Is War Driving to Find an Open WiFi Illegal?
Indeed, anybody who travels a lot has probably looked for an alternative WiFi outlet to send or get their e-mails or check something online.
Now then, even if you find an open Wi-Fi, it's still not legal to use it without permission.
The Federal Communication Commission has laws on this, and although it's not really enforced that often, and only in rare cases that doesn't make it legal of course.
The term "war driving" originally came from hackers driving around looking for open networks to hack into.
Now, war driving can mean merely snooping around to see what connections are available locally to use to collect information off the Internet or go online.
But again, that still doesn't make it legal.
There was an interesting article recently in the USA Today titled; "Judge rejects Google argument, allows Wi-Fi suit to proceed" by Paul Elias, Associated Press, which stated; "A judge ruled that Google overstepped its bounds by enabling its vehicles to collect emails, Internet passwords and Web surfing behavior while photographing neighborhoods for the search giant's popular "Street View" mapping feature.
The FTC criticized Google in 2010 for collecting potentially sensitive information over unsecured wireless networks for several years before realizing it.
The FTC is satisfied that Google improved its internal privacy controls, including privacy training for all 23,000 employees.
" In some regards, people could say that Google was actually out "war driving" albeit, without perhaps realizing it, and whether they meant to or not is beside the point.
The fact is that they did collect information while they were driving around traveling down every street in the United States to complete their "Street View" mapping, which as you know comes in very handy if you are trying to locate a specific location which you hope visit in the future.
Now then, the data that was collected is rather valuable, perhaps not to Google in all cases, but it is very valuable information.
More importantly it is your information, and yet, if you leave an open network you are transmitting and receiving data over airwaves which you don't own, which is out in the public, therefore you should not expect any privacy.
Nevertheless, so many people leave their networks open.
Now, Google has a list of open and password secured WiFi networks.
Should Google not look at that data? Should they not have collected in the first place? This is all gray area of law.
In fact, I am not surprised that the Federal Trade Commission was upset with this, nor am I surprised that they did nothing about it.
Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
If you have a difference of opinion, or have additional information you'd like to share, I'd sure like to receive an e-mail from you.
Now then, even if you find an open Wi-Fi, it's still not legal to use it without permission.
The Federal Communication Commission has laws on this, and although it's not really enforced that often, and only in rare cases that doesn't make it legal of course.
The term "war driving" originally came from hackers driving around looking for open networks to hack into.
Now, war driving can mean merely snooping around to see what connections are available locally to use to collect information off the Internet or go online.
But again, that still doesn't make it legal.
There was an interesting article recently in the USA Today titled; "Judge rejects Google argument, allows Wi-Fi suit to proceed" by Paul Elias, Associated Press, which stated; "A judge ruled that Google overstepped its bounds by enabling its vehicles to collect emails, Internet passwords and Web surfing behavior while photographing neighborhoods for the search giant's popular "Street View" mapping feature.
The FTC criticized Google in 2010 for collecting potentially sensitive information over unsecured wireless networks for several years before realizing it.
The FTC is satisfied that Google improved its internal privacy controls, including privacy training for all 23,000 employees.
" In some regards, people could say that Google was actually out "war driving" albeit, without perhaps realizing it, and whether they meant to or not is beside the point.
The fact is that they did collect information while they were driving around traveling down every street in the United States to complete their "Street View" mapping, which as you know comes in very handy if you are trying to locate a specific location which you hope visit in the future.
Now then, the data that was collected is rather valuable, perhaps not to Google in all cases, but it is very valuable information.
More importantly it is your information, and yet, if you leave an open network you are transmitting and receiving data over airwaves which you don't own, which is out in the public, therefore you should not expect any privacy.
Nevertheless, so many people leave their networks open.
Now, Google has a list of open and password secured WiFi networks.
Should Google not look at that data? Should they not have collected in the first place? This is all gray area of law.
In fact, I am not surprised that the Federal Trade Commission was upset with this, nor am I surprised that they did nothing about it.
Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
If you have a difference of opinion, or have additional information you'd like to share, I'd sure like to receive an e-mail from you.
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