I leeched off of a connection from someone elses house for a bit.  I honestly didn't feel bad about it.  If they aren't smart enough to secure their router, then they shouldn't be suprised if someone else uses it.  But, now I have my own wireless router and cable internet so I'm set.  And yes, mine is secure.

well.. if you take the case of

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4721723.stm

 

Where a man recently was charged simply for using somebody elses wireless LAN, not because of any explicit illegal activities taking place on the network .. ?

 

As far as i see, it should be the owners responsibility to secure their wireless network, if they want to install one in the first place, then can spend 1 hour reading up and implementing security. If they want to leave it publicly open, they should expect the network to be treated that way.. as public

 

Now, if a bank left their vault wide open, and people walked in and took money.. Firstly, they would find it difficult to prosecute people on account of their negligence, and entrapment techniques, and also the insurance would not cover the bank in such a case.. although I wouldn't really class bank robbery and using someone else’s wi-fi network in the same league..

Agreed that there is onus on people not to partake in illegal activities, however how would a user know the difference between a hotspot that has been set up by a kind home user who wants to share their internet connection with the world, and someone who just hasn't even bothered to do anything with the box since turning it on? The owner of the wi-fi should assume responsibility for ensuring who is allowed to connect to their network, and lack of security techniques should be classed as negligence. MAC address filtering is available on most networks, and would clearly indicate that the network is designed for private use only, if a user were then to spoof a MAC address and log onto the network, that then should be classified as illegal.

At present, in the UK, it is likely that you will be prosecuted for even using somebody elses wireless connection under the Communications act section 125.. which basically states its illegal to use a communications service to avoid paying.. which, theoretically, you could also class all of those public wi-fi hot spots at macdonalds..