32% Admit to Stealing Neighbor’s Wi-Fi

Friday, 04 February 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Does sharing your Wi-Fi password feel more personal than sharing a toothbrush? For more than 25 percent of Americans, it does. What about your house key? Forty percent of those asked said they’d feel more comfortable loaning out their keys than their passwords. Yet, according to a recent survey, 32 percent of Americans admit to jumping on their neighbor’s open Wi-Fi networks. That’s up from 18 percent in 2008 says USA Today and according to experts, it’s a practice that puts you and your sensitive information at risk. Public hotspots are also an easy way for hackers to glean your personal information. Security experts suggest using WPA2 security for your home Wi-Fi network, a technology that monitors who connects to your network and also encrypts your data.

The Wakefield Research survey was commissioned by a non-profit called the Wi-Fi Alliance. They also made this video: