Is it legal to connect to a unsecured network?

Question

when you are on a laptop?

Answer 1

Yeah sure :) If they don't have a password its a public network.

Answer 2

Yes its legal I do it all the time.

Answer 3

Yea... it is... (at least u are in a coffee shop or a restaurant)

Imagine that someone else has the same phone you do. (A wireless phone that u use in your home) and that person stands outside your house... making phone calls everywhere...

Would you like that?

Me either.

Answer 4

By a technical standpoint, ant connections to unsecured networks are legal...they just arent safe.

Answer 5

I don't think so, but do a search and find out.

Answer 6

Actually this i a touchy subject at the moment. Free wifi spots of course it's legal. I think the law varies in each state, if not it might be the same all over the country. It is now against the law to go onto somes unsecured networ in a neighborhood / household home. Then again, It's their own fault for not having a password.

Answer 7

Why wouldn't it be legal? The person who has an unsecured network is providing service for himself for personal use, and he is also transmitting service to the public. It is up to him to protect his own network from the public using it. The moment he protects his network from the public therefore can bring up the question as to if it is legal to then forcefully use his service by means of hacking. But there is no hacking involved by you just merely connecting to an unsecured network, so therefore with simple reasoning it is legal to connect to a unsecured network.

Answer 8

Depends, if you are tapping in to your neighbors unsecured wi-fi then it is literally stealing service.  In some states that is a punishable offense.  If you are attaching to an unsecured wi-fi in a internet cafe then its probably not illegal but it's also not very secure.

Answer 9

It depends, if it is offered by a business or a community as a free wifi spot then you can legally log in (ie starbucks, hotels, ect.)

However if it happens to be a private network such as a home's then it is considered theft secured or unsecured. Anyone saying otherwise is suggesting its legal to take an unlocked car.

Answer 10

Depends, if your hoping onto your neighbors network, then no it is not legal, in fact they can tell if someone is hoping onto their network, they can then call the police and you can get into trouble.

Now if you go to a hotel or a place like starbucks that offers internet, then yes that would be legal.

Answer 11

It is legal to connect to wireless networks that have not been secured. The owner of the network will be responsible for anything coming in or leaving said network. Morally, I would say no. Your neighbor is paying for a service and should be able to receive what they are paying for. Again, it is their responsibility to secure their network to protect computers/devices/information.

Public networks have been created for you to use at your pleasure.

Remember, every computer has a unique address. Somewhere you have registered that unique address in order to gain access to the network. Some people leave networks open to trap and steal your information.

Answer 12

It depends if it's a public network or not. If it's a private network, like from someone's house, then it's considered theft.