TAMPA - When you log on from home, you may not be the only one.
"I never really thought about it but when I got my own internet and WI-FI, I definitely encrypted it right away," said wireless internet user, Richard Doyle.
But too often, experts say, many others leave their WI-FI network wide open. Think of it as the internet equivalent of leaving your front door wide open. Anyone can walk in and take whatever's there.
"The worst of the criminal bunch will go out and use somebody else's internet connections to surf the internet for child porn, steal credit card numbers, and more," explained I.T. Security expert Chris Jones with Critical Intervention Services in Clearwater.
Jones says it is known as "war driving," in which thieves cruise neighborhoods in search of easy access.
"There are a number of people who drive around and map out all the open un-encrypted access points. Most people have no clue," said Jones.
Detectives say that's what Benjamin L. Smith, was doing, when they busted him parked outside a house in St. Petersburg. They say he used his laptop to not only steal the homeowner's WI-FI but using it to download child porn.
A judge Tuesday sentenced him to nearly five years of sex offender probation. Smith's arrest for stealing WI-FI three years ago was one of the first in the country.
"People never think about these issues until it's too late, until something's gone wrong," said Chris Jones.
Unless your network is encrypted or password protected, experts say you're at risk.
"I was afraid that somebody would use my WI-FI and do something illegal and my door would get busted down or something," said wireless internet user Richard Doyle.
He and his friends say their WI-FI networks are password protected for just that reason.
"Because I've heard stories of people getting in. Logging in and checking accounts and monitoring stuff on your computer," said wireless internet user Jim Sheppard.
Keeping it encrypted, say experts, is the only way to keep safe. Experts say there's no way to tell for sure, if an unprotected network is getting hacked. The only way to keep them out is to make sure you use the encryption program which most wireless systems come with.