Re: [MLUG] Looking 4 mad cheap PCI wireless cards

[Jerry Gamblin <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Here is a sanitized version of what happened:

3 years ago I was at a conference where wireless security was being
discussed in what I thought was a "closed" professional environment. 
There was a representative in attendance from a state agency during
the Secret Services presentation.

The secret service agent gave a presentation on how just connecting to
a wireless access point and sending one packet of data and be
prosecuted as theft of property in the state of Missouri along with
many other states.

I then open my big mouth about how you can easily access wireless
networks in the building we are in from the radio station up above and
surf the internet.

Don't think much about it until I am at work 2 or 3 days later and get
a letter from the state agency saying that they are investing and
looking at possible taking action.

I show the letter to my boss who gets on the phone and talks to a few
people. It boils down to the person at the conference was trying to
make a name for himself and was being "overzealous".

It was  the last time I access open wireless and tell everyone about it : ) 



On Thu, 21 Oct 2004 09:27:57 -0500 (CDT), Mike Miller
<EMAIL:PROTECTED> wrote:
> On Thu, 21 Oct 2004, Jerry Gamblin wrote:
> 
> > As someone who has been very close to being prosecuted for connecting to
> > open wireless access points in Columbia and doing nothing more then 
> > surfing...
> 
> This does sound worrisome, but isn't it true that most computers will
> automatically identify nearby access points and connect to them rather
> automatically?  If connecting requires almost no input from the user, what
> can they charge you with?  Clicking on the 'configure' button?
> 
> People are naturally afraid of lawyers, but I think we should stand up to
> them sometimes.  If Matt is not making any changes in the network or
> making changes in the computers on that network, then I don't think he has
> done anything wrong by connecting to it.  The owner of the wifi access
> point is fully culpable for leaving it wide open.
> 
> I would be interested in your story.  Maybe you could define "very close"
> for us.  Sometimes lawyers will use completely empty threats to intimidate
> people, and it works.
> 
> Mike
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