Good idea going open, but you still run a risk of haveing to deal with the hassle of getting sued.

can claim that since I have an open, unsecured wireless network that it must have been someone else, but shouldn’t I have to prove that it wasn’t me, or that it wasn’t my specific computer(s)?

I thought people in the U.S. were presumed innocent until proven guilty? If I have open Wi-Fi and claim that my connection was stolen for illegal activity, shouldn’t it be on the prosecutor’s back to actively pursue undeniable proof that it was my machine? Why should I have to come up with proof that I didn’t do it? How are you supposed to prove something like that?

So how are you going to prove that it was someone else on your network doing the illicit activity, and not you? That’s the big hole in the argument that you’re not liable. Everyone in the world will use the lame “it wasn’t me” excuse, but try taking on the RIAA lawyers with that excuse.

To all the people talking about that aspect of it, I found it interesting that a state judge here in Minnesota made an interesting ruling about traffic red light cameras this week. Originally, the police just sent a ticket to the owner of the car. The judge ruled that it was illegal to do that vs. our due process rights. It put the burden of guilt on the owner of the vehicle (vs. someone else who was driving the car at the time). The judge said unless the police had proof of the driver it couldn’t be used as legal evidence of wrong doing against the owner. Made me wonder if the same thing could apply here.

The Communications Decency Act (CDA) does in fact offer immunity to an interactive computer service (ICS) for content posted by others. See 47 USC section 230(c).

But while that immunity is fairly robust, protecting the ICS from e.g. libel claims, it offers NO immunity for intellectual property claims (such as copyright claims) or criminal liability. See 47 USC section 230(e)(1)-(2).

47 USC section 230

That’s not to say there might not be other defenses, but the CDA point in your post is not quite right.

This a very interesting subject. eventhoug wifi are not widely used here in Nicaragua, and we still lack a little bit about IT laws..

whats a wireless router???

Two big problems in all these discussions about law and legal principles:

— Judges who don’t have the technical ability to understand how the internet and networks operate;

— Judges who are paranoid about “hackers” and eager to throw the book at anyone accused of being a “pirate.”

I believe in the American idea that one is innocent until proven guilty, but unfortunately it often takes a very good lawyer and a lot of money to get that principle upheld.

(Lastly: I did not want to weigh in on this side topic, but deliberately creating a concentration camp that is technically not on U.S. soil, and using tortuous reasoning to avoid the Geneva Convention and other treaties, is at least immoral and unethical, and at worst a crime. In any case, it at minimum strikes me as un-American to imprison anyone — even alleged enemies — without access to a fair hearing and full legal defense. I was brought up on the Constitution and the idea that America likes to set a higher example. Gitmo is an affront to all true patriots who see beyond fear tactics and short-term expediency.)

Whoever said that you innocent to proven guilty doesn’t know a thing about the legal system. That is for cases which involved the “state??? (People of the US v. *, People of the State of Nevada v. *, etc…). In a civil case it’s the preponderance of the evidence. Is it more likely then not to have happened? Thats all they got to prove, anything greater then 50%.

well we can talk on this subject for a long time, but they will be knocking on/down your door. not the person who is “stealing” your wifi(assuming you dont know, but if u did then “sharing”). id like to save my door. 😛 and all my computers/cell phone/and electronic devices they would confiscate since they would think im the guy sharing songs with people.. damn theres freaking thunder and lightning here in hawaii…!!

Doesn’t anyone proof read their comments before posting, checking for spelling and grammar?

Sorry if someone else has posted this.

It seems to me that securing wifi is more risky than leaving it open. If you are worried about defending the use of your internet connection when the router is open just think about how much harder it will be to defend that use if it is secured and someone has hacked your connection. How many judges are going to believe that you didn’t do it?

This is the concern with all new technologies – reliance on their accuracy or ability to identify someone or protect your security. If they fail you are likely really screwed. It seems quite clear that some judges will accept the evidence that since you secured your connection you must have been the one using it.

So the only way to be safe is to coat your exterior walls with foil or don’t use wifi.

“It is ILLEGAL in Canada to share”

That would make networks in general pointless. I’m breaking the law in canada if I host a web page?

File Sharing only? Even so, wheres the fucking logic in that?

Look, if the RIAA or MPAA comes after you, it’s going to be a civil case. RIAA has to provide evidence that would allow the judge to rule in their favor. It doesn’t have to prove you did it, just make it more likely than not that you did it. Once they do that, then its your responsibility to come back and show either 1) that their evidence is bad or 2) that you have evidence suggesting more likely than not that you didn’t do it. If you just say “someone else could have been on the connection” that doesn’t count for anything, because they will have shown that you *have* used your connection and the fact that some unkown other might have used the connection isn’t as strong as the proof that you have used it before and after the alleged bad stuff occurred. If you want to show that you didn’t do it, you need to show *evidence* that can overcome their evidence that you use your connection all the time, and that your connection downloaded whatever’s at issue. It’s as simple as that.

