Australian Police Plan Wardriving Mission 340
bfire writes "Police officers in the Australian state of Queensland plan to conduct a 'wardriving' mission around select towns in an effort to educate citizens to secure their wireless networks. When unsecured networks are found, the Police will pay a friendly visit to the household or small business, informing them of the risks they are exposing themselves to. Officers also hope to return to surveyed areas within a month to see if users have fixed their security settings. The idea is modeled on another campaign where officers walk around railway stations checking cars have been locked, and leaving notes warning people of the dangers involved with leaving their vehicles unsecured."
Aiding and Abetting? (Score:5, Insightful)
"checking cars have been locked, and leaving notes warning people of the dangers involved with leaving their vehicles unsecured."
So, as a criminal, the police have saved me the trouble of having to work out which cars are unlocked by flagging them up for me?
Slightly more on topic, is there a law against leaving your network open in Australia? What if I'm just being helpful, will they continue to badger me until I lock down my access point?
Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:5, Funny)
Well, the police also lock the cars as well as putting notes on them...
A friend of mine got hit by this, he had an old car which used 2 keys - one to open the door, and one to start the engine... He had lost the door key, but still had the engine one, so he simply left the car unlocked. Being an old, rusty and totally worthless looking vehicle it never got stolen, and he never left anything in it worth stealing either. It wasn't a problem until the cops came along and locked him out of it.
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Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:4, Insightful)
Right. Because, every day, the news [google.com] is positively littered with articles about thieves who have used an unlocked car as a ram.
As if smashing the window and opening the door the old-fashioned way were so difficult.
[/sarcasm, for the sarcasm-impaired.]
Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:5, Funny)
But ... but that would be like... you know, breaking into the car before stealing it!
I'm fairly sure that's in some way illegal.
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Thank you, Judge. I'm so happy you're here to tell us we can't be impressed by someone's paint job or check out their bobblehead.
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Fuck off.
I've never stolen a car or broken into one but I have every fucking right to walk through a car park.
You don't like it?
Piss off and keep your precious penis substitute locked in your garage.
Re:You jest, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
So now looking at things is preparation to steal them? Is looking a woman preparation to rape her? What about slowing down and looking twice? Perhaps you need a burka for your car.
Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:4, Interesting)
We were amazed that our old POS 20 year old Dodge Spirit was stolen from a shopping center parking lot.
It was found later parked (in two space) in the lot of some subsidized apartments.
I was expecting to find a destroyed ignition lock from someone using a screwdriver or dent puller on it.
It was unscathed.
I know the key wasn't left in it, as we still had the only key for it.
Or so we thought...
I then remembered my experience with motorcycles in the late 70's early 80's.
The 78 Yamaha 400 Special only had 5 or 6 keys made for it.
It was a trivial matter to wander around with your own key until you found a matching lock.
With the exception of the uber secure electronic keys, the same is still true to an extent.
Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:5, Funny)
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And because in one unlikely, rare event the thing doesn't work out, that means?
Everything has its downsides. Heck, feeding starving children in Africa probably creates a few fatalities (overeating, getting sick, or being killed when the sack of rice falls on you, whatever). It's just that the net effect is positive.(*)
(*) let's not discuss the Africa example, I know that in some cases it's not positive, local economy and all that.
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Well, the police also lock the cars as well as putting notes on them...
How exactly? My car can only be locked with both doors already closed. This is a safety to make it impossible for you to be locked out. So if you wanna lock it without keys from outside, you need one window down (which they wouldn't be able to as the electric motors require the ignition to be on).
Plus I don't want anyone fiddling with my car, good intentions or otherwise. Still an invasion of my property.
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Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:5, Funny)
I used to have a LeBaron convertible. When I first got it, I used to always lock it. One day, I discovered that criminals will happily cut into a top to unlock a door. Nothing inside the car was worth more than my deductible (plus the hassle of actually getting the top replaced), so I stopped locking it entirely. Thankfully, no pigs ever bothered to lock it for me.
On the other hand, the criminals still sometimes assumed it was locked and broke a window once to break into my unlocked car.
Locking a car only keeps non-criminals out.
Re:Aiding and Abetting? (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, what is to prevent a thief from dressing up in similar clothing to a cop, and then wandering around checking the door locks like these police do?
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What's to keep me from dressing up like a cop and wander the area a few days after the real cops informed the people there that I'd come and be friendly to them? I guess not a single person will check whether I'm really a cop, they will not wonder why I want to use their computer "to make them secure"...
