Is stealing wireless wrong?

[Megaman]

Nah, I just skimmed a page when I was trying to set up my wireless network on linux. I've never tried or thought about doing it. Besides, 99% of my surrounding connections are unencrypted.

From what I skimmed, it seems easier to do it on linux. (Unless the same apps can be used on Windows...)

[ExaSpidey]

Originally Posted by Ian Smith, London, UK

When you connect to a wifi access point you ask for permission, and depending on what the access point has been told to do, you are either granted permission or not. Thus if the access point as been setup to grant permission to everyone, you are entitled to believe you are allowed to use it. The courts are wrong in this matter and the individuals who setup their access points incorrectly are at fault. Ignorance or stupidity are no excuse to blame others.

I have stayed out of this for a little while. After reading the story and the comments at the bottom I decieded to put in my $0.02.

I like that quote alot. It makes sense. I have a story from one of my teachers. He told the class once that he knew of a former student was arrested for Identity Theft. The student was parked in front of a home improvement store in his car w/ a laptop. He scanned the area for a signal and found out that this large chain store had an unencrypted signal. He was even able to clearly read what was being transmitted. I.E. CC numbers. He went into the building, asked for the manager and told him what he had discovered. The manager had him arrested. Should he have been for "doing the right thing"?

Back to the point. Some public establishments have a wireless signal for customers to enjoy. I've been to a coffee house where they did have encryption to ensure only customers could use the bandwidth. On purchase of coffee or whatever, you would be asked if you wanted to use the signal. The PW would be printed on your reciept. Other places just have open, unencrypted signal, inviting anyone who might pass by to use it.

There isn't a black-and-white answer for this question. It depends on the situation. In that case I believe that the question of the first post is not correct. Stealing anything is morally wrong and illegal. Using a wireless signal may be immoral depending on the situation. The question should really be, "Is using someone else's wireless signal wrong?"