And if you did something that ends up in a criminal case, keep in mind that prosecutors generally only bring cases when they know they have evidence that is enough to win. That’s how they keep those 98% conviction records. Sure, they have to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but the strongest defenses will show not just that someone else *could* have done it, but rather that it’s likely that someone else *did* do it. If all you say is “someone else could have used my open connection” then the issue will be is there any reason to think that someone else did. If there is no reason to think that, then there’s no reasonable doubt. If there is, then you’ve got something to play with. But if you were smart you’d have shown that to the prosecutor upfront, to try to keep him from bringing charges in the first place.

In general, defendants do have to show that doubts are reasonable if they want to get off, whether by proffering their own evidence, showing that the prosecution’s evidence is crap, or both.

Just remember “innocent until proven guilty” is only criminal. With civil cases, it’s whoever has the better evidence wins.

I agree with what he says, that if you leave your wifi open and some one else does the dirty, then you are not liable. But, i would not want to be the one going up against the recording industry, the movie industry or any other industry that tries to take this, remove even more rights that we have as consumers and get the law changed.

I had my wi-fi open, never figured out how to close it, im a noob. I got a email from comcast saying I downloaded a file and im in violation of a copyright infringement???? Did some asking around, I live in a small neighborhood, a few people around me don’t have internet access, but have laptops, and have been using my connection. So does comcast have any grounds to come after me?? Pathetic in this day and age, I have to worry about petty stuff like this..

Well i was falsly accused of indecent exposure in my local Kmart store by security and a manager to police and was banned from the store and have evidence that i was not the perpitrator as stated as being bald headed which i am not and on the 7 th of July when a complaint was made to Kmart i was on the phone with my grandmother and was impossible for me to have een there. I was in the store on the 12 th and baned and then rrested for criminal tresspass which charges have been droped. But after i was arrested because of the accusations i was as part of mey citation placed under house arrest and was not released till Dec 15 th when charges were droped by the county attourneysoffice. I agreed not to go back in Kmart till i get writen permission from corprate or sue and it is ordered that the ban against me was unlawful. I am looking for a civil rights lawyer. I was also abused both physically and verbally by the police officer after i told him i did not have a drivers liscense and was legally blind and have to walk wherever i need to go. After i got outside he stared asking where my vehicle was and squeezed and pulled back on my writs and did this 4 times and saying louder and pulling back more forcefully each time I SAID, WHERE IS YOUR VEHICLE? And trid to force me into he police car when i told him i could not sit back because i have a bad back and another officer heard me and told him to take the cuffs off me and put them on in front of he would i am sure forced me back into the car or pulled me out and attacked me.

i need help..my ex-wife used her computer and got into my nextel account and downloaded and copied my address book and phone numbers and making obsene phone calls to friends and family..she doing it from a pay phone whatcan i do to find out how she got into my account

you are innocent until proven guilty unless the circumstances make it impassable to prove guilt ie very easy leave no evidence

so lets say i have a open wifi and i use knoppix with no hard drive their will be no trace of a crime or anything else that i do

now this goes 2 ways wep can easily be cracked and a laptop can be configured the same way or a desktop with an inverter in a van

i hate to say it but if a crime is commented somebody must pay so we at least have the appearance of justice justice is a thing of the past

if i’m not mistaking it has been said one our country’s founding fathers” that 100 guilty men should walk free before 1 innocent man goes to jail “

on the idea that a guilty man will repeate his crime and get caught but the odds are he will get away with it 1000,00 if he know what he is doing

and now guilty men walk the streets and innocent people go to jail

back in june of 2008 we moved into a house in NC and we ordered DSL from Embarq telephone…. well it wasnt the first time we had dsl so i still had the wireless router from when i had the network set up in my trailer in suffolk Va and i let a couple of the neighbors bounce off my wirless signal…. but i personally enterd my private WEP key into their comp’s so that they couldn’t give it out to anyone(cause my modem and router was powered-on 24/7)
Anyway, I thought i had correctly set up my network again to where you needed a WEP key to access my network and the internet but aparently when i had to unplug the router and plug it back in to bridge the router so it would work properly with the new Embarq modem…. the securiy had been disabled, but i didnt realize this until about 2 months ago. i had clicked on my McAfee (manage my network) and when the network tree popped up on screen it showed not only my desktop, and my laptop computer’s…. but it also showed that a DELL, COMPAQ, MacBook, & a GATEWAY were accessing my internet. Thats when i realized my network had not been secured since july..and these 4 people were getting free internet.
So, with the help of Embarq tech support…. i was informed that my modem and router had the same factory set IP address…. so they told me to change router to 192.168.3.1 and I was then able to access my routers control page and restore WEP seurity to my network
but the real fun happend not to long after i was able to get my wep security back up……i got a vist from the police. they had traced child porno downloads to my modems ip and mac address… i informed them that just 2 weeks prior i had discovered that my WEP security was disabled and that 4 unknown comp’s were acccessing my wireless siganl. I told them that a DELL, COMPAQ, MacBook, & a GATEWAY was accessing my DSL without my permission..
of course them being police, they did not believe a word I said and they informed me that all 6 of my comp’s would be confiscated….. i told them i had only 2 and the other 4 they were looking for would found inside the house’s of my neighbors…. not belieing me they ransacked my house looking for the other 4 comp’s.. and they took me and my 2 comp’s in and interigated me…trying to scare me by saying they had found interesting things on my comp’s so that i would confess to the child porno(police are so sneaky).but it didnt work on me and in the end they finally believed me and they where able to get search warrents for the 6 house’s around my house….. because i helped them find the real criminals by disabling my WEP security…. and immediatly after doing so… the same 4 comp’s popped up on my McAfee (manage my network) network tree, proving it wasnt me…. and after getting warrents they hit the houses and found that 2of the 6 house’s had 2 comp each and there was kiddie porn on the 2 of the 4 (both were in same house) said culprit will more than likely serve 60 years without parol….
in conclusion unless you can prove it…. they will hold you responsable (because since My name was on the DSL account they came after my ass first) since then i have changed my WEP security to 64 bit encryption……lol

