p2pnet - rss feed: Dear Mr Spano, re: Wi-Fi
p2p news / p2pnet: New York Westchester County politician Andy Spano (correctly) identified Wi-Fi as a way to generate a little ink and a few bytes. So he and the county’s cto, "took a laptop computer equipped with easily available software and drove around downtown White Plains today in search of vulnerable [Wi-Fi] networks".
TurboGeek who, BTW, will soon be contributing articles as well as comment posts to p2pnet, has a few thoughts for Spano. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Giant toilet brush looming in the distance
By TurboGeek - p2pnet
Dear Mr Spano:
I don’t suppose that one of the CTO’s that you went tooling around White Plains in that caravan of limos took the time to explain to you that a firewall goes between the wireless access point or router and the internet and does nothing to keep wardriving policitians off the local LAN?
The firewall will protect people’s personal information from attack from the internet by the likes of Chinese Windows Messenger Spammers, Bulgarian EZBoard Google Spamdexers, Nigerian 419 Phishermen, and script kiddies with a $4,000 laptop that live in comfortable, upscale suburbs like Westchester County. The threats originating on the internet are far more significant and probably to a business owner than an unsecured wi-fi hot spot.
The consequences of an unsecured hotspot (assuming it’s segregated from the machines used in "business operations", as they should be) are:
Getting nasty letters from your ISP because of the ‘excessive usage’ of it by a wardriver/walker/chalker.
Getting even nastier letters from your ISP about all of the spam you send out.
Being subjected to a lawsuit because someone downloaded 18 new release movies and 29 new CD releases.
Receiving an invitation from Jeanine Pirro, the Westchester Country DA, hand delivered by Armed, Uniformed Government Officials (The Police) to come to her office to discuss all of the child pornography that’s been exchanged on your internet service, followed by a visit to Judge Judy.
The last scenario is probably unlikely, or unlikely to lead to real trouble, other than embarrassment, once the unsecured wi-fi network comes to light. As your’re now your own little ISP, you’re immune from any criminal activity that takes place by users, as long as you weren’t aware of it, or encouraging it thanks to the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996. Phew!
What’s more likely is that your machines have been conscripted in a zombie army, had back doors installed on them, or keyloggers, or some idly curious hacker is going over all of your financial information.
I understand Westchester Country Community College and also SUNY/Purchase have some excellent classes for those just beginning their exploration of the information technology domain. You might wish to enroll in one before actually filing any legislation on this matter.
I’d also check in with County Attorney about your proposal.
Wi-Fi operates over the public Radio Frequency spectrum. The Communications Act of 1934 (reformed in 1996, as noted above) established an agency called the Federal Communications Commission as the sole exclusive agency at any level of government to deal with any issue regarding the transmission and reception of RF signals. Infrastructures, like cell-phone towers, are another matter, but your proposal imposes local requirements on the actual signals. Given their on-going initiative to expand their little empire with the Broadcast Flag, CALEA Provisions for VOIP calls (they’ll cover this in class, or ask Ms Pirro when you see her), and the Analog Hole (Not to worry, it’s not like the Ozone Hole or a Black Hole,) I don’t think they are going to take too kindly to your proposal
PS: Oh, by the way, I really like the cell phone tower located in the rest area on the Hutchinson River Parkway in White Plains. I understand there was a big fuss because it would detract from the scenic ambience of the area.
Was that your idea to stick little green bristley things on each of the antenna array elements wrapped around the monopole mounting, so it would look like a big pine tree amongst the other pine trees comprising the landscape of the area? My little dog jumps with excitement each time he sees it as we’re driving to and from Long Island
Unfortunately, the tower is SO tall that it dwarfs the pine trees by a factor of 3, plus it’s in the wide median of the parkway all by itself, so it looks like a giant toilet brush looming in the distance, guarding the cleanliness of the rest area’s lavatories. Sorry that didn’t work out the way it was planned.
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(The great font and pic we’ve used in the TG logo are by Tom ; )
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