That's why I provided the stealing power example, because essentially it's the same idea.
No it isn't. It is a specific requirement in in every private (ie non-corporate) Internet subscriptions I've ever had that:a) You only have one computer access the line.
b) If you need more, you buy extra routers or whatever from the ISP, that are set up correctly and securely.
c) If you chose to use your own equipment, you are responsible for ensuring their security.
Besides which there is (to my knowledge) no such thing as publicly available power outlets or phone lines. There are literally 100s of (intentionally) public WiFi access points (like say public libraries), even in my technologically backwards country.
As long as someone else is footing the bill for your activity, it's theft.
Actually I believe the correct term is fraud. They broadcast satellite freely, and it's their fault the encryption is so bad/non-existant.
Not all satellite TV is broadcast freely. In fact I'm fairly sure most of the channels are commercial. As for encryption being poor, I don't remember (back in the time before cable) that my decoder would pick up commercial channels I hadn't payed for "by mistake", or evein if I asked it too. In fact it was quite a requirement in order to get commercial satellite TV without paying for it that you did so dishonestly. So not even that is remotely the same. How was I to know that downloading a game from Pirate Bay was illegal?
Oh I don't know. Because it's called pirate bay perhaps? Here are some scenarios:
4) I'm sitting in a shopping center/train terminal/whatever getting my breakfast on. The boss phones with a problem I need to solve ASAP. The place I'm at has public access Internet, so I switch on my laptop and connect to the first access point in the list. I do my thing and log off. 2 hours later I get arrested by the Police and thrown in jail 6 months (for theft) or 6 years (for fraud) because of the hundreds of unencrypted access points to chose from, I chose the one who wasn't intended for public use.
Until broadband is totally free and has a huge bandwidth so that 1 and 2 don't matter any more I would say it IS stealing.
So it's okay to steal from big businesses, just not from you? The default assumption someone should take is that they are not allowed to use a wifi connection they happen to come across - UNLESS they know it is a public hotspot.
And how do you tell if it's a public hotspot? Because if it isn't it would have some form of access control. The guy in the article was actively seeking out open access points to use.
As you do, when you're not at home and need Internet access. I'm not sure of the exact verbage of my access contract with Bell Canada, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing in there stipulating how secure my wireless access point or any other part of the network after the ADSL modem needs to be.
So technically you could be a criminal.