I share mine. My neighbor gives me $10 a month. It's not much, but it helps... and she doesn't need to pay for overpriced service!

I actually set up an arrangement with my neighbor where he gave me their network password, I paid him $15/month. Worked out for everyone.

I wish we had a sharing system! I've definitely "borrowed" internet from neighbors that leave their network unlocked when I've first moved in until the Internet folks can set me up. But I figure that if they leave it unlocked, they know what they're doing.

When I move in, sometimes I'll have to borrow until I get mine up, but I always stop after I have access to my own. I never leave my internet unlocked. And as far as paying a neighbor to borrow... that's actually illegal depending on the ISP.

You know you are leaving yourself open to prosecution if anyone gets caught using your ISP for illegal downloading, right? And that if they are downloading a lot of content, that they will drag down your internet speed significantly?

No sharing for me.

@SEAWHITNEY - I just remembered this point, too, and I'm glad you raised it. Sharing internet is simply not something one should do. Even if you trust your neighbors, do you trust the guests they have? Or the people across the hall?

No way! I live in a condo and my neighbor is a creep who I suspect is hoarding picked hooker heads. I can only imagine the kinds of junk we would download.

*he. LOL

How can you borrow something that you won't return...
I've used the neighbor's internet for about a week before getting my own.

I don't share and don't borrow. It's nice and simple that way ^_^.

I've used neighbor's open wi-fi on sparing occasions like waiting for service to be hooked up, or during a power outage (I lived in an apartment where one building would lose power but the next wouldn't). I can't see doing this as a long-term solution, however, as I suspect it's illegal and at the very least, unethical. I did live close enough to a starbucks at one time to access their wi-fi on clear days. I was a regular customer so didn't feel bad about jumping on it for occasional use.

I share, because I've always appreciated being able to find on open wifi when travelling, to check email or get directions. If it was being abused I would eventually notice and turn sharing off, but it hasn't been a problem so far.

We have our own, since we live in a SFH, but I don't think I've experienced an unlocked network when visiting friends in years. Do people really still leave it unlocked? Doesn't seem smart to me... Back when I lived in a condo, I always got a kick out of an anonymous neighbors' (locked) network, which was named "GetYourOwn" :)

Nope. As Seawhitney says, if they do anything illegal, you're liable. In this day and age, if people have to have Internet access right away, there are options available. Otherwise, part of moving is that you do sometimes have to wait for things to be installed/hooked up/whatever.

Sharing WiFi is something my neighbours and I enjoy. We have setup a network that we share WiFi and full cable and split the plan with three familes. Along with the shared WiFi we have gigabit switches in every apartment to share movies music and even dvr content. Last we have a vpn to allow us to access the content. We are hoping to ha e our cloud server up soon. For us it makes sence to share in the cost of this awesome network we have.

Wow how incredibly generous to offer your new neighbors WiFi until they can set up their own. I'm sure they appreciate it, I would. My favorite locked network in my neighborhood is "Notyourwifi"

I did this when my DSL was flaky. Downloading an audio book took forever on my system but zipped on my neighbor's router. But then I broke down and switched to a cable internet connection and never looked back.

I don't even feel comfortable sharing the laundry facilities with my neighbors let alone wifi.

I have setup a free WiFi guest access in my house that my neighbors can use. However, I have given my guest WiFi a network name of "ILOVESTEALINGPASSWORDS."

Our building is a triplex, and the basement unit and our unit share the same house number & address. So Comcast refused to sell a "second" internet connection to the same address. So we share. She pays us a bit, and we tried our best to make the connection as good and consistent as possible.

When I look at the list of networks around me there are more than there are housing units. Everyone is locked down. I think condo dwellers are by nature selfish. Apartment dwellers are cool. I am a condo dweller.

I've definitely "borrowed" wifi, mostly when I've had issues with my own internet connection.
It had more to do with having a lot of trouble with the DSL I had. My neighbor's connection was just much more reliable, or actually available. I switched to cable and my internet life's been much better.

I have great neighbours, and we all share no problem. Awesome to cut down on expenses.

Use a network name of "Virus" and you'll be golden against thieves.

I really like this idea. I tried using a hotspot service several years ago (Fon?). But it wasn't particularly user friendly: my password wouldn't be recognized, it would die unexpectedly, etc.But I certainly thought it was a good idea. Anthony's idea is awesome, though.

I give my neighbors $20 a month toward the cost of their internet service, and they share their password in return. I also avoid streaming video and downloading large files in an effort to be considerate. Win-win.

Mine is locked down. With my neighbors, I'm afraid to know what they are doing online. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

When a new 'apartment' neighbor moved in next door..we got to talking etc..and I saw how 'tight and impossible' her finances were so I told her she could use my password, so glad, helped her a lot..but then of course,my luck, she turned 'crazy'..but I didn't change my password, as I felt that would be 'mean spirited' and not very high thinking of me as a person. But I would never do that again, of course..the naysayers are correct..why ask for problems. BUT I certainly tried when I moved here, to find an open network..did NOT>>techies..argh.........just till I got mine..but @KIMBERLYROSE is giving me reality check for my next soon to be move, I just have to WAIT..as part of moving..as I bet I won't get a nice note slipped under my door...apartments or not..DAMN smart people..keeping it all locked up...

