A KIRO 7 Consumer Investigation exposes how the hottest thing happening in computers makes you vulnerable to crooks.

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Wireless technology is exploding in popularity. But as KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Consumer Investigator Wayne Havrelly discovered, high-tech criminals love it even more than you do.

Hackers have never had it so easy.

MORE ON THIS STORY In order to turn on encryption software, you need to contact the manufacturer of your router. Each manufacturer has different steps for turning on encryption software. WiFi Security FAQ About WiFi Creating a Wireless Network

Thanks to new wireless devices, they're now able to rip you off out of thin air.

Something powerful is spreading over our cities and neighborhoods. It's invisible, but one computer security consultant sees it clearly.

With a pocket P.C. and a $20 antenna, Brett Hiley dances around, counting wireless Internet access points. From a secluded park, he picks up nearly a hundred Internet connections, some from homes and businesses many miles away.

"I'm sure we can pick up several businesses in those towers," said Hiley, a computer security consultant.

It's a potentially dangerous situation for everyone using a wireless Internet connection.

What we're talking about is a wireless router. It beams your Internet connection through the air to other computers. It gets rid of all those ugly wires. With a laptop, you can surf the net from anywhere in your home or business.

But our consumer investigation reveals this wireless Internet technology also creates huge doors for con artists, identity thieves and even perverts to walk right through.

"Imagine the case of pornography or child pornography and all of a sudden the authorities are knocking on your door and taking you away and you don't know what they're talking about -- because someone downloaded child pornography via your connection," Hiley said.

They can use your connection from up to 10 miles away.

Hackers could also be parked right outside your home.

From an SUV, Hiley pinpoints hundreds of Internet connections during the short drive from Kirkland to Bellevue. All he's using is a laptop computer.

"It looks like we're sitting here in an anonymous location and we have full Internet access," he said.

But hackers can do more than just steal your Internet connection. They can watch everything you do and even steal your personal information --all with free programs from the net.

"I have personally found financial institutions that were transmitting credit information … Social Security numbers, names, numbers, addresses, phone numbers, your credit report," he said.

Secret Service agents tell me they see the same thing.

"You can basically sit in a parking lot and if you know what frequency to go in on when the stores download by satellite, you get tons of credit card information," said Wallace Shields of the Secret Service.

We staged something to show you just how easy hackers have it.

I'm surfing the net on a laptop hooked up to a wireless network.

Outside, our white-collar hacker watches everything I do. From searches and e-mails to the Web sites I'm on.

"That picture is being displayed on the client machine," Hiley said.

Even more alarming, there are hacking tools that decode passwords.

Even on some sites that claim to be secure.

"It looks like I can decode the password and stuff here," Hiley said.

Fortunately, there's something you can do.

Most routers come with what's called encryption technology. It's software designed to keep hackers away, but you have to turn it on. And it's more complicated than just flipping a switch.

"The developers of this new technology are becoming aware and encryption is the next big emphasis within the commercial community," said Wallace Shields.

But these security features are not user friendly and our investigation found most people haven't turned them on.

Out of nearly one hundred wireless connections we accessed from this park, fewer than half were encrypted.

Just imagine what a hacker could do from this spot. All because they can see something that until now has been invisible to most of us.

If you have a wireless router, you need to turn on the security features right away.

The security isn't fool proof, but it will likely keep hackers away.

That's because they already have an endless supply of wide-open Internet connections to mess with.