Wireless broadband open to hijackers

Almost half (47 per cent) of home broadband users now have wireless internet access, yet a significant number of people are leaving themselves vulnerable to broadband hijackers according to research from leading comparison site moneysupermarket.com.

The research found over four million people had committed broadband piracy in the last 12 months. The research also shows people are failing to take steps to protect themselves, with one in five (19 per cent) wireless users not password protecting their internet at home or admitting they don't know if they have password protection in place.

Broadband hijackers ‘piggyback' a broadband users wireless connection without their knowledge, gaining access to the internet for free, with the potential to steal bank details, identity information or even download illegal content through the owner's connection.

Yet despite these security risks, one in four people (24 per cent) admit they are not aware that anyone in range can access an unprotected wireless network without the owner's knowledge, and a further one in 14 people (7 per cent) thought hijacking was not possible.

The most popular internet activities of broadband pirates are:

General browsing (77%)
Emailing (68%)
Download large files (13%)
Streaming content e.g. Spotify/BBC iPlayer (12%)
Downloading adult content (4%)   

James Parker, broadband manager at moneysupermarket.com said, "The consequences of hijacking can be severe. It's bad enough your neighbours can use your internet connection freely, but this becomes far more threatening if someone uses your connection for criminal or improper activity. This could be accessing your internet connection to download obscene material, gathering personal information to defraud you or even stealing your identity.

Piggybacking has been around as long as wireless networks and one in six people (15 per cent) say they don't feel guilty about using people's Wi-Fi without them knowing because it is up to them to protect it.

"If people aren't careful, they could unwittingly find a huge bill landing on their doorstep for going over the download cap imposed by their provider. More and more providers offer routers with broadband packages and the range of the signal is increasing. People need to be aware just how important protection is and the best way to go about it."

moneysupermarket.com's top tips to beat the broadband pirates:

Password protect your wireless internet connection with non-dictionary words and numbers
Check that your router uses WPA rather than WEP encryption
Know your download limit and what that translates to (i.e. five music albums)
Make sure you have appropriate security software and firewall
If you have children, consider using parental controls as well as password protection for the router.