The bill by state Assembly speaker Fabian Nunez was intended to get people to install safeguards to thwart hackers or "piggybackers" from easily getting into unsecured wireless networks, said Nunez spokesman Steve Maviglio.
"Protecting Californians' personal information is important as more people use wireless technology," Nunez said Wednesday in a release. "[The bill] tries to remedy 'piggybacking' by giving consumers that information during the installation process."
Maviglio said that inspiration for the bill came earlier this year when he was working at Nunez's loft in downtown Los Angeles and linked to the Internet by "piggybacking," connecting to a stranger's open wireless network in range.
"He was amazed that you could just take advantage of someone else's service without paying a dime and what someone with evil intentions could do," Maviglio said of the 39-year-old assemblyman's reaction.
In a practice referred to as "war driving," hackers and piggybackers motor about pinpointing unguarded wireless systems to use for getting online, according to attendees at a recent computer hackers conference in Las Vegas.
The proposed law would require makers of wireless equipment such as laptop computers and Internet routers to include warning labels with product packaging or pre-install safeguards.
"We found that most people aren't even aware," Maviglio said, referring to the vulnerability of wireless networks not protected by passwords or other means. "The bill is designed to inform consumers."
Internet security professionals advise people with wireless routers in their homes or businesses to protect them with passwords and the highest levels of encryption allowable.
People could also adjust equipment broadcast settings to make wireless networks undetectable to laptops and other devices designed to scan for available WiFi connections.
Schwarzenegger has 30 days to decide whether he will sign the bill into law.
© 2006 Agence France-Presse
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