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The A to Z of wireless
Updated: Everything you need to know from A to Zigbee, and plenty in between...

By Natasha Lomas

Published: Tuesday 11 August 2009

P is for Piggybacking

The flip side of wi-fi sharing (see F is for FON) is wireless piggybacking - stealing connectivity by logging on to an unsecured wi-fi network.

A moneysupermarket.com survey last year found more than one in 10 people admitted to using someone else's internet connection without permission, while 16 per cent said they had failed to password-protect their own wireless connection leaving it open to piggybackers.

Legislation covering wi-fi theft is set out in The UK Communications Act 2003 Chapter 21, Section 125 refers to "Dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services" and states:

"(1) A person who -

(a) dishonestly obtains an electronic communications service, and

(b) does so with intent to avoid payment of a charge applicable to the provision of that service,

is guilty of an offence."

The penalty for being convicted of wi-fi piggybacking under this Act is up to five years in jail or a fine, or both.

However not all silicon.com readers believe wi-fi piggybacking should be considered criminal - with some happy to share with strangers and others saying the onus should be on network admins to secure their own wireless routers in the same way a homeowner always locks their front door.

Wi-fi sharing community company FON offers a legal way to share someone else's wi-fi (see F is for FON).

Who's logging on to your wi-fi? (Photo credit: Noonch via Flickr.com under the following Creative Commons licence)