# Get a wireless reciever and free internet forever?



## hat (Aug 3, 2009)

Is it possible to get a wireless reciever like this and have free wireless forever from unsecured connections?

Something like this would be very useful to me... I live in an apartment complex so there's sure to be a bunch of unsecured connections around here, and if I could leech a little off of them all I would have pretty fast internet forever by paying $200 or less once for a reciever.


----------



## Wile E (Aug 3, 2009)

hat said:


> Is it possible to get a wireless reciever like this and have free wireless forever from unsecured connections?
> 
> Something like this would be very useful to me... I live in an apartment complex so there's sure to be a bunch of unsecured connections around here, and if I could leech a little off of them all I would have pretty fast internet forever by paying $200 or less once for a reciever.



First off, it's very illegal. Secondly, if something happens to their router, like it crashes, how would you reboot it? And lastly, it's not guaranteed that you'll get a good signal to an unsecured router. Unsecured routers are becoming more and more uncommon.

(Don't ask how I know all of this. lol)


----------



## hat (Aug 3, 2009)

Well I was thinking you would team multiple connections togeather. Once you get enough connections you have mega redundancy and speed.

I didn't think it was illegal as my uncle was doing the same thing... I asked him and he said he didn't know if it was or not, heh


----------



## DaveK (Aug 3, 2009)

Wile E said:


> First off, it's very illegal. Secondly, if something happens to their router, like it crashes, how would you reboot it? And lastly, it's not guaranteed that you'll get a good signal to an unsecured router. Unsecured routers are becoming more and more uncommon.
> 
> (Don't ask how I know all of this. lol)



I don't know about the legality of it, but if I was to walk down the street and was on the path outside someones house and picked up a signal, as far as I know it's fair game. To be honest, it's their fault for having an unsecured wireless connection. My net went down and I connected to someone on a 3Mb connection until mine was fixed, I could have put a password on it and locked him out or rebooted it constantly too but I didn't.

I'm pretty sure it's legal as you're on public property or your own residence and you can get the signal from there, but there is a downside. It might be turned off at night or barely on and I find it's usually a slow speed. In my old house my N1 adapter could get signal from a house 3 houses down the road, their router was their house address...

That's what passwords are there for, if they don't use them it's their problem. I only get 1 wireless network in my area but the houses are all wired up with Ethernet ports.


----------



## Wile E (Aug 3, 2009)

hat said:


> Well I was thinking you would team multiple connections togeather. Once you get enough connections you have mega redundancy and speed.
> 
> I didn't think it was illegal as my uncle was doing the same thing... I asked him and he said he didn't know if it was or not, heh





DaveK said:


> I don't know about the legality of it, but if I was to walk down the street and was on the path outside someones house and picked up a signal, as far as I know it's fair game. To be honest, it's their fault for having an unsecured wireless connection. My net went down and I connected to someone on a 3Mb connection until mine was fixed, I could have put a password on it and locked him out or rebooted it constantly too but I didn't.
> 
> I'm pretty sure it's legal as you're on public property or your own residence and you can get the signal from there, but there is a downside. It might be turned off at night or barely on and I find it's usually a slow speed. In my old house my N1 adapter could get signal from a house 3 houses down the road, their router was their house address...
> 
> That's what passwords are there for, if they don't use them it's their problem. I only get 1 wireless network in my area but the houses are all wired up with Ethernet ports.


Can't team the connections hat.

And it is absolutely illegal. It is a felony. http://www.volkdefense.com/2009/03/12/stealing-wi-fi-a-crime/

And I said don't ask how I know, because I got in trouble for it a couple years back. I was let off with a plea bargain, and had to pay a fine, and kept my record clean. Consequently, they are taking it even more seriously now.

It is accessing a paid service without authorization. It's the same as going into a closed place of business and taking stuff because they left the door unlocked. It's the store's own fault, but it doesn't make it any more legal than breaking in to get it.


----------



## hat (Aug 3, 2009)

Crap. :/


----------



## mlee49 (Aug 3, 2009)

Depending on what city you live in, you may already have free wireless internet. 

Also there are ways of using secure connections, just youtube it!   Even though it's illegal, nearly 95% of people with wifi routers would have no way of knowing or even tracking.  I wouldn't do it, but there are way oh there are ways.


----------



## wiak (Aug 3, 2009)

well, did you know that windows wireless connection manager automaticly connects to a open wireless networks? hehe

and people with open wirelss networks want you to use them, they are open...

so illegal is a overstatement


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

no offense wile e but im not sure thats completely true. 

stealing wifi referres to cracking someones wep/wpa key and using thier secured wireless.

when the person leaves it open they know(or should know) that someone could possibly be using it.

I FOR ONE... leave mine open for anyone to use as i have 24mb down and 6mb up and UNLESS someone is really using the hell out of my connection or using it to do bad things i dont block them. surprisingly very few people utilize my open wifi but its there if anyone chooses to try it.

hat....

