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Eug Wanker · Jul 22, 2006, 01:39 PM

This is from my house, and none of these are mine:

The good news is that this MacBook seems to have better wireless reception than my previous iBook.

SVass · Jul 22, 2006, 01:44 PM

Do you live on top of a hill or apartment? I usually have only three including mine. sam

Eug Wanker · Jul 22, 2006, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by SVass

Do you live on top of a hill or apartment? I usually have only three including mine. sam

Townhouse, and next to a condo building.

However, 20 (not including mine) is the most I've ever seen.

The other good news is I'll always have internet access, even if mine goes down.

stevesnj · Jul 22, 2006, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Townhouse, and next to a condo building.

However, 20 (not including mine) is the most I've ever seen.

I would drop your internet service, most of those have to unseccure

Eug Wanker · Jul 22, 2006, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by stevesnj

I would drop your internet service, most of those have to unseccure

Heh. The benefits of urban living.

Actually, only a couple are unsecured, and I'm one of the few people who pays for the max speeds so it's not as if I'd want to hook onto someone else's slow access even if I didn't mind being a leech.

blackstar · Jul 22, 2006, 02:32 PM

well I only get like three...like 1 unsecure...i guess i have to move closer to the city

moodymonster · Jul 22, 2006, 02:37 PM

cool

Salty · Jul 22, 2006, 03:13 PM

I leave mine open, I don't mind someone else hijacking my connection for a couple hours. It's not as if anyone around here is gonna do anything evil. And they're not gonna hack the Macs on the network.

Stratus Wrong · Jul 22, 2006, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by Salty

I leave mine open, I don't mind someone else hijacking my connection for a couple hours. It's not as if anyone around here is gonna do anything evil. And they're not gonna hack the Macs on the network.

But what if they download gay porn?

indigoimac · Jul 22, 2006, 03:44 PM

I can see a total of about 20 from one side of the house to another, and only about 3 are secure.

analogika · Jul 22, 2006, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by Stratus Wrong

But what if they download gay porn?

Or look at www.Ca$hsMomGangbangedInSUVs.com?

dcmacdaddy · Jul 22, 2006, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

Or look at www.Ca$hsMomGangbangedInSUVs.com?

I thought it was www.neonsareforpussies.org, or was it, www.turnsignalsareforgayboys.net?

You know, I read a post from Stratus Wrong in another thread and said to myself, "that sounds like Ca$h". I guess I am not the only one who thinks that. He is certainly being more "subdued" with this account, bot now that you mentioned SUVs, I guess he will be back to his usual self in no time flat

hickey · Jul 22, 2006, 04:12 PM

I only pick up 2 in my building, and surprisingly both are secured. Unless Im doing something wrong.

imitchellg5 · Jul 22, 2006, 04:33 PM

I get about 7 or 8 at home.

PB2K · Jul 22, 2006, 04:36 PM

wifi networks named "linksys", "sitecom", "default" are usually unprotected. in case it asks for a pasword, try "default"

Eug · Jul 22, 2006, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by Stratus Wrong

But what if they download gay porn?

Then Salty knows one of his neighbours is a potential date.

Originally Posted by PB2K

wifi networks named "linksys", "sitecom", "default" are usually unprotected. in case it asks for a pasword, try "default"

Yeah, some of the "protected" ones may just be using the default passwords, but I don't know what they are, and I didn't try anything like "default" or "password". I said only a couple are unprotected out of those 20, but for those I meant ones that require no password at all.

Stratus Wrong · Jul 22, 2006, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

I thought it was www.neonsareforpussies.org, or was it, www.turnsignalsareforgayboys.net?

You know, I read a post from Stratus Wrong in another thread and said to myself, "that sounds like Ca$h". I guess I am not the only one who thinks that. He is certainly being more "subdued" with this account, bot now that you mentioned SUVs, I guess he will be back to his usual self in no time flat

No I haven't. I was arguing like crazy with Stratus Fear about electric cars in that thread. I don't try to hide who I am... although I am much calmer than I used to be, blatent stupidity still pisses me off.

