32 percent admit to leeching off neighbor's unencrypted Wi-Fi

Andre Yoskowitz
4 Feb 2011 2:18

According to a new survey commissioned by the Wi-Fi Alliance, 32 percent of respondents admit to logging into their neighbor's unencrypted Wi-Fi at least once.
In 2008, the last time the group did the poll, the number was 18 percent.
Says Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director at the Wi-Fi Alliance (via USAT):

The reality is that many consumers have not taken the steps to protect themselves.

The risk of leaving a Wi-Fi connection open is neighbors (or anyone really) can use readily available software to steal info, like passwords.
One such tool, Firesheep, is noted by anti-virus firm ESET. Says the company:

With Firesheep, almost anyone can effectively hack into your Facebook, Twitter and other accounts. Almost anyone has the skill to use Firesheep to be a nosy neighbor."

The Wi-Fi Alliance urges everyone with a wireless router to use WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) security.