Posted on 02/24/2007 6:58:29 PM PST by conservative in nyc
Brian Tanner was sitting in his Acura Integra recently outside the Palmer Library playing online games when a Palmer police pulled up behind him.
The officer asked him what he was doing.
Tanner, 21, was using the library's wireless Internet connection. He was told that his activity constituted theft of services and was told to leave. The next day, Sunday, police spotted him there again.
"It was kind of like, 'Well gee whiz, come on,' " police Lt. Tom Remaley said.
The police officer confiscated Tanner's laptop in order to inspect what he may have been downloading, Remaley said. Remaley on Friday said he hasn't looked inside the computer yet; he's putting together a search warrant application.
Alaska state troopers had chased Tanner off a few times at other locations, Remaley said.
Tanner said that was true. He has a device on his keychain that sniffs out wireless networks. When he found one, he would park in his neighborhood and use his $800 Dell laptop to hop on the Web. But worried neighbors summoned the troopers, who told him to park in a public place.
"I went to the public library because I go there during the day," Tanner said.
Though the library was closed, its wireless was up and running, he said.
Tanner said he was upset that he hasn't gotten his computer back yet. The police have told him he won't until the case is concluded, he said.
Jeanne Novosad, the library system manager, said the wireless connection is normally shut off when the library is closed. But the library was waiting on a technician to install a timer and the connection was left on after hours for several days, she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...
It's illegal, but I have very little sympathy for somebody who leaves their home network open to the public by not encrypting and passwording their home wireless network. Not only does it kill your bandwidth if your neighbors are all using your network, you'll wind up taking the rap if they're doing something illegal.
Actually, that is not true. For a larceny to take place under the common law definition, there must be an intent not to return the item. That is why there are statutory "unauthorized use" laws relating to motor vehicles. Joyriding a Cadillac is not grand larceny so long as there is an intent to return. (It may be petit larceny for the use of the gas, but that's a far less offense.) I am a former criminal court judge, so I'm not guessing here. With respect to the principal issue here, absent a specific statute prohibiting the piggy-back, I'd say no law was violated regardless of the library issue.
If the cable company accidentally plugs you in, it really should be their responsibility alone, though it's hard to argue with a specific law.
In the end, I go back to what ctdonath2 said. The router has to give permission to access. The human controls the router. Granted, it generally does so by default, but it's the responsibility of the person who buys the equipment and sets it up to insure that they're not violating the terms of their ISP. If I'm sitting in my living room and see an available network, I have no way of knowing if it's being offered up freely and legally or if it's a mistake.
At my wife's parents' house, we noticed that their new neighbors had installed a wireless network with no access control. I noticed this because I was working on my old iBook and suddenly saw that I had new email. We let them know that their network was visible, and they promptly secured it.
It's a grey area, but, ultimately, the client computer is only saying "Hello? Anybody there? May I have some internet?" If your router is saying "Yes, I'm here! Have some internet!" without asking "Who are You?", that's the fault of the owner for not setting it up properly. The router is your servant. If it has not been given proper instructions, the master is at fault.
If he committed a crime by theft or otherwise while online, that's different. If he simply played games on an open public network, so what?
I think the ACLU and American Library Association position is that porn is to be accessible online ONLY to children...
I had to limit mine to WEP 128-bit encryption because that is all the TiVo can handle. But if I see a lot of traffic on it that's not mine, lockdown.
If the cops are so bored and have so little to do that they're going after this kind of stuff, they need to be downsized.
Way to go, lieutenant. You sound like a teeny-bopper who got left behind by her friends at the mall.
I can't see a single illegal act out of this entire deal...except the cop confiscating the laptop without the search warrant or some kind of seizure note from the judge. If the library won't attach passwords to enter the system...they are freely acting on their own.
I live in Germany...where there has been an explosion on wireless routers over the past two years. Everyone now has them and I'd bet that 40 percent are totally open.
I highly recommend the Linksys WUSBF54G Wireless-G USB Adapter w/ Wi-fi finder. This device lets business get done. You simply carry it around. When you switch it on it detects networks, shows signal strength, and indicates locked or unlocked status. Once you locate an unlocked network then you can drag out the laptop. And this unit provides your connection.
Wonder if the guy pays taxes there......./sarcasm
I couldn't believe it took so long into this thread to read this! Wireless networks are very easy to secure, yet many homes and some businesses don't even bother. I sometimes go 'war driving' just to see what I can see out there. It isn't unusual for my laptop to connect to several networks just riding around my small town. Some of them are business that would have some pretty sensitive customer information. If their network is that easy to penetrate, I can't help but wonder how insecure their applications and systems are.
Alaska local state law, and maybe city ordinances, would ultimately bear upon this. I will try to add Alaska state to the topics. Without knowledge of the specific law, it's a guessing game.
ROTFLMAO
Rumor has it that if you raided 100 homes in Palmer, 80 or more would be growing pot and you would likely find several meth labs as well. THe whole area is full of dopers, and the cops are busting this kid sitting in his car in a public parking lot.
BTW our current Governor-ness is from Palmer, former mayor and local cheerleader.
Be interesting if she gets a second term or runs for the Senate.
I have a Mat-Su Borough library card that includes the Palmer library. I couldn't tell you what the local laws say about this. My feeling is that the library is free and public, and if the network is unsecured, it's his to use. I'm basing this on the library being being a tax-payer supported public service.
Whether or not it is unethical or illegal to tap into a private wireless network is another question.
What does this have to do with internet frequencies?
From the Wikipedia article on Edwin Armstrong, who invented FM radio:
"Armstrong won the first round of the lawsuit, lost the second, and stalemated in a third. Before the United States Supreme Court, De Forest was granted the regeneration patent in what is today widely believed to be a misunderstanding of the technical facts by the Supreme Court."
My general impression is that Armstrong was a technical genius, and De Forest was a clever charlatan. There is no justice!
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