Am I stealin someones internet?

So I am really new to this laptop thing, and i clicked on a button that said "connect to" and clicked on one of the things, and now im connected. what is the potential harm in doing this?

 

For one, yes you are stealing internet. For two, all that information of yours is being transmitted over a network you know NOTHING about. And yes, there are ways for people to see what you are transmitting.

 

If I were you unless you A: Know who's router it is, and B: Have their permission, I wouldn't be connected to that...
Just my $0.02...

 

Hmm, well if you didnt connect to your own home network, what do you think you connected to?

 

so other than being morally wrong, theres really nothin wrong w/ it as there is nothing on my comp that is private

 

It's also legally wrong.

And if the owner of the network is me, then it's not really your laptop anymore. More like my paperweight.

 

Only if the network is encrypted. If it's not encrypted, it's perfectly legal.

 

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/04/news_pf/State/Wi_Fi_cloaks_a_new_br.shtml

 

Lol, care to elaborate?
Also if these people dont set a password on their network, than it cant be illegal can it?

 

Well, what you are doing may not technically be illegal, but if those people DID happen to know what they were doing they could potentially hack your comp into the ground...

 

Is my link broken?

Another quote:

Remember, Felony = >1 year in jail.

 

Well..there's always a possibilty that the network you are connected to is controlled by nasty hackers but most likely its just the average joe schmo's network that doesn't know squat about security. I personally believe that if the darn network is 'Open' w/out any security then feel free to connect. In this day and age..no 1 should have their wireless network 'Open' unless its an Institution, Coffee Shop or the like....not even Airports leave their wireless unsecured these days. At least the ones i've been too.

So I say..yes it might be stealing but hey...i don't think anyone here on these forums are angels...enjoy it while it lasts...

 

Using someone else resources w/o asking him for, is stealing.

 

As wirelessman states. You are stealing his bandwidth that he is paying for. As such you are connected to the internet illegally. This kind of reminds me of the PCWorld advert that got pulled because it stated the laptops had "all you need to connect wirelessly to the internet", when infact you still need a network to connect to before you can get on the internet and need to pay for that too.

 

If you leave your door unlocked, does that mean it is legal for a thief to come in and lift your laptop?

You are stealing bandwidth, and cannot reason your way out of that. The end user of that network probably does not know how to secure it, and you are taking advantage of that.

I think at this point the thread is closed...end of topic. Many other posters here have put in their opinions, and even cited a few articles showing you that hawking is a no-no.