Hell, I don't even need a uniform for that. Make it a t-shirt saying "federal security" with a matching baseball cap (akin to that spiffy FBI gear), I won't even break a law if I manage to weasel word around
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The thieves can check if the cars are unlocked just as easily. Not to mention the notes can easily be left folded on the seat and not visible to passers by.
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Slightly more on topic, is there a law against leaving your network open in Australia? What if I'm just being helpful, will they continue to badger me until I lock down my access point?
Presumably, if you tell them you're aware of the risks but are just being helpful they won't bother you again. But that'd make too much sense...
yes and..? (Score:5, Interesting)
so what do you think they'll say when I say I do it deliberately ?
I don't mind sharing my wifi with complete strangers. I restrict it to make sure they can't cost me too much and everything I do on it is encrypted via VPN so - meh!
Re:yes and..? (Score:5, Insightful)
They will say that by doing it deliberately you are aware of and accept the risks and responsibility of unknown third parties using your network to do illegal things... So if someone decides to download a bunch of kiddie porn through your open wifi, the cops will come straight back and arrest you for it.
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Re:yes and..? (Score:4, Insightful)
Exactly. And this false sense of security will play against you if someone uses your line inappropriately.
You: "Your honor I didn't do it"
Them: "yeah, right. Your line was secured, only you could have done it"
instead of
You: "Your honor I didn't do it. My line was open anyone could have done it."
Them: "..."
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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Most IT pros know this, but in most countries, an illegal act coming from an IP is evidence enough to convict (in a criminal) or find the IP's owner at that time culpable for wrong doing (in a civil matter). There has yet to be a single precedent in the US and europe to disassociate an IP with a physical person. For all intents and purposes, someone acting from x.x.x.x is acting as Joe Schmoe.
Open wireless: The owner gets held liable for criminal negligence, or as a accessory.
Closed wireless: The prosec
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Wait, but they will be unable to! My ISP is blocking all the kiddie porn sites! The government-sanctioned blacklist protects me! ...what, you mean it does not?
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[citation needed]
This sounds very strange. I'm going to refrain from throwing out obvious car analogies, but how can you be convicted for crimes someone else committed? Does this apply to all parts of the carrier chain? Your ISP? The phone company whose physical lines the ISP is using? The state owning the ground those lines are in?
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If you are the only one acting as an INDIVIDUAL in the chain, you will come off worst. Want to trade kiddy porn? Form a publicly traded company as a front, then any criminal downloading can be investigated 'in-house' with the details hidden for reasons of commercial confidentiality etc.
Re:yes and..? (Score:5, Funny)
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never ever talk to a police officer, nothing good will come out of it. Just speak Klingon and ignore them.
Re:yes and..? (Score:5, Funny)
I must need coffee. I misread this as "I don't mind sharing my wife with complete strangers."
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Agreed. I like being able to check my email from my laptop around the city -- sitting outside at the park or at a cafe that doesn't offer wifi -- and I like to return the favor. Leaving wifi open (within reason) is just being a good neighbor.
Visist Every Residence (Score:5, Interesting)
I also like the idea of police officers visiting every home and place of business, more as a social visit and to establish better ties between the police and civilians. You know, get to know 'your' local police officer and, establish a more social contact with at least one officer whom you can contact in the event of need. Also it would help to remind officers of what their role really is in assisting the public to maintain a civil and orderly society.
Of course while it might work in Australia, in the US with pepper spray and taser abuse out of control and with 'public' discussions of the effectiveness, legality and use of torture it would likely have the opposite affect and drive an even greater wedge between 'law enforcement' and the public.
Re:Visist Every Residence (Score:5, Funny)
Dunno how many people would just jump out the window if the police knocked and said "hey, we just wanna talk with you".
I mean, it's not what you'd expect from the police. Also, the price for dope would certainly go up with the increased demand, considering how much would be flushed down the drain...
Re:Visit Every Residence (Score:2)
1952 Called. They want their innocence back.
"I also like the idea of police officers visiting every home and place of business, more as a social visit and to establish better ties between the police and civilians."
I couldn't find your ~ tag. I hope you're kidding.
I should offer free Go-Fish training to all IT people.
Lemme see if I have this straight.
