Is it Stealing to Use Someone Else's Wireless Internet Service?
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Using someone else's wireless service is indeed stealing, as it involves using a resource which someone else has paid for without paying for it. However, using someone else's wireless service may not always be totally unethical, especially if you talk about it with the person, and in some communities, anonymous strangers may actively promote the use of their wireless by leaving the network unprotected and inviting people to use it.
When someone orders wireless service, he or she must invest in a router and be prepared to pay monthly fees for access. Using someone else's wireless service may be free for the user, but not for the person who owns the account. And, while it can be tempting to take advantage of an unsecured network to save money, there are some disadvantages to using someone else's wireless service, both for the owner of the service and the user.
For owners, the clear disadvantage is that when people piggyback on their networks, it eats up bandwidth. This can make Internet service slow for the people who are actually paying for the network, which can be frustrating. In addition, if the service provider has a bandwidth cap or allowance, the service may be cut off if the allowance is exceeded, or an additional sum may be tacked onto the bill. Furthermore, people using the network could potentially access other computers on the network, if their users have set their computers to share data, and this could compromise the integrity of the computers themselves, as well as the data stored on them.
For someone who is using someone else's wireless service, the primary disadvantage is that the service could drop out of cut off suddenly, and the owner of the network may decide to boot piggybackers off the network through the administration software. It also leaves one's computer potentially vulnerable, as detailed above. Furthermore, in some regions, people can be prosecuted for theft of Internet service, and they may be required to pay fines, perform community service, or be penalized in some other way.
However, using someone else's wireless service isn't necessarily wrong. Sometimes neighbors may band together to share service, for example, in which case the bill may be split. Or, if you're having problems with your Internet service, you might ask a neighbor if you can use his or hers for a few days while the problem is resolved. In other cases, people who believe that Internet access should be available to all may leave their networks unsecured so that other people can access them.
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16
I do not think you can classify using a signal that is penetrating the walls of you home as stealing. After all the signal is actually trespassing. - anon49209
15
it is not stealing because the people from whom you are getting internet can still use it. - anon45218
14
Are Smartphones as easy to trace as laptops for accessing? a person stood around or sat around on the floor or a wall on a laptop would be easily noticeable as up to something, though on a smartphone, with a keyboard like some have, they could be simply seen by the officer, and if done cleverly, proven by the individual, that they were texting and that no harm was done. - anon42147
13
If someone does not want someone else to use their internet then they should just lock it. It is not hard. - anon31113
12
Guess what? We all know what stealing is and for the people who don't like it, protect your internet. Because possession is only 9/10 of the law. - anon30476
11
Who's responsibility to secure there networks ummm the person who pays the bills? Yes-If i went out and left my car keys outside my car and told the insurance company "hi i left my keys outside my car and my car has disappeared" they would 100% tell me that it's my fault why the car has gone and give me a fat 0 - so wireless network piggybacking is sort of the bill payer's responsibility...when you buy a wireless home hub - there's a manual and if your clever enough to read it then you will find that securing your network is a good idea It frustrates me that people moan about neighbours piggybacking when it's your computer and your internet. Piggybacking off internet is useful. It's their responsibility (i have my own internet, secured in every sort of way) the one main thing that people worry about is people downloading inappropriate conduct, but if you secure it then you don't get into those situations! If you have an unsecured network then i would recommend that you lock it up because of that reason, but if you moan about internet speeds then your getting what you asked for! Moan back at me if u want :-) - Boo
9
I bought a new pc desktop and it was wireless and when i went to use it, it went online automatically. I have no server. Someone told me it's free air and I am not stealing it. I can't stop the pc from going online. It says connected. If the neighbor doesn't want anyone on it then I guess they need to protect themselves with a password. Not my fault. Don't know what house it is. Sorry but its free in the air. Not stealing unless I had to do something to get it. - anon30080
8
jjshapiro, I can't agree with your argument. For one thing, you admit that you assume, not know, that the person whose Internet you are stealing is asleep. If they are asleep, then you are not bogging down their system. You could easily be stealing from the guy who works 2nd shift and only gets online after work. Or the teenager who likes to stay up late. Unless you *know* (no guessing, no assuming, know it's) that you aren't having an adverse effect on a person's property, you shouldn't really be doing it. If you *know* that they are asleep then you probably know exactly who this person is, in which case you should wait until you ask.Furthermore, if you don't want to ask someone to use it because you're afraid that they'll say no because they won't see you as trustworthy or honest. then you *do not have good intentions.* You're like the sixteen year old that sneaks out of the house because Mommy or Daddy probably won't let her spend the night at her boyfriend's house. Admit that you're just being selfish and greedy. If it was about the service and *not* about the money, you'd just tether your phone. Next time you try to rationalize your actions, do it like an adult, not a teenager. - anon28585
