Half-Naked driver faces Net charge

A half-naked man found driving on a city street was arrested and charged with child porn offences this week in the first Canadian case involving wireless Internet signal piracy. The bizarre case began when a Toronto police officer spotted a motorist going the wrong way down a one-way street in a residential neighbourhood.

After pulling the man over, Sgt. Don Woods discovered the man was naked from the waist down as he downloaded images on a laptop computer of a young girl involved in a sex act with an adult.

The man had hooked into a wireless computer network at a nearby house to gain access to a resident's Internet connection and download images from child pornography websites.

The scheme, known as "war driving," allows a computer with wireless Internet capability to tap into a wireless home network and access the World Wide Web, usually without fear of discovery.

Gillespie said it will take 20 to 40 hours to forensically examine each computer, but so far, investigators have been exposed to some of the worst child pornography they've ever seen.

Walter Nowakowski, 36, of Delhi, is charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, distributing child pornography, making child pornography and theft of telecommunications.

He was being held in custody and was scheduled for a bail hearing Monday.

WAR DRIVERS:The Modus Operandi
So-called "war drivers" employ a laptop and a special wireless adaptor card with antenna, point it at a home or business and pick up transmissions from a router that will allow them to use computer equipment and access the Internet without permission.

Routers that link wireless systems can pick up a signal from 30 to 300 metres away.

Wireless systems that can be purchased for as little as $100 have built-in security features, but people often forget to activate them when setting up.