“A recently released study by a security firm says that using an open WiFi network without permission is stealing. Ars looks at the ethics of open WiFi.
Amazingly, accessing an unsecured, wide-open WiFi network without permission is illegal in some places, and not just in the UK. An Illinois man was arrested and fined $250 in 2006 for using an open network without permission, while a Michigan man who parked his car in front of a café and snarfed its free WiFi was charged this past May with “Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks.” On top of that, it’s common to read stories about WiFi “stealing” in the mainstream media.
It’s time to put an end to this silliness. Using an open WiFi network is no more “stealing” than is listening to the radio or watching TV using the old rabbit ears. If the WiFi waves come to you and can be accessed without hacking, there should be no question that such access is legal and morally OK. If your neighbor runs his sprinkler and accidentally waters your yard, do you owe him money? Have you done something wrong? Have you ripped off the water company? Of course not. So why is it that when it comes to WiFi, people start talking about theft?”
On some occassions I have accidentally used my neighbors open and unsecured wifi. I don’t think it was stealing. No if they’d had WEP and I decided to actively crack in to it then I believe it is an immortal and criminal act.