7
oh please jjshapiro...not the "they're probably asleep and if I knocked to ask permission to use their internet they might be frightened crap" every one of your excuses was completely annoying to me...I have a very limited income and pay $45 a month for internet...if I knew someone was using my service while driving down the street in their ESCALADE or other expensive vehicle, on their brand new lap top I believe I would do my best to damage their car as they went by...thats how people like u afford nice computers, etc. cuz u rip other people off in one way or another...I had spent over a hundred dollars on a lynksis (not sure of the spelling) router with the boost for my son to use upstairs...he could never get on and say play an online game cuz he would get cut off all the time...I don't know much about how these things work but he does and all the problems were because of the neighbors and their large powerful antennas, etc. it was ridiculous...sorry to say anything but every excuse I read in favor of stealing internet service "cuz there was no other way for me to get online" made me feel very violent! wait till u get home or to the hotel (which most hotels offer internet service now) if its life or death...use your blackberry! - ibamisfit
6
If you know what the word self-aggrandizement means, you know that it doesn't exactly apply to mr. shapiro. Seems to me that he's rationalizing. The important thing here is that, in order for the argument to be made that he is stealing at all, you've got to create some distinctions among different kinds of resources. Using someone's wireless without their consent is not the same thing as breaking into someone's car or breaking into someone's house and eating his or her food. These are all "resources," but infringements upon each have very different consequences. - anon23128
5
The term for jjshapiro's comments is "self-aggrandizement." The writer can offer as many explanations and justifications and excuses as they'd like, but it's still totally wrong. So he does us the favor of repeatedly using the word "stealing". This, of course makes it all right: "Oh, well I know it's stealing but I'd try to find the owner if I could but I can't so I have to steal." Rubbish! Believe me, if someone was “stealing” like this from jjshapiro, he’d be complaining. "Reliable and honest?" Not by a long-shot. Reliable means trustworthy and dependable -- taking the responsibility of either finding an honest way of getting on the 'net, or doing without, however inconvenient that might be. And honest means not stealing -- however much someone might believe that their "honesty" somehow justifies their actions. - rleroygordon
4
Every thief once caught asks some version of that same question. Oh! Was I stealing? Me for one ain't buying; every thief is a liar, if only out of necessity! - screenwriter
3
How would jjshapiro feel if someone who didn't have their own car nearby just took jjshapiro's and used it just because they knew how to get into it and start it? Or how would jjshapiro feel if someone broke into jjshapiro's home while noone was there and used food from the fridge, the bed and the bathroom? In both these examples the person making use of jjshapiro's resources could claim that, at the time, they didn't have access to their own car or home. However, they would have options: public transport, cab or hotel being but three examples. jjshapiro when away from home has other ways of connecting to the internet; internet cafes being but one example. jjshapiro, it's time you stopped justifying your theft, and instead applied your thoughts and energies to either finding honest ways to access the internet or learn how to live without it while you are away from home. --posted by someone who is using their own wireless - anon16812
2
it's a negative externality. some one is paying the money, and an unknown party is getting benefits. when flowers bloom in my garden which are pollinated by bees, my neighbors hive is getting expanded full of honey. money for him but his bees are pollinating unknown to my neighbor. thats how educated insects behave but my neighbor never look at my face because he has a fear that i would ask some help for him. -Tissa - anon16796
1
I agree with this article in principle. But it doesn't cover the main situation in which I piggyback or steal someone else's wireless Internet access: when I am traveling and am in situations where I have no obvious way of connecting to the Internet but discover someone else's unsecured wireless network and have no idea whose it is or how I would contact the person to ask them if they would permit me to use their Internet connection or tell them that I was using it. For example, this very minute I'm stealing someone's wireless Internet connection, and, while most likely they are asleep and I'm not slowing down their own usage, I don't know who or where they are or how to contact them to ask them if I could pay them while I'm in my current location for a week. Also, I imagine that many people would act frightened if someone knocked on their door and asked for permission to use their service. And, since I'm a stranger, there would be no way for them to know that I'm a reliable and honest person, that I would never try to break into their system even if I knew how, and so on. So I think that, in order to be complete, your article ought to address this sort of situation. - jjshapiro
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Written by
S.E. Smith
Last Modified: 18 October 2009
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