And...sorry, making gay references towards me doesn't really piss me off. It just sorta makes me sad for you.

paul w · Jul 22, 2006, 05:06 PM

Eug, I was wondering the same day - I see anywhere from 20-30. However most are closed, and those open have too weak a signal to be useful. And believe me I tried the usual "password" or the name of the netwrok, etc...

ghporter · Jul 22, 2006, 06:57 PM

Eug, there are at least five in your list that are flat out default network names. That's not a good thing for anyone-even if these people planned to share their connections, a default name usually indicates NO changes in settings, so these networks are probably ripe for being taken over by bad people. Not good for anyone.

I don't trust other people enough to leave an open network. Just cynical, I guess.

hayesk · Jul 22, 2006, 07:01 PM

The first thing I do when I see an unsecured wireless network is look for a shared printer. Then I print out a sign that says "You should probably secure your wireless network."

Stratus Wrong · Jul 22, 2006, 07:04 PM

hahahahah. Good call Hayesk! However, I like unsecure networks. I'd keep mine open if I wasn't worried about download speeds and lag when gaming. I'd like to contribute, but it's a PITA to kick people off when i want to use ALL the bandwidth.

MaxPower2k3 · Jul 22, 2006, 07:06 PM

at my dorm in the middle of Manhattan, i see at most 5. it really surprised me. although routers technically aren't allowed in the building, but still, i expected to pick some up from surrounding areas. the only one outside of the building that i can pick up is from some pay-per-minute wifi at a pizza place across the street, so there's no free wifi where i am.

imitchellg5 · Jul 22, 2006, 07:09 PM

Normally in my neighbourhood the passwords are either password, admin, or the name of the network. If my iMac had Airport I wouldn't even have to pay for internet.

Jawbone54 · Jul 22, 2006, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by hayesk

The first thing I do when I see an unsecured wireless network is look for a shared printer. Then I print out a sign that says "You should probably secure your wireless network."

You should print out, "Excuse me, my ink is low."

Or perhaps copy and paste a Word doc that says, "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy," and print about 1,000 copies.

Stratus Fear · Jul 22, 2006, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by Stratus Wrong

blatent stupidity still pisses me off.

So you're always pissed at yourself?
-----

On topic, in my neck of the woods I typically see 7 or 8, which surprises me considering I'm in the city.

blackbird_1.0 · Jul 22, 2006, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by Jawbone54

You should print out, "Excuse me, my ink is low."

Or perhaps copy and paste a Word doc that says, "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy," and print about 1,000 copies.

Hahaha.

olePigeon · Jul 22, 2006, 08:22 PM

Is there program that can span multiple wireless connections? It'd be cool to just "borrow" 10K/sec from each one. Not enough for any of them to notice a speed hinderance, but the accumulated bandwidth would be awesome for you.

JoshuaZ · Jul 23, 2006, 01:02 AM

Man I am the only one in my neighborhood with wireless.... sigh....

jcadam · Jul 23, 2006, 01:09 AM

If someone is using your unsecured network to download 'free' music, you can expect the extortionists from the RIAA to come knocking.

PB2K · Jul 23, 2006, 04:56 AM

I have a few spare Airport basestations, I could give them really filthy names without putting them on an internet connection, it's a minor joke

ambush · Jul 23, 2006, 05:53 AM

*why* publicly broadcast the SSID?

seaofcrap · Jul 23, 2006, 08:35 AM

i live in a suburban area so i only see 2 networks... which is surprising to me, since the houses are quite far apart. there is 1 particular network which isn't secured so ever since i got my macbook (less than a week ago), i've been leeching off it. since i am still stuck in 1995 with a dial up connection, i may be asking stupid questions, but: can they know what i'm surfing? can they know it's me? and the wireless is very sketchy, sometimes its works but sometimes there's an error joining the network.

SSharon · Jul 23, 2006, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by paul w

Eug, I was wondering the same day - I see anywhere from 20-30. However most are closed, and those open have too weak a signal to be useful. And believe me I tried the usual "password" or the name of the netwrok, etc...

img snip

I thought one of those networks was called chickenporn for a minute. What with the gay talk and Salty's former username. (no offense btw just an observation)

In my office in NYC I see about 10-12 networks and 1-2 are open. In my cousins apt in the city I see about 8 with 6 open. At home I only see my own.

mac128k-1984 · Jul 23, 2006, 09:35 AM

I keep my wireless secured, I turned off broadcasting, I have a MAC filter to only let my computers in and I also use WPA.