A. Australian Officers visit home *without cause or reason* to "test Wifi".
B. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/07/15/1251201 [slashdot.org]
Australian Officers begin i
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
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The cops come questioning you just to find out if you really live there? What the hell business of theirs is it where you live?
Yeah, I'm a little more typically American - a cop shows up at my door, he's not coming in, and he'd better have a damned good reason to be trespassing on my lawn.
Re:Visist Every Residence (Score:5, Interesting)
The last time I approached a police officer in public to ask a question, he immediately said "get away from me" before I could even say anything. He was doing paperwork, FYI.
I really wish police officers would act as part the community, interacting with us, instead of acting as a separate society, above and over us.
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I really wish police officers would act as part the community, interacting with us, instead of acting as a separate society, above and over us.
The last time I approached a police officer in public, we ended up discussing his laptop and the car's electronics for a few minutes. Trust me, I've been hassled by the cops for innocent behavior before, and I'm no cop-lover. But to assume that they're all mega-assholes is just dumb. What they are is deluded into thinking that they can make (on balance) a positive difference by taking a job which basically forces them to be a bully.
I'm not saying that we should make all the cops go away right now, but consi
Re:Visist Every Residence (Score:4, Funny)
Next time, leave the furry costume at home.
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Just because the police are a necessary evil does not mean they are not evil. Just better than the alternative.
I smell something sinister (Score:5, Insightful)
So, who exactly is this benefiting? My guess would be whoever provides ISP service has been hitting up their political puppets... after all, your 60 year old neighbor should get with the times and start paying $100 a month for internet access like all the other good citizens.
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If you know your neighbors, you can quite easily give them the key to access your wireless...
Your 60 year old neighbor isn't going to abuse it, your 16yr old neighbor isn't either because you know them and any illegal activity will easily be traced back to them... The evil kiddie fiddler who parks his van round the corner and sits in the back downloading kiddie porn through your connection doesn't know you, and you don't know him, so when the police turn up asking why your connection has been used to downlo
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Kiddie porn is the new communism. The people who abuse the suffering of children to scare other people into giving up their rights are the real baddies here.
Stop being a nutjob and get a hold of yourself! (Score:5, Insightful)
Seems like some kind of pseudo threat to me. What are they implying, that if some criminal uses their open access port to post goat porn to /b/ the home owner is going to be criminally liable?
It is not a threat. It is a fact. If your WLAN is left open and someone commits crimes through it, you could be really screwed. In most cases it would probably not be enough to prove that you did the crime and get you a sentence in court but it could still land you a lot of trouble. And it could be used maliciously: Let's say that a co-worker that likes neither you or your boss comes to use your WLAN to harass your boss?
There are risks in having an open WLAN. Some of them have something to do with you becoming suspected of crime, some are about how other people can commit crimes against you. It can be argued if the police is the best organization to educate about this or not but police certainly can do it and it is important thing to do.
What if you _like_ having an open access port, and don't mind if your elderly neighbors use it occasionally to check their email?
Then they say "Okay." and go to the next apartment. This isn't about them coming to force you protect your WLAN, it is about educating that "Hey, your WLAN is open. Are you aware of the risks?" Because honestly, there are a lot of WLANs that are open because their owner has forgotten to protect them, doesn't know how to do it or doesn't even know that it should be done. I would guess that these even outnumber those who leave it open intentionally.
Quite frankly it doesn't seem to be the homeowner's job to lock the world down in order to prevent crime,
Same can be said about locking your apartment's door. It isn't a homeowners job, right?
especially crime that can be remedied by pulling a plug, if it ever actually causes the homeowner to lose bandwidth.
In some cases the crime can cause a lot more. Perhaps the cops should visit you?
Come to think about it, it's not the cops job to prevent crime either.
Wait, what? Police is supposed to execute the laws which tell what people shouldn't do. It certainly isn't limited to investigating the wrongs that people have already done.
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Come to think about it, it's not the cops job to prevent crime either.
Wait, what? Police is supposed to execute the laws which tell what people shouldn't do. It certainly isn't limited to investigating the wrongs that people have already done.
In the US, this is strangely true.
See Jessica Gonzalez vs. The United States (http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/violence/gonzalesvusa.html), as a good example of this.
Try suing the police for failing to show up when you call 911. This is one of the hotbutton issues for the gun lobby -- if the police have no legal obligation to actually protect you, then you need the means to do it yourself.
You may be a nutjob.... (Score:2)
...but I agree with you.
