The Daily Nightly began on May 31, 2005. As Brian wrote in his first post it aims to provide a narrative of the broadcast day and a window into the editorial process at NBC Nightly News. Brian weighs in every weekday and NBC News correspondents and producers post regularly.
Brian Williams became the seventh anchor and managing editor in the history of NBC Nightly News on December 2, 2004. Read his full biography.
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John Seigenthaler is under the weather, so I’ll be in the Nightly anchor chair this evening.
Tonight we will get a gritty and up-close view of the sometimes forgotten war in Afghanistan. NBC’s Jim Maceda brings us some remarkable pictures, and his first hand account of last night’s battle between American soldiers and Taliban fighters that left 5 US servicemen injured. The rarely seen footage of wounded Americans on the battlefield was captured minutes after the unit Jim is embedded with came under attack. The soldiers, members of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, are engaged in “Operation Mountain Thrust,” the latest coalition offensive targeting the Taliban.
Meantime on the Iraq front, the preliminary report on the alleged murder of Iraqi civilians by US troops in Haditha is out. Ned Colt will have our report.
In the wake of yesterday’s revelation that terrorist were plotting to attack a busy New York subway route beneath the Hudson river, we will take a closer look tonight at the vulnerability of this country’s mass transit systems. Should we be spending as much money on securing our trains as we do our airplanes?
And then to a story I like to call, “Look Mom, no wires!” It’s my report on some of the ethical dilemmas and risks that come with the explosion of wireless Internet technology. It dawned on me that the original script for this story was uploaded to the newsroom - you guessed it: wirelessly. I travel frequently, and in my computer bag I always carry a small wireless router. I simply plug the hotel’s Internet cable into my router and it broadcasts the Internet service wirelessly, allowing my computer to be logged-on the web no matter where I am in the room. In this case, I tapped out the script and hit “send” while sprawled across the bed of a Washington DC hotel. A case of technological convenience trumping ergonomic correctness.
Wireless Internet technology has been around for about seven years. By freeing us from cables, WIFI as it’s known, allows home users to log on from the basement, powder room, garage or anywhere in the house. While we road warriors can grab on to the Internet in airport lounges, cafes, and hotel lobbies. Most of us pay for it. At home we buy the basic service from the cable or phone company, and then purchase the wireless router to send it beaming across our homes. Yet it’s an open secret among wireless users that if you don’t want to pay, you can easily hitch a free ride on to the net. The practice is called “piggybacking.” Essentially you lock-on to a neighbor’s WIFI without permission, and surf away. Usually they’ll never know you’re there.
So, you ask, is it legal? Depends where you live. Is it ethical? Depends who you ask. Is it risky? You bet. The good news is it’s fairly easy to keep freeloaders out, just as I did in that Washington hotel room. Hope you’ll tune in tonight as I unplug what you need to know about the wireless revolution.
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The World on Sunday
Good job Lester tell John we hope he gets better soon. As for the news of the day I agree with some blogger on this site. Bush paints a rosy picture as Iraq gets worse. Now the Iraq Defense Dept. is having woman and children killed. Our troops are order to kill first ask questions later. The KKK is drafted and killing anyone of color. Iraq is worse now then it was under Saddam. Brit Hume is asking for the US to attack North Korea will any country join the US in an attack, I think not. Where is the US going to get the troops or will we start drafting teens. North Korea has a military force of 1 billion the US force is small. Americans need a real leader for real problems not Bush. The officials that are calling for invasions have never been in the military or ducked their duty to serve. Bush (ducked), Cheney 5 deferments and Rummy stayed at home and taught class. Murtha and Kerry served this country and saw action they know what war is yet Americans follow the toy soldiers while our kids die based the ignorance and greed. Iraq is a mess and the world sees just how it got to be a mess. Saddam is on trial for killing thousands while the US bombed Iraq and killed thousands of innocent people, continues to kill innocent people because our troops don't know who the enemy is and we call that democracy. Why are we still in Iraq, who are we fighting and how many of our soldiers must die before Bush/Cheney are finished stealing.
Jackie Rawlings Riverside California (Sent Jul 9, 2006 1:12:44 PM)
Saw the news on Friday about WIFI "Piggybacking" but
stepped away for a minute and only saw the tail end of solving the problem. Tell me how to avoid, Thanks.
Lorraine C. Cuffee, Chesapeake, VA (Sent Jul 9, 2006 10:29:10 AM)
Lester Holt, NBC NEWS
Dear Lester,
At your invitation I visited your "dailynightly" blog this evening (7/8/06) because I hoped to find more on your passing reference in the news broadcast to the intentions/hopes of some municipalities to provide cheap wireless access to their residents. I heard some time ago that Philadelphia has such a plan, and also that there was a bill pending in the House which would make such ventures illegal (and another which would guarantee municipalities the right to provide such a service).
