Wi Fi

[potterfan3]

Is it illegal to use an unlocked private wi fi connection that isn't yours? If so what is the punishment for it? A slap on the wrist or something more serious?

[TechGirl]

'piggy-backing' someone else's wi-fi internet connection without permission is illegal.

Very few people have been arrested for piggy-backing in the UK.

An official caution is the usual punishment.

[charismatic]

This.
happened recently.

[Ethel]

The official reasoning for arresting people for this is that it would be hard to track down people who use the internet for nefarious and illegal purposes if they steal unprotected wifi.

You could sit outside a person's house downloading child porn, for example.

[HWKE]

In some cases it may be difficult to demonstrate the the illegal use was willful. If you were at home with a laptop which was set to automatically connect to available wireless networks and your neighbour had a public network, you may connect unknowingly. If you connectly knowingly then the punishment would usually be a caution as stated by TechGirl.
The punisment for accessing illegal material via the internet would fall under a different law and would carry a different penalty.

[abranei]

While it is illegal it is very inlikely that you will be caught if you connect to a neighbours AP. If they cant secure it then they wont be monitoring connections. Not all AP have the ability to monitor connects.

I dont recommend connecting to another persons WI-Fi because you put yourself at risk of hacking attacks virus infection information leaks from your computer. Usernames and password sniffed while you surf. The traffic you send and recieved contains easy to read text while includes you username and password for your email account.

I have setup an open connection AP for professional studies and the information you can gather would allow you assume someones identity.

[potterfan3]

It is for my nintendo wii and I am connected to someones wi fi but I don't know who's....