Quote:
Originally Posted by curstpriest
If a network is left open/unsecured, anyone may freely connect to it. Pretty sure it's legal, though it isn't particularly smart of your neighbors to do it. Lots of coffee shops and small businesses leave their WiFi networks open around downtown to encourage people to eat/work there. Public library also has it.
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A WiFi network that is
intended for public use is a different matter altogether. It is an unquestionable fact that in the UK, which is where the original poster is located, to use someone's
personal (or corporate) WiFi network without their permission is a crime, and one for which people have been prosecuted. This applies even if the network is unsecured. To use an analogy, leaving the front door of your house unlocked does not make it permissible for a total stranger to come and sit in your living room.