Who the hell are "unnamed corporate partners"? And why are the police doing anything at their behest?
I'm not usually paranoid, but something is rotten in the state of Queensland.
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Sometimes, things like that are dirty, yes.
Sometimes, they're just the result of some actual cop doing some actual thinking and coming up with the idea that driving around and warning people that their car is unlocked or their WLAN open may cost X, while the police actions resulting from these problems will cost Y, and X prevent crime instead of always going after the culprits after something bad has already happened. It's not a very pleasing job, that.
Re:I smell something sinister (Score:5, Informative)
Seems like a nice initiative to me. (Score:2)
I also hope there's room for people who, after being warned, are also free to note that they leave it open on purpose (and as such, won't get a second visit): I like my free hotspots!
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It may not be intruding, but it sure seems like a waste of taxpayer money.
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Unless Australia has far less problems with usual crime than other "modern" and "civilized" countries, I would suggest the prevention and investigation of actual crimes to be a far better way to spend taxpayer money.
Unsecured Wireless networks though? Not the general taxpayers problem.
Irony (Score:2, Interesting)
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Where do the homeless get power for their laptops?
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"buddy, can you spare a watt?"
You'd be surprised how easy it is to find a public power socket. Think public buildings and the need for power for maintainance crews that have to plug in their vaccuums.
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I'm stunned (Score:3, Funny)
...and leaving notes warning people of the dangers involved with leaving their vehicles unsecured.
What? People don't know this in Australia? I mean if it came to become a campaign the problem must have been of significant magnitude. I'm not trying to flamebait here but back to my question: people don't know this in Australia?
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There are plenty of places in Australia where there is no threat of robbery and as such there are quite a few people here who never lock their house or car.
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Whoosh
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But this is not about any belongings. This is about rather important belongings, such as your car or your house.
I doubt a locked door would stop someone that's set on stealing my house. ;-)
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Most people don't know about it and don't even think about it. First of all they're happy that their WiFi works so fine for them, without hassle. That it works just as well for others doesn't even cross their mind.
Security is an alien concept to them. When I pointed out the problem that someone could use their AP I got a bewildered look and the question "now why would anyone do that? They have their own wireless, why use mine?"
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Mac address (Score:2, Funny)
The police maybe able to see my wireless network as unsecured, but unless their mac address is in my router they have no chance of connecting to it.
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Are you serious?
I suggest you read the section about mac address security here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p=43 [zdnet.com]
and then implement WPA (if you actually want real security)
Your current setup keeps out harmless casual users and lets in easily anyone who might want to use your connection for dodgy/illegal purposes and has the slightest clue what they are doing.
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I said the 'Police' wont be able to connect to it. I said nothing about anyone else.
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It must be known to the world that 1) not broadcasting your SSID and 2) restricting MAC addresses both do NOTHING for security. Best to leave your SSID broadcast, not restrict MAC addresses, and actually implement REAL security: WPA2 with a strong key.
Knock, knock... (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, there are a lot of strange ways this could play out:
[ knock, knock ]
-Do you have the WLAN with the SSID MonkeyTails?
-The what, Sir?
-Wireless Network?
-Oh, for the computer Internet? No, I think ours is called captaincrook.
-Okay, that one is safe.
-Safe?
-Yeah, we are driving around checking for insecure WLANs. Do you know who MonkeyTails are?
-I think it's my neighbour.
-Ok, thank you.
[ knock, knock ]
- Hello.
- Hello, are you the owner of the WLAN MonkeyTails?
- Yes?
- It's insecure.
- I know.
- Well, you should secure it.
- No, I don't want to secure it.
- You should secure it or pedophiles could use it.
- It is an old router that doesn't support encryption.
- Well, let us know if you see any pedophiles.
- Bye.
Re:Knock, knock... (Score:5, Funny)
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The more likely scenario is:
[knock, knock] ... ... ...
- Are you the owner of the SSID linksys
- Yes
[knock, knock]
- Are you the owner of the SSID linksys
- Yes
[knock, knock]
- Are you the owner of the SSID linksys
- Yes
Repeat several thousands times. Then replace linksys with dlink and repeat again.
If I did this, I'd be arrested.. (Score:4, Interesting)
So when a kid demonstrates he can access his school's network or a customer demonstrates that he can get free calls from a phone system, they will be thrown out of school for 'hacking' or arrested for 'theft of service'. But when the police do it, it's fine?
