[OpenWireless Tech] On VPNs

[Christopher Byrd]

On Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 3:57 PM, "Andy Green (林安廸)" <andy at warmcat.com> wrote:
> "Are you a laywer" is FUD.  I am off to bed so I don't have time to collect
> links to all the stories in the news about people getting attacked by RIAA
> and others based entirely on their IP appearing in logs.  Not only is that
> factual but it is very widely understood and feared by AP owners as well.

Making decisions to not run an open access point based upon a few news
stories is FUD. The reason they call it News is because it is out of
the ordinary. And while I agree that there are articles available
about people suspected because they ran open access points, I have not
seen one that said they were actually convicted of anything simply
because they left their access point open.

And in the end, Open Secure Wireless is a technical solution that has
nothing to do with the liability. That is a separate question that I
suggest is best answered by legal professionals. Obviously it can be
addressed, or there wouldn't be large companies running open hotspots.

> That's fine but you know close to 99.9% of APs I see now in the UK are
> locked up with WPA exactly through the fears of someone else mis-using their
> internet connection.  They will not deploy the solution you're suggesting so

And I thought it was because the vendors are finally shipping APs with
security on by default now. Not everyone is technically inclined, and
they just use it as it comes out of the box.

> I'm pretty sure it does work in Starbucks as written, since that's what I do

Your VPN is working for you in Starbucks. That something entirely
different then protecting millions of wireless hotspot users.

>  I'm also certain where I live >80% of the people will have home internet
> ADSL or cable, or a 3G mobile solution that makes all this moot for them.

Again, I'm glad for you that you live in an area where people can
afford such things, but it is unfortunately not representative of
everyone. Some people use open wireless networks specifically because
they don't have Internet access at home.

Best,

Christopher