While in germany...
Open WiFi network viable defense against infringement charge—at least in Germany
:-)

ROFL. Please. If you can't find out how from the information already on these charming fora and on the realms spidered by Google, nobody's going to tell you. If you "need" us to tell you how, I expect you'll wind up with at least one unsatisfied need. Especially when you spout absolute nonsense to persuade us.

I was under the impression that if using tools like kismet that the 770's NIC was unable to go into promiscuous mode and grab packets like mad (pretty much making the exercise useless on a 770).

That's why you need a wifi dongle connected via usb.

BTW, the situation is not so clear in Germany. Now a court in Düsseldorf has decided that the owners of an open wlan must bear responsibility...

http://heise-online.mobi/news/Bushido-siegt-in-Rechtsstreit-um-Urheberrechtsverletzungen-ueber-offenes-WLAN--/112925

But if you have to crack it, it's not open.

True.

Moreover, whether the owner of the net is liable or not is irrelevant to the legality of accessing it; in many places, gaining unauthorized access to computer networks is banned; regardless of who's held responsible for infringement (and that's quite possibly both the AP owner and the piggybacker!), charges for unauthorized access are unaffected. And while it may be claimed by some (WANAL) that an open AP does in fact authorize connections, and thus escapes some of these laws, WEP cracking is bypassing encryption. Can you get away with it? Maybe. Is it legal? Almost certainly not.

My post was actually off-topic and referring to the post saying that Open WiFi network are a viable defense against infringement charge in Germany. One court decided for it, and two weeks after another court took the opposite route.

For me, since I live in Germany, this is interesting news. As long as I bear responsibility for whatever happens on my network, I'll keep it secured and I suppose that others will do the same. I am not ready to face court charges and possibly more just because someone else downloaded copyrighted stuff on my network. And yes, I have a router running linux ready to be installed and yes I asked on its support forum for help on how to block or at least log this type of access and no I did not get any help. The idea there was that real linux advocates should not control what goes on their network.


In the end it is a very fundamental question. If the courts decide for network responsibility, on the grounds of protection against misuse (and they always come with the absurd examples of terrorism or pedophilia), it is the end of free networks. Forget about your city council giving you city coverage, forget about internet cafes, in the end forget about pervasive internet. Expect, as is already largely the case, private wifi chains with prices similar to cell phone contracts (like t-online does here).

If the court decide against personal responsibility, I have the location and equipment to offer free wifi to a relatively frequented tourist spot.