It happened by accident - using my work laptop and there it was - I was connected!
2006-08-27 08:47:37 · 28 answers · asked by Lu 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
"Yes... It is illegal... "
Not technically - there is no law in place yet about hopping on open wifi connections.
There are moral questions about it - if your neighbour left their keys in the ignition of their car would you drive it?
Personally IMO if they are too dumb to realise that people can do this and not bothered reading their manuals and not bothered locking their wireless down then go for it. My mate has had 8Mb bband for over a year now FOC.
On the flip side how do you know that your neighbour doesnt know you use it.
I had a neighbour jump on my wifi once last year when I was testing it. After taking a sizeable chunk of their films and MP3s off the laptop they used to hop on mine I shut their services down one by one and sent netsend messages to the IP saying things like "I know who you are".
Wish I saw their face !!!
2006-08-27 09:16:26 · answer #1 · answered by the thinker 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Is it morally wrong? I would say yes. Would you get in trouble? Probably not. Is it leagally wrong? No one has proven it, just say it is. The one who is at greatest risk here is the person who pays for the internet using an unsecured wireless access point. Then again it could be a ploy to get info off of your PC. There are people who I am sure send spam, viruses, and other mean stuff using wide open wireless connections to the internet. So if your the owner of a wireless access point, secure your stuff. I have met numerous people who don't care if other people access their wireless access point. Stay safe.
2006-08-27 16:06:37 · answer #2 · answered by H R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is illegal.
This guy in the UK was prosecuted for it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4721723.stm
In 2004 the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina convicted Paul Timmins on a count of fraudulent and unauthorized Wi-Fi access to a private corporate network.
Canadian police prosecuted a man in November 2003 for "Theft of Telecommunications".
In March 2006 Ontario Provincial Police charged a man under Section 326 of the Ontario Criminal Code (Theft of Communications), alleging the man was "using his lap top computer to steal a wireless Internet connection" in Morrisburg.
And this guy in Florida got arrested:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/07/technology/personaltech/wireless_arrest/index.htm
"Police have charged a Florida man with a third-degree felony charge, after he was arrested for accessing a St. Petersburg resident's wireless Internet network without permission. "
2006-08-27 20:02:36 · answer #3 · answered by Arthur Brain 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is. It's illegal use of service of which your neighbor pays for. Too bad your neighbor isn't knowledged enough in security to lock down the wireless network.
On the flipside, will you get caught? Unlikely if the wireless network is open to anyone to connect to.
2006-08-27 08:50:57 · answer #4 · answered by The 3rd Nipple 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Firt of all, it is illegal, secondly it is bad for them because you lower their connection speed. It would be good for you to inform them before they find out and things get hot...(Oh yes there are many ways to reveal your illegal action...)
You could also tell them to share their network with you for a price when they are not using it or when they don't need the maximum speed from their bandwidth
2006-08-27 09:29:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It grew to become into the tree of the convenience of robust and evil; no longer the tree of the abilities of splendid and incorrect or the abilities of warm and chilly or night time and day. returned to the drawing board to confirm what the applications of marvelous and evil particularly is. They misplaced their innocence. They consistently had the potential to stick to God's course. as quickly as they did lose their innocence, the skill to conform with God's course began to fall too. till we attain at contemporary the place many don't recognize what's genuine and incorrect and could no longer pay attention to or take course from any authority.
2016-11-05 21:51:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes its wrong, tell him or her and i am sure that they shall trust you more. If my neighbour came and told me, i would thank them and add them to my network. What happens if they are looking at something they should not be looking at? Then if they get taken to court you shall also be charged! Is it worth it?
2006-08-27 09:12:42 · answer #7 · answered by Ne Obliviscaris 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if it happened by accident then fair enough now be a good citizen and report this incident to your neighbour to warn them people can steal their Internet connection and can see there important files.
2006-08-27 08:54:33 · answer #8 · answered by mummy to 3 miracles 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HeHeHe.... God knows. I don't understand how Wireless communication connections work, but hey, if your getting it and they are none the wiser.....GO FOR IT....
As long as you don't over do it, because wont there be some way of them seeing how much kb of download they have used??
Regards
2006-08-27 08:54:44 · answer #9 · answered by jamesmay66@btinternet.com 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes - Theft of service
2006-08-27 08:54:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