Doesn’t matter whether its secured or not. If the owner of the network has not *explicitly* granted you permission to use it you are breaking the law. I’m not suggesting this law makes sense or is easily enforceable for wireless networks, but it is indeed the law.
It seems that the right thing to do is to go up to your neighbor: “I see you have a wireless router for your internet connection. I have wife and young children and am trying to economize. I’ll pay half your subscription fee if I can use the connection, if that’s OK with you.”