@CAROLINAZHANGDESIGN I stopped trying to picture what 'picked hooker heads'..are, crazy of me..I imagined all crazy looking things..then I realized..PICKLED hooker heads............must be..oh what a vision..ha ..and PI is correct..I wonder now who else is sharing my password through my 'generosity' to a crazy lady... : O

I have my own wireless and I would never think of "borrowing" somebody else's (without telling them). I have no idea how what's the radius of my wireless though (I am sure you are all laughing now) :-).
But the neighbour on one side doesn't have a computer, as far as I know from talking to him - I think - he is a plumber and into such stuff. On the other side, my neighbours, a retired couple, have Rogers cable and I think Rogers is their ISP as well. I don't know what their set up is, though. I live in a house, not in an apartment.

I shared my home wi-fi against my wishes. Some neighbour cracked the password protection and over two days drained my broadband quota downloading movies 24 hours a day. When my ISP throttled the account back to modem speeds, they stopped... leaving me with 128kps access for the remaining three weeks of the month.

So now in addition to a lengthy password I have to have the MAC address of each machine on my wi-fi network registered on the modem, which is a pain in the butt but at least I still have my broadband. Just one of the many annoyances of living near a university with a lot of ethically-challenged teenagers. >:-(

I actually have a friend that I use to chat with a lot and she complained about her internet always going down. I told her she needed to call her ISP and have it fixed. She couldn't do that because she was using, as she called it, "neighborNet." I thought that name was hilarious!... but I guess that's the downfall of using neighborNet; you can't get any kind of service when you really need it.

@Usbek de Perse - Why does it have to be one group of people that is selfish and one group of people that is not? I don't think anyone is being selfish for not sharing something they should not be sharing in the first place. This isn't a cup of sugar or the newspaper in the morning. You have signed a deal with a company to exchange money for services; these are not services YOU can then sell to others. It's not selfish; it's smart.

My last apartment was a rowhouse that had been divided into three apartments, and we all shared wireless internet. We all chipped in toward the cost, and it worked really well for the two years I was there. But in such a small building, you definitely always know what your neighbors are up to, so I'm not sure I'd do that in a larger building where you might not know your neighbors as well.

"Sharing" wi-fi? That's theft in my eyes. Blessedly our houses are far enough apart that we only see the immediate two neighbours on either side of us (and weakly at that) - and we're all savvy enough to have them locked down pretty tight. Or, at least ours is - since the hubby works in IT security - and if I discovered an unknown device on our network, I'd be calling the police...

Dramatic. How about just kicking them off your network and changing the password? I'm sure the police have more important things to attend to.

NEVER do it without permission and do not download all sorts of things or do stuff that would slow down their connection and DO NOT do shady/illegal things when using their connection.

Not so long ago here in Buffalo, the FBI arrested a man whose neighbor was downloading very very VERY illegal and harmful material using his (the former's) WiFi. This material involved children. It is just not a good idea to share your WiFi, no matter how much you trust your neighbor. Be smart, lock it up.

Never borrow or lend WiFi. I do give people who stay with me the password but other than that, no.

This topic is giving me the shivers; my husband used to work for a small regional Internet Service Provider. Unsecured WiFi can cause incalculable damage and danger---not to mention loss of revenue to the ISP. People have this idea that WiFi is somehow FREE And yet they will pay outrageous fees for their cell phone service. Go figure. Would you steal your neighbor's electricity or water if you could?

I condone sharing, IF it's known and agreed upon. Otherwise, HOW RUDE! Just because someone else is willing to pay for what things cost, and you are not, doesn't give you the right to secretly take advantage. And if you don't want to pay, go to the library. Stealing is stealing, and you shouldn't do it. The reality of life is that things cost money. We might not like it, but it's the way things are. And if you don't like that, well, ask your neighbor if you can share and offer to pay for a portion of their bill. No reason to be an ass about it.

I disagree with people who think sharing WIFI with your neighbors is stealing from cable companies. I don't have sympathy for companies like Time Warner. They charge a lot of money and have a monopoly over my building's service. Furthermore, people who live together can share internet service... so why not neighbors? Because there's a wall dividing their dwellings? Seems pretty arbitrary to me.

As long as the person who pays for the internet access consents to share it, I have no problem with it. I know there's risks involved. I know that technically people are not supposed to share their passwords, but I don't care. It can be a win-win situation for neighbors who trust one another. That's what matters most to me.

I would only knowingly share my Internet service if I knew my neighbors VERY well. I'm generous by nature and have had it come back to bite me in the arse too many times.

