When companies give DHCP addresses to WLAN connections it's as good as you get as for as being an open invite. Here you go, have an IP address on the house.

If companies don't want you on their WLAN, then they should be at minimum blocking MAC addresses that don't belong. They should also be using 128bit WEP.

Here is another thing to consider, there are lots of "free" WLAN hot spots going on-line every week and these groups/individules want you to "stumble" across them and make use of them. Some people just get a kick out of providing free service. (mind you, read your ISP's service agreement and see if they frown on the pratice before doing so)

So, with this in mind. Who am I to say that the Pentigon's (for instance) open and non-WEP WLAN is not for general consumption. If they are dumb enough to leave it open and unencrypted, then it goes back to my ealier analogy.

BTW, I view getting an IP address via DHCP in the same class of actions in a public building as flushing a toilet and washing ones hands, making use of the warm/cool air on a cold/hot day or being able to see because they left the lights on for you.

Mind you, it may not be a company's intentions to act as a public service but by not taking steps to not be one, they are one by default. My assertation is that WLAN, by default, is a public service that you have the right to privatize to various degrees. Taking steps to curcumvent those privatizations is what constitutes a criminal act.

I think this analogy works the best so far:

For example, I own a couple of FMS radios. If I choose not to set it to use privicy codes, then my conversations are not safe and I know this. But my conversations are never safe from those FMS radios that don't make use of privacy codes and I know this as well. My only recourse to obtain private communications is to purchase FMS radios that also do encryption (if those are available).

Let's add to the scenario a phone interface. It will listen to touch tone codes and place 2-way calls for you. If I connect that to an FMS base station then expect those that know about it not use use it then I'm dumber than I look.

Would it be ilegal for you to make use of my phone that I connected to the FMS radio? Would I win a law-suit(sp?) against you for the long distance and international calls you made? Could I have you arrested for wire tapping or trespassing? What if all you did was make local calls?

Would it not be in my best interest to use security codes, encryption and other technology to make sure I'm the only one that can make use of the phone I connected to the FMS radio?