4 ms·

How can they prove it WAS you? This is why it makes sense to avoid locking down a connection. If someone breaks in and does something illegal, you'll have a muc

by mmoche 14y ago

How can they prove it WAS you? This is why it makes sense to avoid locking down a connection. If someone breaks in and does something illegal, you'll have a much tougher time proving it wasn't you than with a wide-open network.

jiggy2011 14y ago
I suppose it depends if we are talking about a criminal or civil case. AFAIK in a civil case (say copyright infringement) they simply have to prove that it was likely to be you or that your negligence (i.e opening up your internet connection) aided somebody else. It's certainly enough of a gray area that I wouldn't want to get involved.
freehunter 14y ago
With that you have to balance the threat to your network. There are many widely-supported encryption standards that are incredibly hard to break, hard enough that no one will reasonably try. However if you leave it wide open, you're not only allowing your access to be used by everyone for everything, you're also allowing them free access to every device on your network. If you're in a densely populated area, someone could spend the time to break your encryption from their own home. But if they're doing that, they're going to be doing worse once you let them in. Open wifi will only compound your issues. If you're not within range of your neighbors, you'll probably notice someone sitting outside for long enough (weeks/months/years) to break your encryption. Long enough to call the police. Basically, if you're worried about a possible legal case involving the use of your network and your defense strategy is to open your network, you might be in much more immediate trouble by allowing people in. You'd still be on the hook for the activities on your network, but now your bank account has been drained by the guys who did nothing more than drive by your house with a laptop so now you don't have the money for a legal defense.

by mmoche 14y ago

jiggy2011 14y ago

I suppose it depends if we are talking about a criminal or civil case. AFAIK in a civil case (say copyright infringement) they simply have to prove that it was likely to be you or that your negligence (i.e opening up your internet connection) aided somebody else. It's certainly enough of a gray area that I wouldn't want to get involved.

freehunter 14y ago

With that you have to balance the threat to your network. There are many widely-supported encryption standards that are incredibly hard to break, hard enough that no one will reasonably try. However if you leave it wide open, you're not only allowing your access to be used by everyone for everything, you're also allowing them free access to every device on your network. If you're in a densely populated area, someone could spend the time to break your encryption from their own home. But if they're doing that, they're going to be doing worse once you let them in. Open wifi will only compound your issues. If you're not within range of your neighbors, you'll probably notice someone sitting outside for long enough (weeks/months/years) to break your encryption. Long enough to call the police. Basically, if you're worried about a possible legal case involving the use of your network and your defense strategy is to open your network, you might be in much more immediate trouble by allowing people in. You'd still be on the hook for the activities on your network, but now your bank account has been drained by the guys who did nothing more than drive by your house with a laptop so now you don't have the money for a legal defense.