I wrote to my Congressman (Mike Rogers, R Michigan), opining that Philadelphia's plan of supplying low cost broad band access was admirable, since it would provide to the less affluent in that city the opportunity for full participation in the great resource which is the WWW--obviously a public good. I also voiced my concern that SBC (now AT&T) and Comcast are larger political contributors than Philadelphia's less affluent citizens, so that the public good might not be the paramount concern when Congressmen vote. And I urged (self-styled) "Congressman Mike" to oppose the first bill and support the second.
Rogers' reply was not reassuring: it merely expressed doubts about whether Philadelphia was up to the task of providing wireless broad band access to its citizens.
I've always admired your work (and that of Ann Curry, who grew up a stone's throw from my home town in Southern Oregon and is a fellow U of O grad), but must say that the blog content was disappointing. So I suggest that, to make amends, you [please pass this on to Lester, underlings who read emails] look into 1) the status of the two bills in the House; 2) whether local government providing wireless to this point have been inept or competent (is the task indeed more than Philadelphia could manage?); and 3) how much the big phone/cable companies have given to Mr. Rogers and the rest of the Congress.
I think this issue would be of interest to many (not just those already fearful that the Federal legislative process is up for sale to the highest bidders). I hope the merits of my request, the concern I have shown by writing to you (and Mr. Rogers) at length, and my [sincere] flattery will be sufficient to induce you to pursue this matter. (Added benefit: it will help prevent the proud traditions of TODAY from being submerged under a rising tide of froth). Please keep me apprised if you do.
Regards, Craig Philips
Craig Philips, Okemos, Michigan (Sent Jul 8, 2006 9:08:41 PM)
If DSL and cable providers weren't so greedy in their pricing, more people wouldn't mind paying.
David Tait, Guerneville, CA (Sent Jul 8, 2006 8:57:35 PM)
Dear mr.holt i was unable to catch the last part on how to make my computer secure from a piggy backer.Could you please let me no so i could could secure my computer. Thank you
ed, chicago il (Sent Jul 8, 2006 7:06:42 PM)
Hi Lester,
I am interesed in learning how to "unplug the wireless revolution" I was distracking when you said it on the news, but I would like to know how
to stop it. My husband & I always enjoy watching you. You are a great broadcaster. Thanks for keeping us informed. Joanna McNally
Joanna McNally, Naples, Florida (Sent Jul 8, 2006 7:03:37 PM)
Good Evening,
I caught the ending of the WIFI story that Lester Holt reported and the excerpt given above doesn't mention how to locate the application and enter a password to block "piggybacking," on the wireless network. Please be so kind as to reiterate the steps to keep secretive searchers from entering my wireless connection.
Thank you!!!!!
Stephany Small, Columbus, Ohio (Sent Jul 8, 2006 7:02:05 PM)
It's ridiculous to say that "piggybacking" on other people's internet conenctions is illegal. There are thousands of people, myself included, who leave our internet connections unprotected and open so that others can use them! If someone is concerned about securing their internet connection, it's very, very simple to do - anyone who bothers to read the manual that comes with their router would be able to do it in under 30 seconds.
Tanmay , Houston, TX (Sent Jul 8, 2006 6:56:18 PM)
Hi, I am a Network Engineer & I setup all of my clients with WPA encryption (Wifi Protected Access) since it uses a password that only YOU create (I usually use special characters/numbers/uppercase & lower case letters when creating a WPA pwd)...WEP used to be the preferred encryption, however, WEP is hackable only because it only uses A-F characters & 0-9 numbers...Just google for WEP hack & I am sure it will pull up some program to use. Thanks for letting people know about this, I will pass this info to my clients so they are more aware.
(Sent Jul 8, 2006 6:56:05 PM)
Lester the story on WiFI security was not as simple as was told on the show. It takes more than the tech showed. I am a Computer Tech and setup wireless networks and good that you did not show too much as a guy like me would not have much to do. People need to contact a person like me to set it up for them and not do it themselves as they do not know what they are doing.
Wayne Meyer, Kokomo, IN (Sent Jul 8, 2006 6:52:26 PM)
How do I block others from using my internet? It was not mentioned in the newscast or on this website!
Briles, Omaha, Nebraska (Sent Jul 8, 2006 6:51:41 PM)
i just watched your piece. but it did not tell me how to keep others out. how do you do that?
steve, ponte vedra, fl (Sent Jul 8, 2006 6:49:18 PM)
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