Is Your Neighbor Scamming on Your Wi-Fi?

A reader writes: How do I know if my neighbor is scamming on my Wi-Fi? 

If loading a web page or downloading an MP3 suddenly moves at glacial pace, your next door neighbor (or some kid parked in front of your house) may be using up your bandwidth. To be sure, you can check your router's logs (accessible through your router's Wi-Fi manager software) to see what other computers are linked up to your network.

Now, you could put a sign on your front lawn or in your lobby warning people to keep off your bandwidth, but the best way to prevent intruders from accessing your network is to enable WEP or WPA encryption on your network—essentially, setting up a password using your router's software. Don't lose this password, as you'll need it to connect any additional computers or devices you want on your Wi-Fi network.

Using someone else's Wi-Fi without their permission is actually against the law because it's considered unauthorized access into a computer network. Last year, a man in Florida was arrested and charged with a third-degree felony for "war driving," a practice where people park in front of people's houses with a laptop and use their Wi-Fi networks. In most cases, it's a relatively innocuous practice—people just checking mail or surfing the web.

Nevertheless, cases have been reported where Wi-Fi scammers have used other people's wireless networks to download porn, get credit card numbers, send hate mail, or download illegal music and video. Besides slowing down your Wi-Fi connection, these illicit activities will be traced back to you, so get with the program and make sure you encrypt your Wi-Fi network. For some more advice on Wi-Fi security, check out Chris' post.

Any "war driving" victims out there?