[kismac] Re: More about SSID and Network Type...

At 10:32 AM -0600 2003/12/07, Java Nut wrote:

 Can you say what some of these tools are? Why do you imply that
 Kismac is not a "legal" tool?

By "legal", I think he meant tools that do not make use of their own driver, but instead use the drivers from Apple or the hardware provider.

 I am curious though how it would be regarded legally if someone
 used Kismac while traveling to see if there is a network around
 and happened to find a network with WEP turned off and then used
 it to reach the Internet for some light duty (low data volume),
 legal web surfing or email checking without checking whether the
 owner intended to share the network (or was merely incompentent
 to not secure his network).

If the network is unencrypted and wide open (not restricted to certain MAC addresses), and the SSID is something like "public" or "open" or something else equally obvious, I don't think there would be a legal problem.

If the network is restricted to certain MAC addresses, the SSID is not broadcast, or is WEP encrypted (i.e., they have taken some sort of measures to protect themselves against casual WiFi surfers), I think you'd run serious risk of legal liability.

--
Brad Knowles, <brad.knowles@xxxxxxxxx>

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    -Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania.

GCS/IT d+(-) s:+(++)>: a C++(+++)$ UMBSHI++++$ P+>++ L+ !E-(---) W+++(--) N+
!w--- O- M++ V PS++(+++) PE- Y+(++) PGP>+++ t+(+++) 5++(+++) X++(+++) R+(+++)
tv+(+++) b+(++++) DI+(++++) D+(++) G+(++++) e++>++++ h--- r---(+++)* z(+++)

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