Wireless Access Points all come with some form of encryption security, and all of them I've seen come with MAC address filtering. Additionally, you can configure the AP to not even broadcast it's SSID, and you can use static IP addresses on your private network instead of DHCP. ALL of these things come WITH even consumer-grade AP/gateway routers, and they ALL come with user's manuals that explain what these features do, and how to set them up. If you're too stupid to read the directions, too stupid to go get help if you don't understand them, or too stupid to do something to secure your AP, then you're too stupid to be using these technologies and likely shouldn't have them in the first place. On the other hand, if you really don't care who is connecting to your AP and/or think it's a cool idea to leave it wide open for your neighbors to use, then I say "good for you, and thank you".

All that being said, if I find an AP in reach of my devices that's wide open and allows me to connect, I'm going to assume one of the two above scenarios -- and go merrily on my way guilt-free, because it's not my fault in the least if you're a moron, and it's not illegal in the least if someone chooses to share their internet connection with whoever is in reach of the signal. Note here that I'm not cracking WEP/WPA keys to hack into someone's private network; if it's OPEN, then it's OPEN, and if I need it, I'll use it, guilt-free.

Oh, and to all you asshats out there who are going to cry to me, "You're stealing the service I pay for, you awful person you!", I say STFU , read Paragraph 1 of this post AGAIN -- because it's obvious that you're one of the morons that either can't understand how to secure your AP, or are too stupid to CARE -- yet you're going to cry foul at me for your own stupidity. Suck it up, read the directions.

if it's OPEN, then it's OPEN, and if I need it, I'll use it, guilt-free.