In spite of growing concerns about online security breaches, a new survey claims that nearly one-third of us are still piggybacking on our neighbors’ unencrypted WiFi.
According to a national survey commissioned by the WiFi Alliance, 32% of respondents admitted to mooching off someone else’s free WiFi connection. In 2008, that number was only 18%.
USA Today points to the fact that more than 1 million people downloaded the free eavesdropping software Firesheep in the last year as evidence that anyone hopping onto an unencrypted WiFi connection is taking a big risk.
“People who don’t understand the technology simply have faith,” a senior security adviser at Sophos tells the paper.
Are you a WiFi mooch?
Survey: 32% admit mooching neighbor’s Wi-Fi [USA Today]