Peter · Jul 23, 2006, 09:38 AM

Mine are unsecured, and i have 2 wifi networks (both 8mb down, 512k up) in my home -- but we have about 200m around each side of the house to the next house in the road.
No worries, wouldnt mind if anyone borrowed my internet connection.

Angus_D · Jul 23, 2006, 11:58 AM

People who run unsecured wireless access points:

Do you not worry about people snooping passwords for things? Sure, most important things are running over SSL these days, but a lot of mail (ISP mail is particularly bad, because of the overhead of SSL if they're serving a large userbase) and crappy sites still arent. Not to mention, I'd rather someone couldn't sit outside and see what web sites I'm accessing.

SVass · Jul 23, 2006, 12:41 PM

People who want to snoop passwords over unsecured wi-fi can go to any public library in my county and find free wi-fi or to any motel in the country that has free wi-fi. Actually, motels would be an excellent site as most users are business people with no clue as to their system. sam

gnomexp · Jul 23, 2006, 01:10 PM

It's quite humerous. I live on a college campus where our campus internet is secured using 802.1X. There are NO ethernet lines in any of the apartments (there aren't dorms). Because of this, we purchased Comcast cable internet and stuck up a wifi router with the name "#5623 6MB COMCAST ONLY $5/mo ASK." We use MAC address authentication and charge five bucks for access.

We've paid for the next two months of internet because there are college activities on campus that involve non-students who cannot connect to campus internet.

baw · Jul 23, 2006, 04:41 PM

My house.

CharlesS · Jul 24, 2006, 04:31 AM

Originally Posted by hayesk

The first thing I do when I see an unsecured wireless network is look for a shared printer. Then I print out a sign that says "You should probably secure your wireless network."

I've tried that a few times, but they never have a shared printer - everyone apparently just uses USB or something.

Salty · Jul 24, 2006, 04:38 AM

I don't have to worry about the RIAA I'm Canadian...

ghporter · Jul 24, 2006, 06:45 AM

Originally Posted by ambush

*why* publicly broadcast the SSID?

Why not? Except for a few applications (like AirPort's available networks mini-app) a network that doesn't broadcast still shows up, just with a blank in the SSID colum. "Hiding" your SSID is not a security measure; it just doesn't advertise as loudly. And not broadcasting an SSID can make it harder for your computer to reconnect.

With simple security steps in place, there's no reason NOT to broadcast an SSID. MAC address filtering and WPA with a good passphrase (that means long and random) make your SSID useless for anyone you haven't authorized to use it.

B Gallagher · Jul 24, 2006, 07:59 AM

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ

Man I am the only one in my neighborhood with wireless.... sigh....

Same with me... I see a lot of WiFi PC cards at electronic shops, but have you ever seen anyone actually use wireless here?
We only have it at my university. Even then that was a recent development in the past few months.

Eug Wanker · Jul 24, 2006, 08:04 AM

Originally Posted by gnomexp

It's quite humerous.

Funny bone?

Originally Posted by ghporter

Why not? Except for a few applications (like AirPort's available networks mini-app) a network that doesn't broadcast still shows up, just with a blank in the SSID colum. "Hiding" your SSID is not a security measure; it just doesn't advertise as loudly. And not broadcasting an SSID can make it harder for your computer to reconnect.

With simple security steps in place, there's no reason NOT to broadcast an SSID. MAC address filtering and WPA with a good passphrase (that means long and random) make your SSID useless for anyone you haven't authorized to use it.

Well, I don't broadcast my SSID. My Macs connect just fine automatically.

Originally Posted by CharlesS

I've tried that a few times, but they never have a shared printer - everyone apparently just uses USB or something.

Heh. I tried it too. No visible Windows printers on those unsecured networks.

P.S. When I had a PC, my Windows USB printer was shared to my Mac over the network.

Landos Mustache · Jul 24, 2006, 09:57 AM

Ya I have had a few pop up recently on my area also so I changed my network name from Apple Network to "Nigga please".