The problem is that, unlike a piece of cable that you have to get physical access to in order to connect, it's comparatively easy to get near enough to a wireless access point to get good signal strength. Say, in a . . .
The problem is that, unlike a piece of cable that you have to get physical access to in order to connect, it's comparatively easy to get near enough to a wireless access point to get good signal strength. Say, in a café across the street. OK, but just because you're in the radio footprint of an access point doesn't mean you can do anything useful with that wireless network, right? Well, maybe.

Even the most user-friendly access points come with basic security facilities. These security features give the appearance of protecting a wireless network in two ways: making the traffic that flies through the ether undecipherable by outsiders and making the access point, well, inaccessible to anyone unauthorized.

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