Re: Wireless Legality- Netstumbler and kin

[batz <batsy () vapour net>]

On Fri, 15 Mar 2002, Bill Pennington wrote:

:1. For Netstumbler to detect the WLAN in question the WLAN must be
:configured in "open" mode. So the WLAN (Access Point more specifically) must
:respond to 802.11b probe packets with a packet that says, hey I am here and
:available.

There is also a big issue with "illegal" vs. "successfully prosecutable", 
which is; On networks, No Policy = No Crime. Without explicit warnings
to all users on the network about acceptable use and the ownership of 
the network, it is quite possible that charges would not stick because
of this very issue. 

IANAL, however, there are laws in Canada that may apply to war driving,
which have to do with the unlawful interception of data. Whether something
is legal or not is actually a much more abstract question than many people
tend to realize.

If you are worried about whether something is illegal, err on the side of
caution, and stop doing it, and find out from a professional. Free advice
is seldom worth what you pay for it.

Illegal can mean anything from being probable cause for search, to cause
for arrest, to being charged, to being convicted and the weight of the
sentence you recieve. It is a question of whether you are provoking
someone into interprating the law as a means of recourse, and whether
you are willing to risk the consequences of that provocation. 

--
batz