Mystery Internet connection traceable by RIAA?

[dansker]

A few months ago someone on here wrote:

>> I was just sitting here playing with different things on my new laptop, and trying to figure out how to remove the ugly connection icons from the system tray, when I suddenly got a dialogue box about a connection to linksys being available. Intrigued, I let it connect. And I found I could browse the Internet freely.

Nothing but a power cord is plugged into this laptop. It does have a wireless LAN card (8.11g or whatever it's called), but there is nothing else in the house for a LAN. So where is this signal coming from? One of my neighbors' houses? Is it unsafe or unethical to be connected via this mystery connection? I know pretty much nothing about wireless connections (or any other kind).<<

I experienced the same exact situation on a new laptop brought into my home. While on vacation for several weeks, my sister and her teenage daughters house-sitted for me, and I came home to find that they had surreptitiously installed eDonkey on the computer and had committed the mortal sin of downloading several MP3s -- all with an Internet connection I didn't even know I had!

I promptly uninstalled eDonkey and ran antivirus and antispyware programs to try to clean my system, but the nagging question I have is:

Can I get in trouble with the RIAA? In other words, can anyone track the downloads to my computer, when they must have come through someone else's connection?

Thanks,

dansker

[Jallexon2]

Did you try looking for the thread where you got the story?

[Siskabush]

It would be a wireless signal from the neighbours' wireless router.

Considering I live in an apartment complex, I should get a wireless card and hijack me a connection.

[FrozenShadow23]

Ethical? that's the million dollar question isn't it? What's ethical and what's not? If you don't have a problem with hijacking the connection, then do it, if you feel bad about it, then don't.

[crackerjacker]

um read this story
anyways back in old days they called it war dialing
non the less read this
pretty old but i do now its possible to use a wireless laptop, and wireless network card etc and drive in a van etc and use wireless networkers.

its called wifi access now some companies have hotspots.
in nyc they have them. i can get access for free cuz i am a verizon customer.
however the issue at the end is that someone can use someone elses wireless network
hmm
even if you have a wireless network be it through a router you are still at risk.

[crackerjacker]

http://infosecuritymag.techtarget.com/articles/november01/technology_wardriving.shtml
that is the link above i forgot to add it
but for more information on wifi networks
google this key word wifi