WiFi Turns Internet Into Hideout for Criminals

[onehandle]

Detectives arrived last summer at a high-rise apartment building in Arlington County, warrant in hand, to nab a suspected pedophile who had traded child pornography online. It was to be a routine, mostly effortless arrest.

But when they pounded on the door, detectives found an elderly woman who, they quickly concluded, had nothing to do with the crime. The real problem was her computer's wireless router, a device sending a signal through her 10-story building and allowing savvy neighbors a free path to the Internet from the privacy of their homes.

Perhaps one of those neighbors, authorities said, was stealthily uploading photographs of nude children. Doing so essentially rendered him or her untraceable.

With nearly 46,000 public access points across the country -- many of them free -- hundreds of thousands of computer users are logging on every day to wireless networks at cafes, hotels, airports and even while sitting on park benches. And although the majority of those people are simply checking their e-mail and surfing the Web, authorities said an increasing number of criminals are taking advantage of the anonymity offered by the wireless signals to commit a raft of serious crimes -- from identity theft to the sexual solicitation of children.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/10/AR2007021001457.html

[junior college]

1. The transmission of wireless internet signals needs to be outlawed

until we can figure out a way to track and identify everyone who uses them. :sarcasm:

[Canuckistanian]

36. WiFI is a scourge on society

Everyone who uses one should be subject to a painful rectal examination.

It's the only way to stop the moral degradation inherent in this permissive culture.

[dysfunctional press]

2. why does an elderly woman even need a wireless router?

nt

[mondo joe]

4. For the same reasons anyone else does?

[dysfunctional press]

8. most people don't need them.

if someone has a desktop computer(none of my parents friends have laptops, for instance), a wireless connection is totally unnecessary.

and if it's an elderly woman living alone, she probably doesn't even NEED a router in the first place.

[MyNameGoesHere]

10. Why don't elderly need a router?

You think they should be using dial up or something? Almost ALL DSL, Cable, Fiber or sat services come with a router. And it is just as cheap to use a wireless router.

[dysfunctional press]

15. i didn't say elderly- i said people...

if you have only one workstation- you don't need a router. not just with dial-up, but also with DSL, cable, etc.

unless you have a laptop that you want to use around the house, a wireless router is superfluous.

and i'm guessing that most elderly people,(none that i know) don't have laptops, anyway.

[Jackpine Radical]

18. What's elderly? Maybe 60+?

If so, I'm one of those clueless, tecnologically challenged geezers.

Lessee--I have 3 laptops & a desktop in the basement. My wife has a laptop & a desktop on the 2nd floor. In the summer I like to sit out on my deck with one of the laptops. Right now I'm in the sunroom with one. And of course I have a Palm T|X with a drug compendium I update weekly via wifi.

[dysfunctional press]

28. "clueless, tecnologically challenged geezers"...?

definitely your words, not mine.

when i think "elderly", i'm generally thinking 75+, for one thing, and i don't think that i ever said "all" when speaking about a group of people for another...and i specifically mentioned laptops as being an exception,in regard to the need for a wirelss router.
although- i did think of one elderly person i know of with a laptop- my mother-in-law...but she rarely uses it, NEVER takes it anywhere- even inside the house, it's always on her desk, and she plays solitare more than she surfs.

[pitohui]

29. i know lots of elderly people (70 and up) with laptops

jeez, get out more


habitual is right, maybe we're just the house of nerds, but when we're socializing at an older family member's house, how many times after too much eating of fine food and drinking of fine wine are some of us napping, some of us surfing on the porch in the sun, and some of us playing online poker

if you're visiting for several days, there will be downtime when everyone is horsing around on the computer at once, it's just the modern world, we are not all sitting around watching the ed sullivan show anymore

[dysfunctional press]

35. good for you.

most that i know don't have them.

they still show ed sullivan?

[WinkyDink]

41. 1. I don't know what "elderly" means here; 2. Maybe the woman would rather NOT

sit at a desk?

I think it's pretty obvious why someone of a certain age would prefer a lap-top.

[habitual]

12. your are only correct in relation to the use of laptops

but you fail to acknowledge the tremendous use they have for using multiple computers in one household and the convenience of visitors.

Multiple computers in one household is a major advantage for anyone to use a wireless router, no matter what age you are.

Perhaps her grand-child uses a laptop when she comes and visits. My Grandma does have a wireless router (no, she didn't set it up herself, her son-in-law did) and it is very convenient for her younger visitors to use.

These are 2 very significant reasons why an elderly person with a desktop computer may still want to use a wireless router.

[mondo joe]

16. No one NEEDs a router. But they can sure make life more convenient.

I use a router and a laptop.

I assume an elderly person might have the same reason.

[Clark2008]

23. So, we're supposed to pay the cable and/or phone company

$50 extra a month for each computer to have a modem for internet connection rather than just buy a router and two wireless cards for $100 once?

I don't think so.

What's totally unnecessary are your naive comments or lack of knowledge about multi-computer families.

[dysfunctional press]

33. most elderly people don't have multi-computer households...

so a router is definitely not needed.
i could be wrong, but i'm guessing that most (i.e. NOT all) households in the u.s. are not multi-computer ones...yet.
and for the most part, any household that has only one non-laptop computer has no need for a router.

[pitohui]

37. either they're multi computer or there is no computer

where is this household where someone has just one computer, it just isn't the way it is these days

[alarimer]

38. Well personally I have two computers

a desktop and a notebook, connected by Wifi. Mine is encrypted though, which wouldn't stop them but it might slow them down. I like to use my computer outside on a nice day. Who is to say she didn't do the same thing?

