Completely agree - the issue here is absolutely the definition of "protected computer". That said, I'm curious which specific case you're referring to in your

Completely agree - the issue here is absolutely the definition of "protected computer". That said, I'm curious which specific case you're referring to in your first paragraph - and which court it was in. I've done a fair amount of research into this type of case law and, from what I've seen, it seems like things have gone both ways in various different courts. As far as I know there is no binding precedent, at least not from a higher court, but I'd love to be wrong on this. Seeing as this comment may end up lost within this thread, feel free to shoot me an email directly (available on my profile).