Is It Cool to Wi-Fi Squat?

I carry my laptop pretty much everywhere I go, and I like to be online whenever possible. When I can't find free secured wi-fi or the ridiculously overpriced version at most airports and big-chain coffee shops, I often try to get my fix by sniffing out unencrypted connections to borrow. Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself before you mooch:

Is it Legal?

Over at the Business Technology Blog at the Wall Street Journal Online, Ben Worthen discusses the legality of wi-fi squatting and finds that while it's illegal in the UK, it's not a federal offense in the US. Some states, including Michigan, Florida, Illinois, and Washington, have laws that make the practice illegal.

Is it Ethical?

Way back in 2004, Randy Cohen, who writes The Ethicist column for the New York Times Magazine, discussed this exact point. He came to the smushy conclusion that "you may use but not overuse Wi-Fi hot spots you encounter."

Is it Safe?

If you come across a random unencrypted wi-fi hotspot in an urban setting, it's more likely that the person emitting the signal is a naïve rather than malicious. But logging on to a free hotspot in a place where tons of people are trawling for wi-fi can put you in trouble. Some scammers have set up free wi-fi in places like airports in an effort to steal data from suckers.

What do you think? Should open Wi-Fi points be fair game?