Some people prefer to let their Wi-Fi networks go without a password, either as a matter of convenience or to support their ethical convictions. Either way, they can run the risk of being misidentified by law enforcement officials, as underscored by three recent cases noted by Ars Technica’s Jacqui Cheng. While such cases are clearly the exception to the rule, they may give you pause the next time you consider setting up your own Wi-Fi network without locking it down with a password.

“The three stories all fall along the same theme: a Buffalo man, Sarasota man, and Syracuse man all found themselves being raided by the FBI or police after their wireless networks were allegedly used to download child pornography … In all three cases, the accused ended up getting off the hook after their files were examined and neighbors were found to be responsible for downloading child porn via unsecured WiFi networks.”

A nasty neighbor downloading kiddie porn isn’t the only risk, either – if someone within range of your Wi-Fi network is downloading copyrighted content using BitTorrent, you run the risk of being implicated because it can be traced back to your router’s IP address. What’s more, some ISPs measure bandwidth usage and reserve the right to shut you down (permanently) if you dramatically exceed your quota.

FBI child porn raid a strong argument for locking down WiFi networks [Ars Technica]