tracked or restricted by the government or any other authority. (Really this goes hand in hand with seeing the internet as a modern equivalent to traditional local community meetings and face-to-face meetings, and in that sense something that should be free of official control, and driven by the community itself).

3. My router has adequate security to prevent the users of the open network from accessing my computers, starting with restriction on access to other wireless clients, then restricting access to the LAN wired computers and finally restricted access at each computer firewal and user login.

You make very relevant points. However, the issue isn't so much whether an "open" wifi connection is legal or not - its basically about whether people actually realize the potential implications of having an "open" wifi connection.

Three issues of having an "open" wifi connection:

1. bandwidth hog 2. someone using your internet connection to visit malicious websites as well as visit/download child pornography and 3. the ability to weeve a way to your hard disk and drop some virus that collects username and password information

Anyone who has an "open" wifi connection should consider this "you'd never leave your front door open for anyone to walk in! would you?" I rest my case.

Your article is a bit misleading.

How do you know that five million adults have used someone else's wireless internet connection without permission? I leave a WiFi connection open for public use, and how are your survey respondents to know which of the wifi networks they accessed are deliberately open vs accidently open?

Its not against the law simply to access an open network (cases involving wifi usage have had other additional circumstances).

Accessing an open WiFi network isn't necessarily without permission (as my example demonstrates), and in fact the router gives permission to the requesting router to join the network.

For security, people should concentrate on securing each computer individually, and then on understanding what state their wifi network is in (whether they want to give open access or not). You can quite safely give open access while securing each computer on your home network, or even give wifi access without allowing wifi users to access the LAN network at all, or access other wifi network users (depending on the router).

Apparently internet security is more difficult than rocket science - c.f. McKinnon vs NASA.

More than two-thirds of UK households now have internet access but many could be leaving themselves open to hijackers and fraudsters. Rob Barnes takes a look…

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