Dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services with intent to avoid payment

This is one of the first cases of this kind on this side of the Atlantic. Whilst a little bit of borrowing is indeed theft, I doubt anyone would begrudge a quick flirt with e-mail when around at your mates house, or indeed a quick dabble in an online help forum if your own Internet is down at the liberty of your local open WiFi.

Clearly what the dude in the car was up to is trés dodge, putting card board in your windows isn't a quick online check of Google maps because you're lost, there is blatantly something more sinister going on.

On the subject of open WiFi, I myself have blogged about the voluminous open WiFi APs near my house in the past. To do this I rode around in my car with some open source wireless discovery tools running. Was I attempting to deprive someone of their internet, that is my definition of a theft... no I wasn't.

I think as always the rule is, or should be in my opinion. Don't take the piss. Sure check your e-mail on the go. If your lost cruise around so you can get on Google Maps. Don't try and download the latest blockbuster films on someone else's connection. Don't be weird and sit in your car at a ridiculous time in the morning with blocked out windows on n your laptop. Hey unless you're a government agent... then you're probably OK.

ps The cretin trying to masquerade the "ad-hoc" network as an open WiFi near me has changed the SSID to "Free Public WiFi" and given it a nice Logo, quite where that shows up in normal use I don't know, I didn't know Windows supported that.