Netstumbler Illegal to Use !!!

This is a brief account of my dealings with the police.

I was spotted outside an old High Court Judge house locating a repeater in the area. The police was called with my car reg noted.

6 weeks later I was called into the police station.

I was told that due to data, MAC ADD, signal strength etc is the property of the owner of the AP, it is illegal for me to receive this information.

I was told under no circumstances to use this program or all my gear will be removed from me by the police. Car, computers and any thing else they thing they are able to remove.

No, I have not gone back and told them that using some AP in scan mode will show the same information.

What are your thoughts?

Dam not good

It doesnt help that the laws cant keep up with the computer world, but they have some weird laws out their. They mainly pick on the main ways of doing something legal or illegal on computers.

I take it that this happened in New Zealand?

Im guessing they checked the log of who had been issued a IP address. As for removing your computer gear, if its left in the car they can just pull you over and remove it, but if its in your house they need a warant.
It could be mainly to scare you since they dont know what you where doing with your computer.

Did they inform you indetail about why the dont want you to use the program?

Any way thats just my 2c

Try not to get caught next time

- CHCH

- They had not even asked to see my Laptop. They mentioned that they knew I was not a threat, or they would have would have acted earlyer.

In there eyes, from there computer tech guy, using Netstumbler was tech illegal as I was receiving someone else's property, I was to contact a lawer to take it any further to proove other wise.

Ok if they want to prove that you could have received an IP from their network.
-You can change your MAC address
-You can change your wifi card(has adifferet MAC).

It also depends on what other information you sent to their wifi device.

Netstumbler is not an illegal tool. It is a cheap way of configuring and monitory your wireless network. I would have to say it comes under the heading Network Tools, not hacking tools.

This brings to mind that the New Zealand computer security laws changed at the start of this year, but they havent been published any where that I have seen.

(This has just given me an idea for another post topic)

Sounds like you got the short end of the stick from the law.

The new computer laws have been published and althoug there is an infrence in them that using such applications as netstumbler etc may be agains the law there are still other things that the counts have to take into account.

Having been through the system once regaring computer related issues i can honestly say that the legal system is stupid and will take on anything and try and make a case if it prooves a point.

However the other thing to keep in mind is that most of the lawyers do not have a clue and you would have to find a real good one (and expensive one) and a host of legal experts to try and head the case off before it got to far.

A simple argument may be that because they were not using WEP or any form of encryption and because they were broadcasting on a public frequencey. And due to the fact that most versions of windows are set up in such a way to connect to any network when it find them and this setting is "By Default" the crown may have trouble with this in court.

Another issue is that Netstumbler did not request the IP or assign the IP, this was done by the native windows software an their DHCP server. So it would be wrong of a Police Officer to state otherwise and missleading of the courts IT person to state this. However down in CH it would not surprise me.

Well I certinly would not like to be the first person to be put on the hotseat but I would hope that the judge might be fair and atleast know a thing or two about IT anf the Crown have the decencey not to wander arround looking for another whipping boy so they can set a legal precidence and waste the courts time.

This is just my view and should be take with a pinch of salt as Im not a lawer although have had first hand expereance on the receiving end of the laws stupidity.

dam

you were just checking your network was not buggering up other networks wer'nt you :wink:
good luck
(tell them to turn it off if them don't want orther people looking at it)