[Buzz Clik]

5. Ease of connection.

No doubt her child or grandchild set it up for her. She's smart enough to use the Net but her cable/DSL entry into her apartment may be inconveniently located. The $40 solution -- snap in a wireless router, and put Granny's comp anywhere. I nearly did the same thing for my mom, but I drilled a hole her wall instead.

[annabanana]

9. Bingo

If you ever want to move the furniture, you don't have to worry about all those wires. Getting down to the floor (where most towers reside) can be a real chore for the mobility impared... to say nothing of behind the bookcase.

[JackRiddler]

11. Is Boston safe? Who is responsible for this hoax?

Wireless router = electronics inside a building. How do we know it's not a bomb?

[SoCalDem]

19. She probably has a tech-savvy grandkid who hooked it all up for her

:)

[demrabble]

24. Or, She Might

Or, she might have been able to do it all by her elderly self.

(Why do people think that elederly women are helpless people?)

[SoCalDem]

27. I'm 57 and also clueless :) n/t

[Katherine Brengle]

21. Um, bc she wanted it?

WTF kind of question is that?

I have a cable modem - I don't "need" it, I just wanted it...

[demrabble]

22. The NERVE of Those Elderly Women.

Just who do those elderly women think they are?

They should go back to knitting afghans and tatting doilies.

They should not be using a wireless router.

Besides, they are probably too stupid and slow to know how to use a wireless router.

:sarcasm:

[Clark2008]

25. And they probably don't even KNOW how to use the Net

to begin with!

You know, folks like my nearly 60-year-old Mom NEVER pay bills on line or shop for her grandchildren or have a husband who wants to also use the Net in another room without having to pay for another modem.

:eyes: and :sarcasm:

[demrabble]

26. They Most Likely Don't Even Know

They most likely don't even know how to turn a computer on.

They likely need to call in some tech-savvy kid from the neighborhood to show them how to turn their computer on.

And they also probably still are using their Commodore 64.

:sarcasm:

[pitohui]

31. and they probably lost $20 at poker stars too!

good thing we have fine folks like bill frist and this reporter to put a stop to granny's irresponsibility!

:sarcasm:

[alarimer]

39. Up until her stroke at 88, my grandmother was using a computer

She learned at about age 80 or so. All she did was email but still. (and send me all kinds of crap!- but I kind of miss it).

[Greyhound]

40. Did you forget the sarcasm smiley?

Please tell me that this is not a serious question/implied statement.

[high density]

43. My 82 year old aunt has one

She recently bought a laptop and it was much easier to put in a wireless router instead of running CAT5 cable. Her access point is secured by WPA-PSK with a random 63 character key. I think any lamers would just drive around and find another access point before they attempted to use hers.

[Buzz Clik]

3. "...allowing savvy neighbors a free path to the Internet ..."? Please!

The most clueless user with a wireless card could tap into Granny's network. You power on your comp, and the balloon pops up: "Wireless networks identified. Click here to view available connections." Two clicks later, Granny has a parasite.

[LifeDuringWartime]

6. security

which is why it's always important to password protect your wireless router. Mine is set up to not broadcast its name. Unless you know the name and password, you could be sitting right next to it with your laptop and never know that it's there.

[Buzz Clik]

7. For sure. One has to wonder why wireless routers are allowed to be set up without security.

My daughter takes piano lessons from a nice young woman who lives in an apartment complex. I have figured out the parking spaces where I can park to tap into the various leaky wireless networks. Over the past two years, only one of the eight residents has gotten smart enough to provide some level of security.

[BlooInBloo]

32. OOBE

[KharmaTrain]

14. An Encoding Key, Too

Most people who buy wireless routers have no clue about setting passwords on them...or they have them installed by the cable company and the installer forgets to set it. I can see several wireless systems in my area...and get into several routers...they're wide open. I have my system double firewalled (the router and each machine connected) along with a 128-bit key encoding (be sure to keep a hardcopy of that code or you could get locked out of your own system).

[BlooInBloo]

34. And MAC filter, and, and, and

[KharmaTrain]

13. The Carlin Principle At Work...

"...you build a better mousetrap, some schmuck will build a better mouse"

- G. Carlin

[ProdigalJunkMail]

17. from where i sit in my house

i can see eight wireless networks and five of those are unsecured...nothing like internet access for free. I pay for mine and have a WEP key...but someone could sit on my back porch and surf to their heart's content.

sP

[Katherine Brengle]

20. A good friend of mine used to snag her neighbor's wifi signal when

she lived in NYC.

Tricky problem though when it comes to shit like this.

[BlooInBloo]

30. Unlike that fortress of virtue it was before.

[Junkdrawer]

42. Get your router manual out and turn on your 128 bit WEP security....

Where I sit, there are about 8 signals and only myself and one other has WEP turned on.

[Akoto]

44. People really aren't wise to WiFi security, unfortunately.

You hear a lot about securing your computer, but securing wireless connections isn't often mentioned in the mainstream.

It's so important to secure your WiFi connection, to keep out criminals like those mentioned in the article. Any wireless connection should be firewalled and set up with an encryption key. Most intruders won't bother with breaking through these barriers, since there are plenty of other WiFis out there not equipped with such deterrents.

If you don't have these things set up, piggybacking on your wireless connection is as simple as two clicks.