by Kirk » Sat Aug 28, 2010 6:57 pm
Technically speaking, using someone else's WiFi without their permission is illegal, as it is considered wire fraud. Although, the only way to prove it was you would be your hardware address of the computer. Chances are, unless you were being really abusive of their network, no action would ever be taken against you legally. Nevertheless, it is your risk.
Most unencrypted WiFi networks are operated by computer illiterate people who don't take the time to realize that their WiFi is wide open. Other open networks may be people who want to share, or are unaware of the risk.
However, as the previous poster said, some open WiFi networks are operated by people with other hidden agendas. It's also important to understand that the WiFi access point's owners aren't the only people who pose a threat to you... but anyone within range of their WiFi can.
At any rate, I certainly don't recommend doing anything confidential over open WiFi. (Credit card transactions, reading email, etc.) Windows Defender is okay, but it's a general rule that firewalls aren't always perfect. Also, a firewall will not prevent unencrypted data from being viewed. (Non-encrypted passwords, such as your Subsonic Forum password, would be openly viewable to anyone within range of the access point).
Furthermore, I'm not sure why this support type question is in Feature Requests, or how it pertains to Subsonic...
If you use open WiFi, remember that you do so at your own risk...
Cheers,
Kirk
