WI-FI sharing

We all have been there. We all have done that. Here are a few interesting things you should know...

Every techie we know says that you shouldn't use other people's networks without permission. Every techie we know does it anyway. If you're going to steal—no, let's say borrow—your neighbor's Wi-Fi access, you might as well do it right. ...

Step one: Lose the guilt. Using someone's connection to check your e-mail isn't like hacking into their bank account. It's more like you're borrowing a cup of sugar. (Unless you hog their bandwidth by watching lots of streaming video—that's like hijacking a sugar truck.)

If you live downtown or in a suburb where the houses are close together, a few minutes of laptop gymnastics will probably reveal several Wi-Fi networks. Certain names are a giveaway that a network probably won't be password-protected.

Look for "linksys," "default," "Wireless," "NETGEAR," "belkin54g," and "Apple Network 0273df." These are the default network names for the most popular wireless routers. If a network owner hasn't taken the time to change the default name, that's a good clue that they probably won't have a password either.

If you do get prompted for a password, try "public"—that's the default on many of Apple's AirPort units. You can also try common passwords like "admin," "password," and "1234" and "1234567890"— or just check out this exhaustive list of default passwords. You should also try using the name of the network in the password space.

A generic password could mean that the network's owner didn't have the sense to pick something less obvious or that they've decided to welcome outsiders. But who cares? You're in. And again, there's no specific law barring you from guessing the password, as long as you don't crack an encrypted network and read other people's transmissions.

You can tell that you've successfully joined a wireless network when your laptop's IP address changes as it's assigned a local number by the network's router....

So happy surfing and keep in mind EVERYONE DOES it...even if nobody would never admit to it. Besides, there are worse things than borrowing your neighbours Internet access......

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Source: http://www.slate.com/id/2109941/