And if you needed another reminder of why you should secure your wi-fi:
“There’s a very common belief that if someone pirates your Wi-Fi connection or uses your computer without your permission, you are responsible for illegal downloads of copyrighted material. That’s not true, says Stoltz; the law is quite clear. However, the lawyers who bring those cases use that misperception to convince innocent people that they had better pay up. Since $3,500 is just a fraction of the money it would take to fight a case in court, most people simply settle.” —Infoworld
Or you can avoid the issue by securing your Wi-Fi connection with a 56-character mixed password, and naming your network something nondescript and boring, like, say, 4530. Which is especially effective if all of the addresses on your street are three digits. Do that, and the only way to positively identify your network is to walk around outside your house with a wireless device. Nobody is going to bother.
And then you can save your $3,500, not to mention the time and trouble. It’s less trouble to secure your network.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.