Independent Perspective News

I've got 12 . . . wait, 13. Another just came in!'' On the hunt for 30 seconds, Gary Morse is jazzed. We've walked about 45 feet down Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, and he has been counting the number of chirrups coming from the speaker of his hand-held computer. Each represents potential prey: wireless networks in the offices and apartments above us. So far, we have had more than a dozen chances to sneak Internet access, reap user ID's and passwords and otherwise peer into the private affairs of individuals and businesses.

Morse is an expert -- president of Razorpoint Security Technologies Inc., a computer security consulting firm that helps companies find their weak spots and fix them -- and a self-described ''professional hacker.'' He knows dozens of tricks to ease his way into any of the networks he has found. Most users don't realize that left untended, the wireless technology that can quickly connect computers will literally broadcast every bit of transmitted information to anyone with a computer and a $40 wireless networking card.

The software package running on Morse's hand-held is called Kismet, from a Turkish-derived word meaning fate. The program uses the wireless card like a police band scanner, noting each wireless network that makes its presence known. ''I could put it in my pocket and record all the networks without anyone seeing,'' he says. The program is available to security experts and would-be hackers for a perfectly legal and free download.

Morse is hardly someone who would arouse suspicion in the neighborhood. His suit is gray with a black nailhead pattern; white-on-black cufflinks repeat the motif. He could be any high-tech professional. And even if someone were to question his activities, he is within his legal rights to peer into other people's networks, so long as he doesn't record any of the information. Of course, someone who wanted to perform a neat case of identity theft or break into a company's confidential files would hardly be concerned about legalities.

Morse taps on the screen, and we watch a box open showing rows of numbers and some words -- board game . . . backgammon. Someone playing games on the Internet. It could just as easily be a credit-card number, confidential health information or anything else that people regularly provide to Web sites. Or the information could be transferred between two computers on the network he sees.

Not long ago, a network meant wires strung between computers. Then the wireless network was invented. Special radio transmitters and receivers let people connect equipment without coaxing a single strand of cable through a wall. Instead, the computers can send data to destinations by broadcasting through the air. That is one reason that wireless networks have become all the rage. At home, I opted to use wireless for my family's PC's, making the distribution of cable Internet access a breeze.

But convenience has its price. Physics dictates that the radio signals will reach not only their intended recipients but also any compatible equipment within a several-hundred-foot radius. You don't need a Ph.D. in computer science to tap into an existing network. What makes the installation easy also guarantees that the electronic breaking and entering needn't be taxing. I now wonder whether I should call home and ask my wife to turn off all our computers.

We continue our walk to Bryant Park, which has a free public wireless network available to anyone who brings a compatible hand-held device or a laptop. Arriving a bit before 11 a.m., we have our pick of the outdoor tables and choose a pair of small rounds next to the carousel for our temporary shop. Time to put away the small screen and break out bigger iron. Morse opens his backpack and removes an Apple PowerBook and something that looks like a white, two-foot-long PVC pipe bomb. The big tube is a big antenna that he cobbled together for security audits he does of his clients. ''It's about $40 in parts; they work in there too,'' Morse says, pointing to the backpack and referring to the antenna and the hand-held computer.

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