In this month-long railroad apartment, the owner has her wireless router in her office on end of the place. Now that we have two laptops, we occasionally surf Ye Olde Web in the kitchen, on the other end of the apartment. Unfortunately, the wireless signal doesn’t reach that far.
So, we’ve resorted to “borrowing” some wireless from a neighbor who conveniently left their network unsecured. Don’t fret – we use VPN to encrypt our session, so our data is protected.
The ethics of using a neighbor’s wireless network has been debated ever since home wireless networks came on the scene. Is it stealing? Or is it fine since their signal is coming into your home?
Do you “borrow” wireless from a neighbor? Is it unethical?
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currently, the FCC’s stance is that using someone else’s unprotected wifi network is not illegal.
if the network IS secured and you break into it…well then, now you’ve broken the law.
i, personally, don’t see using someone else’s unsecured network as ‘stealing’ at this point in time because it isn’t currently against any US laws.
also, there’s no reason any networks shouldn’t be password protected. anyone can (and everyone should) encrypt their network. it only takes a few simple steps, and most ISPs set up your network encrypted as default. having open wifi is essentially an invitation for your neighbors to jump on.
i’m amazed there are so many open networks. after all, you are responsible for what happens on your account. if you’re unsecured and someone uses your wifi to do a bunch of illegal activity, you’ll still have to answer to your ISP, and, often times, the law. saying “someone else stole my signal” doesn’t really hold up in court.
all that being said, i don’t borrow wireless from a neighbor, but then again, there aren’t any open networks around my house.
great post.
If they leave it unsecured it’s like they want you to use it!
My cousin’s neighbor realized others were using his unsecured network (including my cousin) and then changed it to secured. My cousin talked to him about it and they came to an agreement that my cousin could pay him a small amount each month for access.
Isn’t it like your neighbor’s water sprinkler hitting part of your yard?