Question about wifi and the law

Question

I was reading a news story about a man that used wifi connections to download child-p**n to avoid being caught and it occured to me:

If somebody from outside my home used my wifi connection to download this sort of material, and the autorities tracked it, would I get in trouble even though there would be no trace of it in any computer in my home?

I'm not being paranose I was simply wondering, and my wifi connection is encrypted (even though there are ways around it, people would just look for unsecured ones)

Answer 1

You hit a VERY interesting point!  

What if somebody remoted into your computer and was good enough to cover their tracks (for the most part).  If they download c**p to your computer, it would REALLY look like you!

What if someone came over and visited and did something?  How would you prove who was on the computer at the time of the crime?  Yes, you could prove that it came from that house, but it would be difficult to prove the who for criminal law.

I think it comes down to you keeping due diligence and due care that your trying to keep yourself protected.

As long as your using WPA2, using secure passwords, keeping your computer up to date for critical patches, and using AV, you have done your part.

I think most people, with the right lawyer, could get out of the problem you stated because it is VERY difficult to prove that someone did something.  You definitely have brought up a legitimate concern though!

Answer 2

I'm not a lawyer, but I sure would not want to explaing that situation to the feds!!!   One more reason to use a secure encryption method (WPA is far superior to WEP)

Answer 3

You have a valid concern, if your network is used for illegal purposes then yes you will be investigated. Wifi Theft is a growing issue and the dangers of an unsecured network are major!  Wifi ID Theft is even becoming more of an issue these days, as those wishing to steal ID's are using Hot Spots, Airports, Hotels etc for ways to hack users and users information.

Should someone hack your system and send out spam, your ISP will shut YOU down as the spam did come from your system. So, secure your system, use the best encryption available WPA or better and change the code every few weeks using a real password.

Paranoia can be healthy when it comes to your computer network!

Just do a quick search for WIFI ID THEFT, or WIFI SECURITY THREATS -  many are out there!