[AFreeBird]

The big problem is not the known ISP address regarding the net IMO, but when a wireless laptop goes to some public or free business source and does bad things or communications on the net. That kind of stuff is much harder to trace.

Yes, well, then the feds will have to start having people register their net adapters. Every adapter has a unique MAC address hard coded into it, which is then associated with its assigned IP address.

CompUSA sales droid: Can I help you sir?

Customer: Yes, I'd like this ethernet adapter please.

CompUSA sales droid: Of course sir. If I could just have you fill out this "yellow sheet", we'll get you taken care of.

Yes, I know there is MAC spoofing, but if this crap is allowed to pass, then that will become a felony, even if used for private in-house puposes. And then there's IPv6, where we'll have enough address space to assign an IP address to to every electronic device produced for the next millenium. All registered with your friendly Big Brother.

And of course to follow up; the feds will require that any and all ISP/AP's be registered, and that all have back doors for the NSA supercomputers to download and parse their daily transaction logs.

Next we'll hear from the folks who'll insist that: "If you have nothing to hide, you don't have anything to worry about."

[Wormwood]

Next we'll hear from the folks who'll insist that: "If you have nothing to hide, you don't have anything to worry about."

I'm sure it will sound more pithy coming from Tony Snow.

[A CA Guy]

You will always get around it.

Even lots of homes have open wireless and a bad guy can detect and use the net without entering your home.

I hear in parts of CA you can ride in your car up and down some major streets and maintain Internet contact.

In Fullerton and most libraries across the nation, there is free undetectable wireless Internet.

That is the biggest insecurity when dealing with bad guys IMO.

[Graybeard58]

I would go along with your scenario in number 34, if it were used soley to track and beat spammers and malware posters within an inch of their lives.