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Top Ten Ways to Break the Law with your Computer

Posted • March 18, 2010 • Comments Off

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10 ways you could be breaking the law with your computer without even knowing it

wifi Top Ten Ways to Break the Law with your Computer Are You Unknowingly Breaking the Law with your Computers?
Those of us who use our computers on a day to day basis have a tendency to take them and their use for granted.

Most of us have our WIFI connection set on automatic. We set our preferences to remember the networks we have accepted and let it do it’s thing.

WIFI for Dummies

We don’t take into account that there are many networks with the same name. Most of the networks out there are created by plugging in the wireless router and connecting it to the modem. This uses the default name for the network. How many networks have you seen named “linksys” or “NETGEAR”? Our computers just remember the network by their names and just connects to any open network. breaking law Top Ten Ways to Break the Law with your Computer
(Post from Search Engine Optimizician.)

The big question is “Am I breaking the law?”.

The Answer is “…possibly!”.

Digital Millennium Copyright (DMCA) Act
The DMCA makes it a criminal offense to circumvent any kind of technological copy protection. Even if you don’t violate anyone’s copyright in doing so. Simply disabling the copy protection is a federal crime.
No Electronic Theft (NET) Act
The NET Act made copyright infringement a federal criminal offense, it doesn’t matter whether you circumvent copy-protection technology and/or derive any commercial benefit or monetary gain. Just making a copy of copyrighted work for a friend now makes you subject to up to five years in prison and/or up to $250,000 in fines.
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
ACTA covers a number of areas, which include counterfeit products and generic medicines, but computer users are effected the chapter “Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.”
Court rulings regarding border searches
Be aware that even though you’ve done nothing illegal and are not even a suspect, the contents of your portable computer, PDA, or smart phone can be accessed by government agents when you enter the Unites States.
State and federal laws regarding access to networks
“WIFI for Dummies”
Many states have criminal laws that prohibits accessing any computer or network without the owner’s permission. The wording of most these laws include connecting to a wireless network without explicit permission, even if the network is unsecured.
“Tools of a crime” laws
Some states actually have laws that make it a crime to possess a “criminal instrument” or the “tool of a crime.” What this means is that you could be arrested and prosecuted, for constructing a high gain wireless antenna for the purpose of tapping into someone else’s Wi-Fi network whether or not you actually accessed a network.
Cyberstalking and Cyberbullying laws
The “cyberstalking” laws enacted by the states have a tendency to contain some pretty broad language. April 2009, the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act (H.R. 1966) was introduced in the U.S. Congress. This would make it a federal crime to “intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated and hostile behavior.”
Internet gambling laws
The federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 criminalizes acceptance of funds from bettors. Some state laws do apply to the person placing the bet. A Washington law passed in 2006 makes gambling on the Internet a felony.
Child pornography laws
You be arrested for possession of child pornography or for exposing children to pornography even though you never voluntarily indulged in it.
Pro IP Act
The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (Pro IP Act), signed into law in 2008, imposes stricter penalties for copyright infringement. Some local jurisdictions have also established seizure authority for piracy.

computer babies Top Ten Ways to Break the Law with your Computer This post is paraphrased from “10 ways you might be breaking the law with your computer: UPDATED” by Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MVP posted March 10th, 2010. Please visit that website for more detailed information.

After all of that eye opening information we can no longer consider our selves innocent when it comes to using our computers. We are not computer babies any more.

Late,
Gary Pool SEO

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