> losing router credentials

I suspect 95% of people do not change the default credentials, which are stickered or engraved on their routers.

> default credentials, which are stickered or engraved on their routers.

Which having a seemingly random admin and wifi password with WPA pre-configured is better than no password.

I remember a story where an individual connected to an open AP, scanned the network, found a windows network share with everyone read access, that had NES roms and their tax returns. The sad part, and still is true today, you couldn't help them without admitting that you committed a crime (a felony I believe).

Sure you could -- just drop off a file someplace visible.

That would require committing a crime (in the US at least).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_piggybacking#Unite...

This is too funny - why would you admit, to a cop, what you are doing??? You just say you are sitting in your car enjoying a nice day - and it wouldn't be a lie because technically you are. It just so happens you are doing other things as well.

> He had been accessing the Internet through a nonprofit agency's network from a car parked nearby and chatted with the police officer about it.

If you are thinking "but surely the legal system should understand this concept, right?"

> "I had a feeling a law was being broken, but I didn't know exactly what"

Or how about the library who didn't mind a patron was using their wireless system - but the police still wanted to press charges:

> The library director said that Tanner had not broken any rules, and local citizens criticized police for their actions.

From one of the news articles:

> The police officer confiscated Tanner's laptop in order to inspect what he may have been downloading,

That is a big NO. If a police officer ripped my laptop from my hands - I guarantee it would be a decision we would both regret.

I think you meant to attach this reply to some other comment.

No - you said drop off a file somewhere. Connecting to their open AP is a crime in itself. I was trying to point out that the legal system has no idea how to deal with the legalities of accessing APs. Of course, they would have prove I had a malicious intent (assuming they could track me down).

So don't sign the file with your real name?

> read access

If you have their tax returns, you can mail them a letter, or often even phone or email them.

And honestly that probably greatly improved home wifi security.

Yup - my first thought too.

I used to work there, and one eternal subject of lunch-table conversation was how interesting it would be to make consumer routers with the same ease of management... but how the consumer market is such a hellhole to work in because margins are so low and consumers are more sensitive to price than to management complexity in their purchasing decisions.

A good brand like Google's can get around that, though.