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Hidden crime of ‘wi-fi tapping’: only 11 arrests but most of us are guilty - Times Online

Hidden crime of ‘wi-fi tapping’: only 11 arrests but most of us are guilty - Times Online

Well, one piece of the "is using someone else's unsecured wireless internet account ethical" has been answered. In the UK (at least) it's apparently illegal. Interesting...

Though I've always been adamant about locking down my account, I don't see someone else surfing using my account a crime, per se, especially if the account is unencrypted. I can think of several times that my computer had logged onto a neighbor's network without my knowledge (when my network had dropped, generally). And I think that viewpoint's more prevalent. The analogy of leaving my front door open doesn't really hold water. I've known several people over the years who are rather communal about their service, and are happy to let others use their access point. Perhaps the articles alarmist rhetoric about being held culpable for someone else's downloading of illegal content will inspire more people to upgrade their network's security. However, I think the apathy around this, and the ignorance, will still prevail. Perhaps producers of this technology should default to the highest security setting, and then force people to choose a lower setting?

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