Whats happening here?
Unsecure WiFi is bad for Police, Bad for ISPs (Score:5, Interesting)
It seems that two of the largest organisations hating the sharing of WiFi access are the police, who don't like the fact that unofficial open access points don't log and the ISPs who hate to think that they are losing a potential customer.
Some years back in London, a chain of winebars (C&B) offered free access for their customers with no fancy tumbling time code or anything (you, know where they print a code that has a limited validity on the till receipt).. A story appeared in one of the papers about how people were able to 'steal WiFi access' showing the 'security consultant' with a laptop in the city of London demonstrating that there was open WiFi. Yep, because they are standing directly outside that Winebar (out of shot). I have stood there myself, as the bar was too noisy, so I could use Skype over WiFi to contact my SO. This is fairly common practice now, but it disrupts the business models of people like Vodafone or commercial WiFi providers.
What "risks"??? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think I would warn the cops about the "risks" of coming to my home and harassing me...
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It was supposed to be funny, an example of the typical paranoid over-reaction of people to things done in the name of child safety (which seems to be the big boogieman that people are worried about concerning unsecured WAPs... Evil evil cp.)
I'm certainly not a believer in the "if it saves one child" mentality, especially in a situation like this where rational people realize that this isn't doing anything to protect anyone at all, certainly not children. By that kind of logic all sorts of evil, stupi
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A waste of Tax Money (Score:3, Informative)
I understand why the Police are doing this, and I think it is a good move. Yes, I am an Australian, and a QLD'er.
This will let people know who truly do not, and can prevent crimes such as identity theft, downloading illegal stuff etc.
For the record, operating an insecure wifi AP is not illegal, this is just a helpful initiative.
The thing is, it is 2009. For the last 5 years at least, most AP's have security enabled by default, or at least as a mandatory step of the setup.
At the very least, there will be a warning that will be hard to miss.
For the last 5 years or so, information on this has been forthcoming to people who are not overly technical via:
* TV shows, non technical like 60 minutes or a talk show
* Magazines, including many of which are non tech magazines
* Various websites, including many non tech websites, such as MSN
* Your operating system, such as Windows, OS X or Ubuntu giving you warnings
* User guides or manuals in very, very, simple to understand language
* Warning stickers on the box or device
* Probably quite a few other avenues as well
There is very little reason to not be aware of the risks of running an insecure network. All too often it is a case of stupidity, as people do this for the sake of convenience. Nothing is going to change these peoples minds.
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I agree, but are the cops just following a script? An access point with no WPA isn't necessarily insecure from intruders - it could have a captive portal or something behind it (it is insecure from sniffers but that's a problem that shouldn't be solved at the wireless level anyway).
If the police in the state where I live try this, will I get a knock on my door and have to explain to them that my network is secure
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WEP_IS_LIKE_OPEN (Score:5, Informative)
I've moved to a new apartment 3 months ago. My building is in a very dense populated area. Due to bureaucrat issues, I was over one month without an internet connection. Since I had over 25 available wireless networks on my house I gave the http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=tutorial [aircrack-ng.org] aircrack online tutorials a shot. It was amazing how easy it is to crack a WEP connection. On average I took less than 10 minutes to crack a WEP wireless. Over 40% of people(at least around here), still use this totally insecure encryption method.
I've started to get curious about who is Using Wep. So I've made a survey with my laptop, and my phone(it has wireless), to see who is using Wep. I have a HP shop on the other side of the street, that has a big splash symbol on the window "Microsoft Certified". They have IT consultants and they are using WEP. What a joke.
My local Social Security Center is using WEP possibily exposing the entire contry database(it's just a guess. I didn't really crack it). Also WAP is not difficult to crack with weak passwords, and most of the people don't have a clue about strong passwords.
I currently have my network open, only closing when I need full bandwidth, and my SSID is something like WEP_IS_LIKE_OPEN, but in my language.
I guess worst than having an open network is to wrongly think you are secure.
Re:WEP_IS_LIKE_OPEN (Score:4, Insightful)
I've moved to a new apartment 3 months ago. My building is in a very dense populated area. Due to bureaucrat issues, I was over one month without an internet connection. Since I had over 25 available wireless networks on my house I gave the http://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=tutorial [aircrack-ng.org] aircrack online tutorials a shot. It was amazing how easy it is to crack a WEP connection. On average I took less than 10 minutes to crack a WEP wireless. Over 40% of people(at least around here), still use this totally insecure encryption method.
