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Confessions of a Wi-Fi Thief
Michelle Shildkret from Time wrote in to tell us about a story about "the ethics of stealing Wi-Fi. Many of us been guilty of the same crime at one point or another — according to the article, 53% of us at least. But how guilty do we really feel? As it is officially a crime to steal wi-fi (Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47 of the United States Code, which covers anybody who 'intentionally accesses a computer without authorization or exceeds authorized access')."
I go further. I only use access points which invite access by broadcasting a signal to all to say they are open for anybody who wants to use. If the access point is broadcasting a signal which says that it isn't open I don't use it, even if it's using an insecure system such as WEP which might reasonably be treated as an invitation to hack. Also, if there's no broadcast at all I don't attempt to scan for the access point at all.
This way I know that I'm only using access points which have been configured, either by their owner or manufacturer, for public access.
So I imagine you frequently stand outside of buildings hoping someone will notice you and let you in because obviously the automatic sliding door with the words "Entrance" on it is clearly not for you.