When I was in college (a christian university actually), living in their married-couple dorms, they decided to start providing crappier and crappier internet. I'm not sure why, other than their desire to control everything, but eventually we ALL got fed up. Just about every single one of my neighbors jumped ship and signed up with an outside company (I'm actually surprised we were able to). I was about to graduate though, and I couldn't sign a contract with a cable company. My nexties were kind enough to share with me. I offered to split the bill, but they wouldn't hear of it, haha.

/this relevant anecdote brought to you by "my husband and kid are out of the house and I have time to sit down and think about things."

PS - seriously there are still people who leave it unlocked? WTF.

A family friend got into huge trouble for sharing when the teenage son who was living in his neighbor's home began downloading pirated movies and computer programs from the internet. It was our family friend who got in trouble. Luckily, he had a good lawyer, and the father of the teenage son got his son to confess to everything, and they were just given a fine and a stern warning to not do it again. So our friend has never shared the internet again. Be careful out there.

We share with one neighbor who lives in the apartment next door in our condo complex. We're friends, we know each other, we socialize- and she's older, disabled and on a fixed income, so when she got a used laptop from a friend, we happily gave her the password to our WiFi so she could also have internet access. She's offered to pay part of the bill, but I think that's more hassle than necessary, so we've declined.

I also have NO GUILT whatsoever about one additional person using the extremely overpriced, unreliable service we buy from Comcast- a company that has a monopoly on internet in our area. I firmly believe there should be government subsidies to help low-income families, the disabled, and the elderly get affordable internet access. I guess this is my way to provide that access for just one person.

Never in a million years would I share my Wi-Fi...

You cant trust people, with the important information I store on my computer (banking, invoices, legal documents etc.,), inviting strangers to use your unprotected wi-fi is just asking for identity theft. I'm surprised that some of you are so naive.

You are surely violating your ISP's terms of service if you share your connection outside your household.

Well in canada we have low bandwidths, so I cant see people sharing because to have two households on one would cost that poor person a buttload for the needed bandwidth!

Everyone in my building has passwords. It is unheard of to have an unsecured network

my neighbor has been giving me $15 a month for internet - i'll be sad when the arrangement ends this month, as we're both moving on. if i used internet only i'd try to buy off someone else, but since i need my TV, i see no reason to not to bundle the internet in.

Me and the neighbor above me share because he can't get internet in his apartment (and I went through the 9 levels of hell to get mine). I do MAC address control--like a paranoid person--because some gadgets have trouble connecting to other methods; it also keeps the number of users down... He's offered to pay but,--since I'm paying for it either way--I don't much worry about it.

How do you manage the payment for neighbors that use a shared WiFi?

I seldom see my neighbors--as myself and the two neighbors above me have a separate entrance--and our complex is really very quiet place. I've ordered the fastest internet offered in my area, and not opposed to sharing--paid or not.

My neighbour doesn't have a car but has a carspace, we have awesome WiFi & a media server. We share the carspace & WiFi. It's one of those rare situations that works really well without being too close

I used to join open networks whenever and wherever I could find them if I was on the road and my cell phone network was slow - UNTIL I was online on my computer at home one night and found someone had gotten into my network. A couple of clicks on their user name and I found pictures of their pets and last year's birthday cake!

After that day, I don't join any networks I don't know and my own WiFi is always passworded! I don't want to give up my private information and I'm not interested in having anyone else's.

This is so dangerous. People can and do steal information by purposely letting people steal their wifi.

It does make sense to use encryption to secure any sensitive activity if you think your connection may be eavesdropped upon. This would apply if you are using someone else's wifi, or if someone else has access to your wifi, or you are using a public access point, or quite possibly if you are using the internet whatsoever since there have been wholesale intrusions by governments and others. This could mean using a VPN (perhaps a free one like the basic service of VPNDirect.com which is quite good, or a paid for one) or using https. Good practice for websites is to switch to https before any sensitive information is sent, and this protects your privacy.

Happily here in the US there has been consumer revolt whenever the ISPs have tried to impose bandwidth caps. They still send up trial balloons but only in areas where there is no competition have companies like Optimum Online and AT&T successfully imposed caps. Most of us have no caps and won't miss bandwidth that we're not using.

Yes there is a possibility that someone could do something to attract police attention while using your wifi. But this happens so rarely I wouldn't worry about it. If you are the one using someone else's connection then obviously you should be polite and not do anything that could get them in trouble.

If the parties involved follow common sense guidelines I don't see the harm. The ISPs are charging incredible markups and using a bit more bandwidth has no effect on them. Anyone who can afford their own, reliable service is buying it.

Geez, not many people remember kindergarten or what our parents said to us. Sharing is righteous, especially with WiFi. Sharing the cost makes complete sense. Cable providers are making money hand over fist. Of course the ISPs don't like it, but screw 'em. And the legal issues argument only works with sheep who are afraid of empty threats. There are far too many people for them to police. If you pay for your service, you should be able to share. It's the proper thing to do.