news.yahoo.com/s/ap/techbits_wi_fi_theft
Benjamin Smith III, 41, faces a pretrial hearing this month following his April arrest on charges of unauthorized access to a computer network, a third-degree felony. Police say Smith admitted using the Wi-Fi signal from the home of Richard Dinon, who had noticed Smith sitting in an SUV outside Dinon's house us ing a laptop computer. The practice is so new that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement doe sn't even keep statistics, according to the St. Petersburg Times, which reported Smith's arrest this week. Innocuous use of other people's unsecured Wi-Fi networks is common, thoug h experts say that plenty of illegal use also goes undetected: such as p eople sneaking on others' networks to traffic in child pornography, stea l credit card information and send death threats. Security experts say people can prevent such access by turning on encrypt ion or requiring passwords, but few bother or are unsure how to do so. Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, has enjoyed prolific growth since 200 0 Millions of households have set up wireless home networks that give p eople like Dinon the ability to use the Web from their backyards but als o reach the house next door or down the street. Prosecutors declined to comment, and a working phone number could not be located for Smith.
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