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janrinok writes:

It is often said that an important security task when setting up a new WiFi router is to ensure that it is password protected so that only those who should be using the router can do so. In fact, some ISPs forbid the sharing of a router — although how they are meant to know what is authorised by the owner and what is not, is beyond me. We are are warned of the danger that someone might download something illegal for which the owner of the router will take the blame. But there are some that believe this is the wrong approach to take.

Members of the "Open Wireless Movement," including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Press, Mozilla, and Fight for the Future are advocating that we open up our Wi-Fi private networks [arstechnica.com] (or at least a small slice of our available bandwidth) to strangers. They claim that such a random act of kindness can actually make us safer online while simultaneously facilitating a better allocation of finite broadband resources.

The OpenWireless.org website explains the group's initiative. "We are aiming to build technologies that would make it easy for Internet subscribers to portion off their wireless networks for guests and the public while maintaining security, protecting privacy, and preserving quality of access," its mission statement reads. "And we are working to debunk myths (and confront truths) about open wireless while creating technologies and legal precedent to ensure it is safe, private, and legal to open your network."

One such technology, which EFF plans to unveil at the Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE X) conference next month, is open-sourced router firmware called Open Wireless Router. This firmware would enable individuals to share a portion of their Wi-Fi networks with anyone nearby, password-free, as Adi Kamdar, an EFF activist, told Ars on Friday.

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