Is it wrong to “steal” WiFi?

This isn't the most pressing ethical issue of the day, but it is something I (and probably you too, if you're reading this) have bumped into: when you're out and about with your laptop and need to check email, is it ethical to use an unsecured wireless internet connection without getting specific permission to do so?

An Ars Technica article on "stealing" WiFi argues that there's nothing morally wrong with using somebody else's open wireless connection (although do note that it may be illegal in some areas—it's a bit fuzzy). Thoughts? As for myself, I don't feel any guilt about accessing an open wireless network in a public place, but I wouldn't use a neighbor's open wireless network without asking first.

Like I said, it's not a life-or-death moral quandary... but what do you think?

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Comments (2)

When someone leaves their wireless network unprotected by a password; and advertises their SSID for all to see, then they are advertising free internet. There is nothing wrong with using a free open network when it is available. If they didn't want you on their network, they would not have left it open for everyone to use.
If someone puts a water fountain on a public street corner, are we stealing when we take a drink from it? If your neighbor plants a cherry tree so that its branches hang across into your yard, are you stealing if you pick cherries from those branches? If the neighbor has a bright floodlight in his back yard, are we stealing his electricity if we sit near the fence and read the newspaper?

The wireless signal is entering your home (or public area). It is open and often anonymous. While the person may or may not have intended to provide open access to everyone in range, he has done so, and we have no real way of guessing his intent or asking his permission to access the signal.

I don't consider this stealing.

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