Yep, I use WEP. I still own devices that won't do anything newer. I don't really see the insecurity as a big deal - an open AP is an advertisement that you don't mind random people using it, an AP with some kind of security (even if it's weak) tells people it isn't for public use. If you choose to break the WEP key then you're choosing to break the law.
I live in a neighbourhood where there are at least 2 other networks within range that are totally open, so I suspect people won't care about mine, but more importantly all my machines are secure and the traffic between internal machines on the network is encrypted, so it isn't really that big a deal if someone breaks into it.
If I had an access point that could reliably do virtual SSIDs (sadly the WRT54GL won't - it can do virtual SSIDs but they have to share the same address which confuses too many clients), I would likely set up a separate open network that used a transparent proxy to do logging so that anyone could use it.
I have a HP shop on the other side of the street, that has a big splash symbol on the window "Microsoft Certified". They have IT consultants and they are using WEP. What a joke.
Not really - they may require a WEP network in order to connect older devices that have no WPA/WPA2 support. Unless you've broken the law and actually cracked the key and investigated further then you have no idea what underlying security they have beneath the WEP - they might only allow ESP+AH traffic, in which case there is absolutely no security problem at all.
Also WAP is not difficult to crack with weak passwords, and most of the people don't have a clue about strong passwords.
Guess what - most people have door locks that are trivial to pick if you have the right knowledge and tools. There is only so much you can do to stop criminals. I'm sure you don't upgrade all your door locks to the latest greatest high security ones every time someone works out how to pick them, why should you expect people to replace all their wireless kit every time a compromise is found?
Re:WEP_IS_LIKE_OPEN (Score:5, Insightful)
"If I had an access point that could reliably do virtual SSIDs ... I would likely set up a separate open network that used a transparent proxy to do logging so that anyone could use it."
That is an INCREDIBLY BAD IDEA. Do NOT log anything - for 2 reasons:
1) There is the possibility of logging information that could be considered "private" - in the (admittedly unlikely) event that somebody caught wind of it, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a civil suit and/or a criminal charge. The fact such a charge would likely be found unwarranted in no way mitigates the expense and hassle of dealing with it.
2) Should the police trace something to your connection, they WILL subpoena those logs. If and when they don't find what they are looking for, they will assert you have what they want and didn't surrender it, and they will tear your place apart looking for it. If you keep the logs for $TIMEPERIOD, and the event happened at $TIMEPERIOD+$POSITIVEDELTA ago, they will STILL want the logs - and the statement "I deleted them" will be portrayed at "COLLABORATION with TERRORISTS and PAEDOPHILES!" (again, it doesn't matter if they ultimately succeed in that, the cost of defending against it will be staggering).
Ultimately, the rule to follow is "Record NOTHING you don't want to see on the 6 o'clock news, or have used against you in a court of law."
Sad, but true.
My friend is using WEP knowing the danger fully. (Score:2)
My friend is using WEP knowing the danger fully.
He switched from WPA. Left WEP to signify "this is not an open network. You are not free to use it".
He has a phone with Windows Mobile and Skype. He uses VOIP when at home. Except the CPU of the mobile can handle realtime VOIP or WPA encryption, but not both. Simply not enough power for WPA. It works just fine with WEP though.
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Last time I checked the Nintendo DS could talk wireless, but only WEP. So there are likely a few places around with WEP instead of WPA for that reason (although I'm not sure what you'd actually do with a DS if you got it online...)
Find people who donate to charity too (Score:4, Interesting)
People who donate money to charity will lose that money.
People who donate some of their bandwidth to passing surfers probably lose nothing.
Surely the police should be concentrating on the cases where there is a more significant danger of loss.
Good initiative (Score:2, Informative)
Nobody said it's illegal and they are not constraining anyone to "secure" their AP. It's just like a patrol passes by and they see you are in some kind of trouble. It's their job to stop and ask if you need any assistance. If somebody wants to keep their wireless open, it will probably cost them a couple of minutes to talk to the police an
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Q: Whats the difference between Queensland and a tub of yogurt?
A: The yogurt has an active culture.
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Back to WiFi, one funny thing is a large number of access points have names along the lines of "f* off" and at least have some attempt at security (can't tell if they are WEP or not from just l
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