News
Wi-Fi cracking cards sell well on Taobao
By Huang Yuli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-18 07:50
 |
Large Medium Small |
But company threatens to get tough with sellers who break website's trading rules
A special kind of wireless LAN card that allows users to tap into private Wi-Fi networks for free, continues to be available on Taobao, China's largest on-line shopping company, despite an ongoing ban.
The card, dubbed "cengwangka" by Chinese netizens, resembles a standard WLAN card but is installed with devices that crack the passwords of paid net subscribers. They are typically priced at between 120 and 150 yuan ($17.6-22) on Taobao.
At one shop on the site, 35 cards were sold in the last month and the remarks of all buyers were positive.
Taobao announced a ban on the cards on March 10 in response to anger from paying Internet users who have had their wireless bandwidth drained.
"I suffered badly from having my connection stolen by unknown thieves," Internet user Sun Yaojie said.
"I always found my Internet was slow in the evening. A friend told me to check the wireless router. It reported that five computers were connected to my router, so in the end I had to turn it off," she told METRO.
Tao Ran, Taobao's senior PR manager, told METRO they have already banned the sales of illicit goods. Sellers who break the rule will get an official warning from Taobao, which can damage their credit status. In severe cases, Taobao will delete user and shop accounts.
According to Tao, buyers who detect illicit goods can report sellers to Taobao via Internet or telephone.
A search of "cengwangka" on Taobao.com reveals few live entries, but alternative entries of brand names that make the product, such as "Wifly-City" or "GSKY", turn up numerous results.
Two sellers told METRO they have sold out their stocks of illicit wireless cards and are expecting new batches within days.
However, an Internet expert warns freebie hopefuls that the cards might do more damage than good.
"Free Internet access is sometimes a trick," said Feng Feng, an anti-virus engineer with Jiangmin Company.
"A hacker can deliberately leave the password blank or set a simple one to let you crack the network, at which point they grab all your personal information," he said.