Hi

I was interested reading this article as I am going to court next month for being accused of unlawfully accessing confidential information from my home wireless internet provider from my former employers internal computer system. Whilst it may seem that its rather suspicious considering i used to work there, i am not guilty and an deeply distressed by the nmatter. I was infact interviewd by the police who didnt prosecute me because they said that it could not be proved who was sitting behind the laptop which was used in my home. I have tried in vain to get my internet provider to write a report in my defense about the other possibilities i.e. my ip address could have been hacked. THey have chosen to sit on the fence about the whole matter despite them writing a report to the courts that my home ip address was responsible. I risk my reputation being tarnished. is there anything you could advise. I am due to attend court in 2 weeks and have no legal representation due to my policy stating it will not act on my behalf because an illegal act has been practised even if I am innocent. help!

It should definitively be your responsibility to secure your wireless network, or else be convicted of criminal negligence should someone use it to commit a crime. It’s hard enough to find cyber criminals as-is, there’s no reason for there to be hundreds of thousands of unsecured wireless networks across the country for them to make themselves even more difficult to find. It literally takes like 5 minutes to configure a home-router, there’s just no excuse.

That’s simply not accurate, first of all, a judge doesn’t decide your fate! A randomly chosen jury of your peers does, and you have the option of shaping the final jury selection.
Its not only people with money to hire good lawyers that are found not guilty!
The vast majority of convictions never go to trial, and it’s usually because the accused hasn’t taken the time to understand the law! Generally police will get information leading to conviction by talking with the accused and making them feel as though giving them information will somehow help them (never).
Public Defenders will suggest taking a plea because they have high case loads and don’t want to take a case to trial when the accused messed it up so bad that he has no chance of winning.
If ever people would realize that you simply do not answer any questions ever, when accused of anything, we would have half empty jails and prisons!

Getting back to the original subject; There are so many if’s, and’s and buts my advice is avoid the hassle and don’t do it.

I was wondering if anyone ever heard of being physically abused through virtual reality? I do not and never have played anything with virtual reality. But, for quite some time, have been squeezed, pushed, burned, too cold at times, my circulatory system also has been abused, my breath has been held and objects move or fall that I am nowhere near.
I want it stopped, but am not sure how to. Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated.
Also, words are sometimes put in my mom’s or my mouth.

I recently was browsing aporn site and unfortunately I landed on a web address which is written in a different language and suddenly my phone was locked and it says I have to pay a fine for infringing a USA law and I am not even residing in USA nor I am a citizen. I did not intend to land on that page or try to promote. Am I liable just because I use a hotspot sheild for un blocking sites from a different country.

In southern states, you are guilty until proven guilty as the cops, the prosecuter, and even your defense lawyer will set you up if you are really unlucky.
If you have any disability or medical issue, there is supposed to be a exam to see if the defendant understand or can aid in his own defense. But in southern states, this doesn’t happen much. People in the south go to jail all the time for things they do not do.
Lesson learned the hard way.

We were monitored and cyber bullied all day everyday, it was a very bad experience because everything my family and I had on the cloud, over the internet was compromised. I had to seek help. darkwebssolutions AT gmail provides anti-spy and anti-hack solutions, they also provide the reverse.

Having the wifi w a code as protection helps. I heard the routers in a home need to be upgraded per home, not through the technology companies to keep the internet secure.

my internet has been hacked multiple times due togetting into an issue with a person a bit smarter then me. He has doubled my phone meaning taken everything from my phone and also blanked out things so I could not do factory resets and such its a complete joke. I dont understand how things could be so unprotected. Now he noticed me using another device and has blanked certain features out from my use how do I stop this its very stressful and taken alot of time and effort out trying to protect myself. I was in jail and people were on my facebook and messenger accounts and this was brought to my knowledge by family members so its a bunch of bullshit…