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6-23-2009 SOURCE

The Salem Police Department would like to remind those with computer wifi systems in their homes and/or businesses to secure those systems from unauthorized use and abuse.

On Monday, June 16th, Salem Police Officers were dispatched to a location in South Salem on a report of a suspicious vehicle. The complainant reported that a vehicle had been parked in the area on several occasions during a period of a couple of days, and there was a male in the vehicle who appeared to be using a laptop computer.

Officers Abe Dedek and Jim Aguilar responded to investigate the situation and located the suspect vehicle. As Officer Aguilar approached the vehicle on the passenger side he was able to see pornographic material on the screen of the computer. The computer did not have an aircard, and subsequent investigation revealed that the suspect had located an unsecured wifi sight from a nearby private party.

The suspect, 27-year old Salem resident Sean Thompson, ultimately admitted using the wifi on several different occasions. He is a registered sex offender and was accessing pornographic sites from the unsecured wifi system. He was charged with four counts of Theft Of Services.

This case should be a reminder to all of those who have wifi sites in their homes and/or businesses that it is important to secure those sites with passwords and/or restricted range and access. When people take advantage of others' wifi sites, they are not only committing a theft of the services paid by the wifi owners, but they can also create further problems for the owners of the wifi. If somebody is accessing illegal materials such as restricted pornography from a wifi system, that material can be traced back to the system from where it was accessed. That will lead criminal investigators to the owner of the system instead of the person who was actually accessing the materials.

Anybody with questions about wifi and how to secure their systems should consult an expert in this area.