Ok so you know about using other people's wireless network?

The wireless on my laptop, if I search for like other wireless thingies active in my area and I connect to one that doesn't have a password on it and I get connectivity and can go on the internet and that, and a message comes up saying something like security issue, data may be viewed by 3rd party, etc etc... What exactly does that mean? Does that mean the person whose wireless I've connected to, they can see everything that I'm doing on my laptop? All the sites and details I'm using?





Thanks for any help
Ok so you know about using other people's wireless network?
it means that ANYONE who is looking can see everything that passes through the wireless router because it is not being sent encrypted through the air - your usernames, passwords, web addresses, credit card details even.





also in most places it's illegal to steal other people's bandwidth even if their router is unprotected as it falls under 'theft of service' - people will tell you 'hey it's their fault if they haven't protected it' but then those same people wouldn't climb into a stranger's car and drive off in it just because the owner didn't lock it. exact same principle. gotta love the consistency in morals of the mtv generation ey?





routers do contain logs with varying degrees of detail from logging everything that happens through it, to only logging which computers have connected to it, to only logging access to the router's configuration interface - it varies wildy.
Ok so you know about using other people's wireless network?
no not unless they scan packets. And it is legal to use an open wireless signal, the unspoken rule says that if it is unlocked you have opened it for public use. The message means that the network is hackable.
Reply:They probably haven't got a clue. Anyone using wireless without encryption and MAC address filtering is asking for trouble. If they knew about it, they'd take the simple steps needed to prevent it happening in the first place.
Reply:Various people leave networks open for various reasons - some are philanthropic, others provide a service, some are just too stupid to use a password - but some of the less-innocent ones sit there, wait for you to log on, and sniff your packets as you enter your details, passwords, and so forth.





Avoid.