Is it illegal to connect to an Open wireless network?

[medfreak]

I would like to discuss whether or not it is illegal to connect to an open wireless network with no encryption whatsoever that you do not own or have a permission to use.

Feedback would be nice based on the country of residence.

[theprez98]

I would like to discuss whether or not it is illegal to connect to an open wireless network with no encryption whatsoever that you do not own or have a permission to use.

Feedback would be nice based on the country of residence.

In the United States, it is most certainly illegal.

[.lonewolf]

In South Africa, it's also illegal but the police here don't even know the laws themselves and are technically not very advanced.

It's like we don't have high tech FBI and such here, lol

For example, my city has an extensive wireless community which I haven't connected to because I'm behind a hill and a bit far away.

The admin and the mods on their website post openly about wardriving and connecting to open networks, wtf.

They must come here and they'll be banned one time, lmao

The problem with a question like this is that it borders on politics, and that's against the forum rules.

[KMDave]

There were several threads about this issue.

A good comparison is that it is also illegal to sit in a car where someone forgot his keys in and which is unlocked. It is still theft, even if the owner is more or less inviting someone to steal his car.

[loftrat]

UK: Illegal

[reaper_unique]

Belgium: Illegal, but the police here is too stupid(in my opinion) to catch anybody. Except when the "hacker" is sitting in his car at brought daylight with his laptop on his lap in front of the persons house he's "hacking".

[Thorn]

Quite frankly, I have not yet seen a country where it IS legal. If the place has a data infrastructure more complicated than crank telephones and actually cares about protecting the citizen's rights, it's probably illegal.

Most countries treat it as a relatively minor offense, meaning a fine if you're caught. (Typically $100-500USD.) However, some counties (Singapore comes to mind) will throw you in jail for 6 months for a first offense.