Wardriving is the practice of searching for unsecured wireless networks. It is not illegal, but accessing the network without permission can lead to criminal violations. To protect your network, use encryption, firewalls, and alter default settings. In some countries, owners may be fined for not securing their networks.
The term wardriving was based on the term wardialing and neither has anything to do with warfare. Wardialing is an outdated practice popularized by the movie War Games, where you dialed random phone numbers to try and find an answering modem. Wardriving refers to the practice of navigating an area for unsecured wireless local area networks (WLANs), also called 802.11. Peter Shipley developed what is known as the current version of wardriving in April 2001, being the first to use GPS location data and software in his wardriving efforts.
There are all kinds of wardrivers. Some wardrivers adhere to a code of ethics and even go to great lengths to ensure they don’t unintentionally connect to an open, unsecured network. Others may not even use sophisticated software, but may simply park or pull up on a neighborhood street and see if any unsecured networks appear in the list of wireless connections, with the intent of hijacking them. Still others may try to hack network devices, to steal information or to implant malware.
Wardriving provides direct data on networks and Internet usage. It can be done from a vehicle, on foot, by bicycle or by plane. It is generally believed that searching for networks is not illegal, and a special agent of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) in the United States said that it may not be a criminal violation if the network is simply detected. If, however, you access the network, there could be a variety of criminal violations, depending on what exactly you do. These can range from theft of services – simply accessing the network and using it for your own purposes – to misusing computer resources, intercepting communications, but also violating the theft of trade secrets and the federal statute on fraud and computer abuse.
Since a network owner has no way of knowing if someone driving into and finding an unsecured network is merely logging into it, stealing services, or attempting to break into devices connected to it, both the FBI and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) recommend to secure your wireless network. To do this, it is prudent to take measures such as using encryption, with WPA (WiFi Protected Access) recommended over WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy); use of firewalls, antivirus and antispyware software; alter the default router ID and default administrator password; and specifying the devices authorized to access your wireless network. It is also recommended that you turn off your wireless network when it will not be used for a while. In some countries, responsibility for breaking into a wireless network may be shared between the wardriver and the owner of the network. In Germany, people who fail to password protect their wireless networks can be fined up to 100 euros.
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