DealsOnTheWeb Daily Deal: OneCall's Weekend Sale - 20 Great Items at Great Prices All Weekend Long
Sheriff's Department Watches for Open Networks
by , 9:20 AM EDT, June 29th, 2006
The Douglas County Sheriff's Department in Colorado is hoping to cut down on Internet-related crimes by equipping some of its patrol cars with equipment to detect unprotected wireless networks. It is one of the first law enforcement agencies in the country to launch such a program. According to KUSA TV, deputies can watch for wireless networks that aren't password protected, and warn owners of the potential security risks.
Brian Radamacher, a member of the Douglas County Sheriff's Special Investigations Unit, said "If someone is driving by on the street they could easily use your internet access to commit a crime, whether it's fraudulent credit card transactions or surfing child porn or something else."
If criminal activity is traced back to your Internet connection, your computer could potentially be seized as evidence and held for months before you get it back. "The unfortunate thing is when we go to issue the warrants or something else you may end up getting your computer seized because of it," he says.
The Sheriff's Department will also provide wireless network owners with information on how to password protect their networks.
Observer Comments
Thu Jun 29, 2006 11:56 am Subject: Two questions
1. ust how do they know which building houses a particular network? Of course, this could be a very upscale, rich area, where houses may be spaced far apart. On a good day, depending upon where I take my PowerBook in my house, I can pick up two other networks than my own. Sure, a directional antenna MIGHT help, but wouldn't be definitive.
2. Who is paying for this? Sounds like the Sheriff's Department has far too much idle time.
Thu Jun 29, 2006 12:24 pm Subject: Direction finder
Quotegslusher wrote:
1. ust how do they know which building houses a particular network? Of course, this could be a very upscale, rich area, where houses may be spaced far apart. On a good day, depending upon where I take my PowerBook in my house, I can pick up two other networks than my own. Sure, a directional antenna MIGHT help, but wouldn't be definitive.
2. Who is paying for this? Sounds like the Sheriff's Department has far too much idle time.
I assume they could use a direction finding antennae to point to the source. Triangulate if necessary.
As to having too much time on their hands. Here in San Diego we have 2 patrol officers per 50,000 people, not enough. They don't even respond to fender benders unless you call it in as a DUI
Recent Headlines - Updated Friday, July 18th, 2008
- Fri., 4:30 PM
- iPO Apple Store Spotlight - Bloomberg LP - Financial Information on Your iPhone
- 2:50 PM
- iPO Just a Thought - Seven Days (and Counting) Trying to Get an iPhone
- 2:15 PM
- AAPL Drops 3% in Afternoon Trading, Deferred Revenue Accounting Earning Attention
- 12:05 PM
- iPO Review - Jensen JiMS-525i
- 11:05 AM
- Apple in Art
- 10:40 AM
- iPO Free on iTunes - AtomTV, Black In America, Strange Days on Planet Earth, & More
- 9:15 AM
- TMO's DealsOnTheWeb.com - JBL On Stage II Speaker System w/RF Remote Control: $67.99 Delivered
- 8:20 AM
- StrangeCharm - Particle Debris and a New iPhone (2G)
- 7:30 AM
- TMO Quick Tip - Build Your Own Twitter Client
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com
- OWC: NewerTech NuPower Batteries for iBook and PowerBooks Designed+Built in USA to run longer, LAST LONGER TOO! Free Battery Recycling Return Label; Quality High-Capacity from $99.95
New iMac 800Mhz Memory 4GB $98, 2GB $50. Click to Maximize your Macs...
Mac observers can now play Party Poker for Mac as well as Mac casino games by going to MacPokerOnline.com.
RamJet Memory: MacBook 1Gig $39, 2Gig $78, 4Gig $195! Mac Pro 2Gig $115, 4Gig $189! 500G Seagate SATA II $139! Click hereFor the latest Apple products use Ciao a comparison website to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate cell phones.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

