The following is a transcript of a report by Team 4 reporter Jim Parsons that first aired May 2, 2007, on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 11 p.m.

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Do you use a wireless Internet network in your house or surf the Web on a laptop in public places?

If you do, data thieves could be listening in.

Most people keep the doors to their homes locked, but if you sit outside in your car with a laptop and call up their wireless Internet networks, chances are you'll find many unsecured.

"I find that out of about 10 wireless networks, eight are unsecured," said Detective Michael Overholt of the Pittsburgh Police Department.

And if you think that's no big deal, think again.

Evan Wright and Aakash Shah are computer security graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University. Team 4 asked them to take a drive through local neighborhoods with a laptop and a program that displays available wireless networks and whether or not they are unsecured.

"If I can get your credit card, I can make a lot more money than I could legitimately," said Wright.

And just like that, Shah and Wright were online, using someone else's wireless network.

It's not against the law, and if they wanted to, they could take the next step, which would be illegal.

"Let's say you have shared folders open," said Shah. "Well if I'm on your network, I can access all of your shared data fairly easily without doing any kind of attack."

But how easy is it?

Team 4's Jim Parsons teamed up with the two students to find out.

While he was inside his home on a personal computer filling out an IRS tax form, Shah sat outside in the driveway with a laptop.

As soon as Parsons saved the completed tax form in a shared folder on his unsecured wireless network, Shah was able to see it.

" Everything from his Social Security number to his salary," said Shah. "So using this information, it's very easy for me to steal your identity and perform an identity theft. I can go around and open credit cards in your name."

And if you use a laptop to get on the web in public places, you run the same type of risk from someone who could be sitting right next to you.

"There's people who sit in public places and take advantage of people who are surfing in those public environments and try to launch an attack," said Adam Perrig of CMU security. "In fact, one time I was in a Tokyo airport when it happened to me."

Perrig is one the nation's leading computer security experts. He said logging onto the Web without wireless security could also allow a hacker to use your computer to launch attacks on others.

"It will look like it's you," said Perrig.

The solution is as simple. Read the directions that came with your wireless router when you installed it.

"You really just have to understand that this technology is access into your personal space, and you need to implement what comes with the box," said Ed Schlesinger of CMU's computer engineering section.

That solution only works for a wireless network you set up in your home or office. It won't protect you in public places when you surf the Web with a laptop. For that problem, you can purchase a program called a virtual private network. It works like a tunnel, keeping your information safe from would-be attackers.

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