I think the reverend using the library AP in Nantucket, MA is the best example I can think of for this debate. The library is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide the public with access to all forms of information. Local (county and/or city), state, and fedearal taxes, along with private donations help fund library costs, including their Internet service. Joe Linksys in my neighborhood, however, is paying a monthly fee to his ISP and/or circuit provider. If Joe Linksys wants to set up an AP that his entire neighborhood can use, he is still bound by his ISPs acceptable use policies (AUP). AUPs are enforced in varying degrees depending on your ISP. An AUP is set up entirely for the ISP's protection and traditionally only enforced if you become a nuisance. If they start getting cease and desist letters auto-gen'd by the RIAA, for example, then you're likely to get some attention. Also, if someone in your neighborhood decides to use your AP for shenanigans, you'll take the heat for it. An AUP, then, is really a contract that you agree to when you purchase service from a provider. Whether you follow that AUP to the letter is ultimately at your discretion. Some ISPs, like Speakeasy, are savvy and realize that their customers are likely to share their service for free but may not allow reselling it. It would be to your advantange, however, if you took security seriously and firewalled your outbound connections, possibly restricting it to only HTTP and HTTPS access -- maybe pop3s and imaps as well. You'll find that not all SOHO grade APs offer this out of the box, however, which is why there's a whole class of middle tier APs that are marketed as 'hot spot in a box' products. But even the most low end APs offer some pretty basic options to prevent unauthorized access. -Gary
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