YES its possible that you can get "free" wifi but i would suggest, depending on who owns the connection, you ask if possibly you can assist the owner in any form or fashion for use of their connection. its likely that if they are nice like me they wont mind or will want only a small contribution. you can also do like i used to do and figure out who has which network and recommend to them that they secure the wifi so its not inviting to leachers. in exchange ask if its reasonable if you utilize their connection for the deed of helping them out.

you can also team or pool many connections to create one masive connection. you might take a look over at www.dd-wrt.com 's forums and wiki as there has been quite a few people that have done this and have had astonishing results.


----------



## hat (Aug 3, 2009)

Fit, one day someone will use your connection to do illegal things, and they'll be in the clear because YOUR ip was tied in with the illegal events


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

mlee49 said:


> Depending on what city you live in, you may already have free wireless internet.
> 
> Also there are ways of using secure connections, just youtube it!   Even though it's illegal, nearly 95% of people with wifi routers would have no way of knowing or even tracking.  I wouldn't do it, but there are way oh there are ways.



there is a way to track it but the owner must know what they are looking for....







my neighbor "cassie-pc" is using my connection RIGHT NOW as i type.


----------



## hat (Aug 3, 2009)

Heh.

So what if you're on the other end and are connected to a bunch of other wireless connections? Why can't you team them?


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

hat said:


> Fit, one day someone will use your connection to do illegal things, and they'll be in the clear because YOUR ip was tied in with the illegal events



I HAVE USED my wifi to do illegal things LOL!

i have gotten shut off but that was my fault.

that said, i have taken precautions to prevent those sort of things from happening. i have blocked ports, blocked address'/sites, filtered keywords and enabled a pretty gnarly firewall to keep people from anything that may get me in trouble.


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

hat said:


> Heh.
> 
> So what if you're on the other end and are connected to a bunch of other wireless connections? Why can't you team them?



to team wifi you need more than one wifi card and an OS that can team/pool them together. 

such applications for windows are very buggy and only work for people who are inclined in programming.

you can build a linux dedicated wifi box but that too can be a PITA to setup and maintain.

DD-WRT on the right setup can pool up to 25 connections up to 450mb/s each max.

its not too hard to configure, its pretty much like you do now. hit connect and its good to use.

the hardware may cost a bit but it may be worth it in the long run. 

(im searching for more in depth details on what im talking about)


----------



## 95Viper (Aug 3, 2009)

Illegal!? Yes, No,and maybe.  Who is at risk? 

This is a good read written by a man who was Head of the Justice Department's Computer Crime Unit -  Mark D. Rasch, J.D..

Article "WiFi High Crimes":http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/237


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

the problem about those articles are the fact that they are about people who have gotten in trouble for crimes committed while using someones wifi or being the owner of the wifi that was used for a crime.

HAT are you going to commit a crime while using someones wifi? probably not(optimistic i know).


----------



## mlee49 (Aug 3, 2009)

Fitseries3 said:


> there is a way to track it but the owner must know what they are looking for....
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/090803/Capture350.jpg
> 
> my neighbor "cassie-pc" is using my connection RIGHT NOW as i type.



Well you and I both know your in the top 5% of computer users


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

http://www.dd-wrt.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=724

you get one of these and 4 wifi N mini pci cards and 12 antennae then your set. install the OS wich is included and then you will have access to all 4 radios. use one radio for each connection to another wifi. after that is setup, connect the WAN port of the gateworks router to your regular router and you'll be flying for free.


----------



## 95Viper (Aug 3, 2009)

Fitseries3 said:


> the problem about those articles are the fact that they are about people who have gotten in trouble for crimes committed while using someones wifi or being the owner of the wifi that was used for a crime.
> 
> HAT are you going to commit a crime while using someones wifi? probably not(optimistic i know).



That is not what the article in the link I posted was.  He gave examples and explanations of how the law could be interpreted by legal teams and the justice system.  And, how you might be prosecuted by them; not even knowing you might be doing something illegal.


----------



## Fitseries3 (Aug 3, 2009)

well like i suggested in my orriginal post, its always a good idea to ask first but i have found that most people dont mind, even if they want some small compensation.


----------



## hat (Aug 3, 2009)

No, wasn't going to do anything illegal. I don't even have the funds to get a reciever. It probably wouldn't be a very good solution as the IP would change all the time and that's not very good for hosting servers (which I do)


----------



## Cuzza (Aug 4, 2009)

I'm scamming my neighbour's unsecured wireless right now. Sure it's illegal, but he's a sucker!


----------



## Wile E (Aug 5, 2009)

Fitseries3 said:


> no offense wile e but im not sure thats completely true.
> 
> stealing wifi referres to cracking someones wep/wpa key and using thier secured wireless.
> 
> ...


No, using an open connection without permission is completely illegal. Plain and simple. Like I said, I got busted using my neighbor's open wifi. I wasn't found out because of illegal online activities, I was found out when their computer savy nephew was checking over their network.


----------



## Mussels (Aug 5, 2009)

its illegal and immoral.

you can get away with using it briefly, but if you use it on a regular basis you can be in deep crap.

Dont forget that speeds will be erratic as they use the internet, you have no control over port forwards, DMZ hosts, router reboots and so on - just get your own internet connection (and encrypt it)


----------



## hat (Aug 5, 2009)

Ah, port control, crap. There goes that idea :/
Well, the idea went when I found it was illegal but it's totally flushed now, heh


----------

