Would you share your wireless network with neighbors?

[VeloVT]

I'm not too worried about bandwidth/speed. I don't think they are heavy internet users. I also feel that if they were streaming movies or doing something else that brought the network to a standstill, we could discuss that and establish ground rules. They are reasonable people.

I am also not at all worried about illegal activity - in that regard I definitely trust them. I think it would just be an ipad and a few iphones that we'd be potentially adding to the network. It's really the general, in-principal security concerns that I'm worried about. I think the malware point is a good one, although I think they have all Apple devices which lessens that concern somewhat (don't know about their friends of course).

[2wheelr]

No. The dummy across the street, I can't trust him as far as I can throw him. My next door neighbors are too far away, and they can definitely afford their own wireless.

[lovelygamer]

No, I would never recommend this. The nicest people you know may not be so nice on the internet. They could have any number of habits (porn, terrorism, abuse, media stealers (torrents, p2p), illegal fetishes) and etc. Or, they could be gamers and suck all of your bandwidth up. Any of that is bad news for you.

You would be amazed. I used to be in IT and I was constantly amazed at how different people are in their online life than they are in real life.

[VeloVT]

No, I would never recommend this. The nicest people you know may not be so nice on the internet. They could have any number of habits (porn, terrorism, abuse, media stealers (torrents, p2p), illegal fetishes) and etc. Or, they could be gamers and suck all of your bandwidth up. Any of that is bad news for you.

You would be amazed. I used to be in IT and I was constantly amazed at how different people are in their online life than they are in real life.

They're do-gooders (and I mean that in a completely good, non-snarky way). Kind of crunchy, outdoorsy, both social workers, drive a Prius, have a toddler, participate in touchy-feely community events. They are good peeps. I would be utterly shocked if they had any truly evil skeletons in the closet.

But, your point is well taken.

[Blueberry]

I'm not too worried about bandwidth/speed. I don't think they are heavy internet users. I also feel that if they were streaming movies or doing something else that brought the network to a standstill, we could discuss that and establish ground rules. They are reasonable people.

I am also not at all worried about illegal activity - in that regard I definitely trust them. I think it would just be an ipad and a few iphones that we'd be potentially adding to the network. It's really the general, in-principal security concerns that I'm worried about. I think the malware point is a good one, although I think they have all Apple devices which lessens that concern somewhat (don't know about their friends of course).

Well...it sort of sounds like you've decided.

I do question whether the reasonable people thing applies when there is a power imbalance - and there definitely is in a rental relationship.

[VeloVT]

Well...it sort of sounds like you've decided.

I do question whether the reasonable people thing applies when there is a power imbalance - and there definitely is in a rental relationship.

I really haven't. Strangely, the rational, analytical part of my brain is telling me it should be fine (because they are trustworthy and the likelihood of issues of any kind is very small), and I would say it's the other part the says to think about it more. Seems like it should be the other way around, right? And it's not because I have reservations about them, per se, it really isn't, it's more that it's opening our closed network, and once you open it, it's no longer closed.

And, fwiw, my main motivation is really relationship-building and neighborliness; while savings is always nice, it's not the main reason I'm considering it (though I think savings, and also less hassle, is why they asked).

[Anyabeth]

To me this is something that is not worth the risk for people you do not know VERY well.

The thing is that because of your situation if something goes poorly or you find you are uncomfortable later it is too late. Sure you can put it back to closed and change all the passwords but it is a socially awkward position and you are already exposed.

It is impossible to know if people are good or bad just by noticing what kind of car they drive etc. I mean honestly. I learn new things all the time about what my HUSBAND does online (nothing to worry about) and we have been married for working on twelve years).

You don't have insight into what they will do online or what people who visit them will do online. So you are taking a certain amount of risk. The reward seems small.

[malkin]

Only if it were my parents or my brother.

Not my kid. Not my cousins. Not my friends.
Not my neighbors.

[withm]

No, no, no, a thousand times no.

If they get involved in anything of an illegal nature (child porn? terrorist activities) the FBI will be investigating YOU forever.

Just say no.

[smilingcat]

Some of the nicest people are the ones to watch out. There was an awkward situation at my work. Some person fairly high up with grand children was found to be surfing on porno site.

He didn't know that the IT kept track of all the different web sites visited and for how long. What was striking was that the person would have been the last person anyone would have suspected. Tight upper lip no non-sense kind of a guy. He was an extremely painful person for any one to work with and always his way.

So the answer is NO!! No matter how much you trust them or don't expect. They could also access your computer. It's not that hard to do. Give me a few minutes and I can find out your network and some.

Majority of the people out there do not secure their wifi and that is very bad. I've gotten pretty upset with my sister and their grown kids over their cavalier attitutde. Just to prove my point, I hacked into their system and printed nasty gram out on their printer.

And if they did something illegal and the police obtains a warrant to seize the equipment, it will be yours and not your grass eating organic neighbor with hairly arms and legs and walking around in birkenstock sandles.
(I'm a socialist, so I can say such things).

Just tell them that you are nearly max'ed on your alloted Gbytes of transfer.

simple answer is NO!

[colby]

The biggest issue is that you're liable for whatever they do. If you're comfortable taking that risk on, move to the technical issues. You will be sharing bandwidth, but with cable you're sharing it anyway. If you are capped, they will be a part of your cap - if they stream a lot of media or anything like that, it'll "count" against you.

As for protecting yourself, I like the idea of the "guest" network. If they are on the same wireless network, they are on your local network. Not just access to your data, but if they did get infected with a virus, it would suck if it was spread to you. Local firewalls will definitely help that, and not sharing public files, always use passwords. The guest network just adds that extra layer of protection, separating them from you. Great compromise.

If I knew my neighbors fairly well and it fit all of the above conditions, I'd probably share, especially if it weren't permanent. I would use a secondary network, though. Basically, I'll only let people on my network that I'd let stay in my house, friends and fam. (Even then, if I had a guest network, I might just use that!)

[OakLeaf]

Basically, I'll only let people on my network that I'd let stay in my house, friends and fam. (Even then, if I had a guest network, I might just use that!)

That's me, too. We share our password with houseguests and don't bother to change it after they leave. Other than that, nope.

The other issue that's been mentioned in passing is your agreement with your ISP. Maybe they let it slide, maybe you wind up with a huge stonkin' retroactive bill and your service cancelled. That used to happen all the time back in the day before smartphones, when people were using their phones to connect their PDAs to dialup Internet but not paying for a data plan.

With us, we have a 5-device limit, and we have to be careful not to exceed that even just between the two of us. While I don't really worry about the ISP, the whole network starts going flaky when we accidentally exceed five devices. It usually requires turning off the wireless on all of them and rebooting the router, so it's not a big deal, but it's a PITA, and it would be worse if you had to go over there and knock on their door to ask them to turn the wireless off on a few things. I never use our home WiFi with my phone and DH almost never uses it with his Kindle, but we typically connect a music server, a print server, our iPads, my Kindle, DH's phone, plus the laptops that are in use all the time. Your neighbor's several devices would probably tip you over your limit, too, even if there weren't an issue with people in two households using the network.