Could you be an unusual suspect?

Make sure you secure the wireless network on your internet connection, says Which? Computing, or you could end up as one of the ‘unusual suspects’ – people who have been wrongly accused of illegal file sharing.

Thousands of letters have been sent by law firms to people who, the lawyers claim, have illegally uploaded their clients’ copyrighted material onto the internet. These include 80-year-olds accused of sharing techno music and young mums accused of uploading gay pornography.

Which? has been highly critical of law firms who employ this practice and is campaigning so that the volume litigation approach to file sharing is stopped. The consumer champion believes that legal action should not be used as a first response, but reserved for the most serious offenders.

In the meantime, an estimated 7.8 million UK households have unsecured wireless networks. Anyone with a Wi-Fi enabled device could piggyback onto this connection without the account holder’s knowledge. Any illegal activity could see the finger of blame pointed squarely at the owner of the wireless network.

Which? Computing thinks it’s a good idea that internet users secure their connection, even though they are not obliged to, and has published advice on how to do so.

Peter Vicary-Smith, Chief Executive, Which?, says: “Which? continues to battle law firms that threaten innocent consumers, but people also need to take steps to protect themselves. We urge anyone with a wireless network to secure it immediately. If they don’t, they could end up in the awful position of being accused of a crime they haven’t committed and, in some cases, wouldn’t even know how to commit.”