Gus Williams received a surprise when he set up his first wireless Internet router at his home recently.

”I turned on my computer to check my connection, and I found anywhere from two to five different signals I could pick up,” said Williams, a Bend resident, noting that the signals were coming from his neighbors.

About two of those signals are unsecured, Williams said. That means anyone who has a computer with wireless features could connect onto the Internet, using those signals, simply by standing on the sidewalk.

Williams’ experience illustrates how the popularity of wireless routers – which allow users to surf the Web without being tethered to wires – has introduced a new set of security and operational concerns for users and Internet service providers.

A wireless router essentially connects onto one’s broadband connection, usually via a physical wire. The router then broadcasts wireless signals, and computers with wireless capabilities connect onto the broadband link via those signals.

Broadband companies and network technology experts are cautioning that the signals, if not secured with password encryption, could lead to many nonpaying users on the network. That could mean excessive bandwidth usage on the overall network, which could slow Internet services for everyone on the network.

”With cable Internet systems, people are essentially sharing the network with everybody else on the system,” said Huaping Liu, associate professor at Oregon State University’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. ”So anything that leads to excess capacity (in the overall network) could slow everybody down.”

Some industry officials also worry that wireless routers, also known as access points, could become a gateway for strangers to get into one’s private online information.

”Customers should definitely be concerned,” said Frank Miller, chief technology officer with BendBroadband. ”Anybody can get on (an unsecured wireless signal). It threatens not only your home network, but there’s also the potential for someone to use your pipe (or bandwidth) for illegal purposes.”

OSU’s Liu said the security measures on current wireless routers are limited. He said industry standards for wireless routers could still be improved.

Liu noted that most current wireless devices feature password encryption. That prevents people from linking up with the routers, but it does not protect the signals connecting computers and the router.

”You have passwords that basically keep people out of your modem,” Liu said. ”But the (wireless) signals are still there, so hackers can intercept that information exchange over the air.”

He added that router companies should be looking at encoding those signals, a technique that minimizes hackers’ ability to read intercepted messages, as a security measure in the future.

Many wireless router users’ signals remain unsecured.

Bend resident Paul Biskup doesn’t encrypt his router and has no plans to do so.

”I don’t mind,” said Biskup, a builder. ”I know a lot of people (use my signals), and I invite them to do so. Some of them are students, and some are new to the neighborhood or visiting friends. And I’ve used my neighbor’s signal and not realized it before.”

Bend City Councilor John Hummel agreed, noting that he also doesn’t activate the security features on his wireless routers.

”Actually, I think it’s great if people do use it,” Hummel said. ”It could eventually create an entirely wireless network community. No one that I know encrypts their routers.”

Those unsecured signals could bring problems for router owners, even without the presence of hackers, BendBroadband’s Miller said.

”Home users may be liable if their connections are used for something illegal,” he said, noting that the law may not protect a router owner if someone uses their signals to get copyrighted or otherwise illegal material. ”Someone across the street with a high-gain antenna could be sitting there and downloading a DVD from your connection.”

DVD or video downloading also brings up the subject of network congestion. Since video files are large, having unauthorized downloads could cause congestion and slow the connection speed for the router owner.

Even without videos being downloaded, having multiple users piggybacking on one wireless router adds volume to the overall network. With broadband networks being similar to a series of pipes, volume exceeding the amount the system is designed to carry means that potential clogs, or traffic jams, could appear.

But computer science professor Liu said that, while additional traffic could cause clogs, the congestion problem is less noticeable to the individual router owners whose signals may be used by other unauthorized users.

”If the paying user is closer to the access points than unauthorized users, he or she is going to get most of the bandwidth during (times of congestion),” he said, adding that most router owners are physically closer to their routers versus someone getting the signal from across the street.

As such, router owners may not notice the congestion he or she is adding to the overall system.

The broadband usage issue has sparked national discussion about network neutrality, a major topic for the online industry. Some say that Internet providers should determine user fees by the amount of bandwidth a customer uses, as opposed to the current system where consumers are charged flat monthly rates.

Under the current system, router owners pay the same monthly fee for service, no matter how many people link to the Internet from their signals.

Miller said BendBroadband hasn’t experienced volume problems yet, noting the company has a large, high-capacity system. He added that the company is looking at different models of consumer payment structures, but declined to comment specifically on the pay-by-usage concept.

City Councilor Hummel isn’t sure the concept is a good idea.

”At a certain level of usage, say, for the super high-end users that are for sure clogging the system, they should pay more,” he said. ”But I worry about the Internet providers using this as an excuse to raise rates for the other 95 percent of the user base. It’s a slippery slope.”

Regardless of the fee structure, Miller said consumers are becoming more aware of issues with wireless routers and more are taking steps to secure their signals. That’s an encouraging sign, he noted.

”A few years ago, most of the signals you see would be unsecured.” Miller said. ”Today, I would say that the majority of people have secured their routers. People are aware that the issue is out there.”