Wandering around my neighbourhood with my iPod Touch (with WifiTrak installed), I've been amazed by the number of wireless access points / devices I'm seeing. Sometimes there are ten or more visible at the same time. It is very rare for the iPod to report "No networks detected". There is almost always at least one...
Even more amazing is the number of homes / businesses who don't use any encryption AND have DHCP turned on.
Wide open wifi. Incredible. If your device (iPod, Laptop, whatever) is set to "auto-connect", then you can't avoid connecting to them. Interesting legal issues there, I suppose.
Coverage by these unsecure APs comes close to being ubiguitous. On average, it would be about one for every 200 metres in the area I walk around in. Wide open wifi Internet is never much more than a minute's walk away. That makes it hard to resist the temptation of taking advantage of what might be described as the unwitting 'generosity of spirit' demonstrated by people who don't secure their wireless Internet access at all and leave DHCP turned on to allow you to connect easily.
It's like leaving a basket of shiny, fresh apples sitting right on the footpath......
I know the feeling, sitting on my front porch in Dunedin I get around 10 connections, with 4 unsecured connections! I'm not sure if I'm passive monitering though, which could make things different.
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