Ethical Considerations

Wardriving is frequently cited as an example of a questionable activity. However, from a technical viewpoint, everything is working as designed: Access points broadcast identifying data accessible to anyone with a suitable receiver by necessity.

In cases of listen-only software, such as Kismet, wardriving can be likened to listening to a radio station that happens to be broadcasting in your area. But again, this may differ in other countries. For example, in the UK it is illegal to listen on some radio frequencies or to some transmissions (such as those used by the police or armed forces).

With other types of software, such as NetStumbler, the wardriver sends probes, and the access point responds per design. Most access points, when using default settings, are intended to provide wireless access to all who request it. Some argue that those who set up access points without adding security measures are offering their connection, sometimes unintentionally, to the community. Others argue that this reasoning is akin to stating that people who leave their doors unlocked are asking people to take what they like. In fact, when people unfamiliar to wardriving see how many open access points there are and how easy it is to find them, they sometimes want to secure their own access points. Some wardrivers go to the extent of informing the access point's administrator about their insecurity and offer steps to correct it. However, it has largely become etiquette to leave access points open for others to use just as someone expects to find open access points while on the road. This free sharing of bandwidth is also the basis of wireless community networks which are often considered the future of the internet.

Antennas

Wireless access point receivers, such as the Apple AirPort, can be "upgraded" to extend their ability for picking up and connecting to wireless access points. This can be done with an ordinary metal wire, and a metal dish that is used to form a directional antenna. Not only the Airport can be modded in this way, but other similar devices can be modded in this way too, likewise, not only directional antennas can be created, but USB-WiFi-stick antennas can be used as well. Tools such as Wireless Grapher-widget can be used to measure out the antenna.

Court cases

According to techweb.com an Illinois man was fined for piggybacking on a Wi-Fi System after being warned repeatedly by the owner of the system. David M. Kauchak, 32, pleaded guilty in Winnebago County to remotely accessing someone else's computer system without permission, the Rockford Register Star newspaper reported. A Winnebago County judge fined Kauchak $250 and sentenced him to one year of court supervision. Kauchak has the dubious distinction of being the first person to face the charge in Winnebago County, and prosecutors say they're taking the crime seriously. "We just want to get the word out that it is a crime. We are prosecuting it, and people need to take precautions," Assistant State's Attorney Tom Wartowski told the newspaper. A police officer arrested Kauchak in January after spotting him sitting in a parked car with a computer. A chat with the suspect led to the arrest, Wartowski said.

In Toronto, Canada, a man was arrested with a WiFi-enabled laptop in his car - and his pants down. He was tapping into unprotected wireless networks. Ultimately, however, he was charged not for that, but for the child pornography he was in the process of downloading.

It is important to note in both of the above cases the individual was NOT charged with 'wardriving' but for a crime related to a completely different activity - e.g., possession of child pornography or hacking into a local computer network.