Say Hello to my little friend....oh, and help please with a MacBook Pro!

nightspidy

I just got my new laptop!! I finally dove in and bought the 2.2 MacBook Pro and wow! It was so simple putting this thing together. Open box, open two packages, plug in and turn on. That's it. Done. I love this laptop. :lust Everything was loaded and ready to go. One small question though. So, I did the set-up and somewhere along the way, I selected "SMS" during set-up. I completed all the updates meanwhile thinking, hey, how can I do the updates when I'm not even set-up on the internet? :dunno So, I've got internet access and I have no idea where it is coming from. Any thoughts? Thanks

DoctorIt

selected "SMS"... for what?


As for the unknown internet, that's not much of a surprise. Macs are by default set to auto-detect, and antenna on, so if there's an unsecured wireless network nearby, you'll automatically be on it.

Lovesong

There are 2 possibilities. First, do you have the MBP attached to an ethernet cable? If so, then the laptop is using DHCP and automatically assigning an IP to you. If you don't (and I'm assuming that this is the case), then select the airport icon (little wave-looking things next to the clock on the top right), and it will tell you which wireless network you've joined.

nightspidy

laptop

Lovesong wrote:

There are 2 possibilities. First, do you have the MBP attached to an ethernet cable? If so, then the laptop is using DHCP and automatically assigning an IP to you. If you don't (and I'm assuming that this is the case), then select the airport icon (little wave-looking things next to the clock on the top right), and it will tell you which wireless network you've joined.

Yes, you're right, airport is activated, and sorry, I meant to type "SMC" as the network that I am connected to. What does this mean? Also, Legally what does this mean for me?

Lovesong

nightspidy wrote:

Yes, you're right, airport is activated, and sorry, I meant to type "SMC" as the network that I am connected to. What does this mean? Also, Legally what does this mean for me?

That means that you're connected to someone's connection, where they named their wireless network SMC, and then failed to encrypt it. Legally, it means that you're "stealing" their internet, and it's bad. On the other hand, whoever set that up is A). Technologically declined, and hence won't notice or . Someone who doesn't care, and won't make a big fuss. It's also possible that you're getting a signal from a nearby hotel or cafe... but unless they are within a 150ft radius, that's unlikely.

Best thing you can do is disconnect from that person's network, and hook it up to your own.

Pupator

Never forget option 3 - it's someone very smart who leaves their connection unencrypted hoping people will connect to it and have their packets sniffed (not as dirty as it sounds, but just as bad!)

nightspidy

Internet
Thanks for the advice I turned off the ability to search for internet before I left for work, as it did occur to me that someone may be able to hack into my computer. Not that there is anything on it yet, but still, plus, ethically, it's wrong. Thanks again

jdryan3

Lovesong wrote:

That means that you're connected to someone's connection, where they named their wireless network SMC, and then failed to encrypt it. Legally, it means that you're "stealing" their internet, and it's bad.

I'm not sure it is illegal if you attach to an open wi-fi connection. Courts are split on that one. Silly, maybe, for the reason Pupator mentions. And it is illegal to hack into their PC or router once on. But riding on the free/open airwaves isn't necessarily illegal.

What is interesting is that some jurisdictions are holding people (or attempting to) who have open networks responsible for the stuff that comes across them - ie porn.

BradfordBenn

Also remember that the most secure internet connection you can have is one that is turned off. So when not using your computer I highly recommend turning it off, not stand by by closing lid, but off by choosing shut down.

To illustrate this fact at a recent conference I was at I did a quick search of the hotel network and found this:



and also more surprising was the shared iTunes library...

colourbox

Lovesong wrote:

That means that you're connected to someone's connection, where they named their wireless network SMC, and then failed to encrypt it. Legally, it means that you're "stealing" their internet, and it's bad. On the other hand, whoever set that up is A). Technologically declined, and hence won't notice or . Someone who doesn't care, and won't make a big fuss. It's also possible that you're getting a signal from a nearby hotel or cafe... but unless they are within a 150ft radius, that's unlikely.

Actually, SMC is a major manufacturer of wireless routers, so what it means is that someone in the neighborhood took the router out of the box, plugged it in, and didn't change the default corporate name. Kind of like the old joke about how most of the access points in any city are named "Linksys."

Also, in addition to A) and , there is also remote possibility C), which is that it was intentionally left unsecured so that the owner can monitor the unencrypted traffic of anyone who connects (called a "honeypot"). This can be a reason to not connect to networks that aren't yours. If you aren't using a VPN or other encryption, your unsecured communications are probably sent and received using plain text, and are very easy to eavesdrop on. If I was using an unsecured wireless network, someone could read this very post as it passes through the router's network. And they could have seen my dgrin username and password earlier, too.

KED

BradfordBenn wrote:

No real risk there -- all that music sucks! Just kidding; your point is interesting and completely valid.