The first reaction to the news in our issue yesterday that young Wi-Fi bandits were logging on through other people’s wireless networks, simply by parking with their laptops outside homes and offices, is that this is a relatively harmless bit of youthful fun. Unfortunately, it is far from any such thing.
The fact is that anyone logging on to the Internet through someone else’s Wi-Fi connection is able to disguise themselves by assuming the Internet identity of the owner of the Wi-Fi network. Thus the consequences of such action could be a great deal more serious than simply degrading the connection speed for the legitimate owner. At the very least, the link could be used to download improper material which could land an innocent householder or office manager in trouble. At worst, terrorists or other criminals could use these links to send messages. Al-Qaeda has demonstrated that when it comes to technology, it is not lacking in sophistication or the ability to exploit whatever is to its advantage.
In one respect, any entirely innocent person whose Wi-Fi system is used, whether by enterprising young scamps who choose to ignore that what they are doing is actually theft, or by altogether more sinister individuals, is in fact culpable. All wireless connections should be password protected. Too often, owners are either too lazy or too unconcerned to assign their systems a good password (“1234” is hardly a “good” password), which they then change on a regular basis. Similarly, retailers and Internet suppliers who provide Wi-Fi technology should make a point of leaving every system that they install properly protected with an initial password. They should also make sure their customers know how to change it and also what kind of passwords cause hackers the most trouble to break through. Nor is it simply from Wi-Fi thieves that broadband computer systems are under threat. There is an increasing international danger from malign “Bots,” automated programs which can seize control of computers turning them into “zombies” which are then used for any criminal purpose the Bot controller desires. Once a Bot gets hold of a computer, it will immediately disguise its presence, making invisible the files it has written on a zombie machine. The ordinary user may never know his machine has been compromised until the authorities come knocking on his door with a load of awkward questions.
Firewall software offers some protection against this but is far from foolproof. It is hard for ordinary users with little technical knowledge to realize that their systems have been compromised — maybe because the systems are working slower or in a subtly different way. There is much to be said for turning off a computer — or at least the broadband connection — when the machine is not in use. The most dangerous practice is to leave a computer hooked up to the Net for the entire night. While people sleep, the Bots could be breaking in and taking control. No sensible person would go to bed leaving their doors and windows wide open so why be careless about the Internet?
