Think a neighbor is stealing your Wi-Fi? Find out for sure

[Batu69]

Is your internet a little slow? Do videos on YouTube take too long to buffer? Do movies on Netflix show up in a lower resolution than expected? We’ve got some bad news for you — one of your neighbors might be stealing your Wi-Fi. While you might not mind if one of your neighbors is taking a little revenge on one of the country’s most hated companies — ahem, Comcast — allowing unauthorized devices to use your internet isn’t a good idea, especially given the havoc it can wreak on your connection speeds and your peace of mind. After all, nobody wants to leave themselves susceptible to outside intruders if they can help it.

The Risks

The biggest detriment to Wi-Fi theft is that it can slow down your connection. There’s only a certain amount of bandwidth to go around and if yours is already divided up between a few computers, a smart TV, and a couple of phones, there’s a good chance that you’ll start seeing slower speeds when an internet freeloader streams a high-definition video. Many service providers have also started putting data caps on home internet usage, too, and if one of your neighbors uses your internet for data intensive activities, you could see additional charges on your monthly bill.

 

 

In addition to slow connection speeds, an unsecured wireless router also opens you up to security risks. While your neighbor might only be looking for a free place to check their email, an unsecured router can be used to gleam data from the web sites you visit, access other devices on your network, or infect your computer with a virus. They can also use your internet connection to perform illegal activities. If that happens, guess whose door the authorities will knock on when they try to track your neighbor down? Yours.

Determining if someone is stealing your Wi-Fi

If you suspect that someone is stealing your Wi-Fi, you need to log in to your router’s administration page. Most people can do this by typing “192.168.1.1” or “192.168.2.1” into the address bar in your browser. If these don’t work, swing on over to our guide for accessing your router’s admin panel.

 

 

Once you’ve accessed the admin page, you’ll need to locate the page listing the various Media Access Control (MAC) addresses connected to your computer. The location of this page will differ depending on your router, but you may find it under “wireless configuration,” “wireless status,” or in the “DHCP client” list. You can use this list to count how many devices are connected to your internet. If you see six MAC addresses — any device connected to your network will have its own unique MAC address — but only have four devices in your home, somebody is probably stealing your internet.

 

Note: Old phones, gaming consoles, Wi-Fi enabled cameras, and other connected devices may show up on the MAC address list. You can get a better handle on what MAC address represents what device by using a website like macvendors.com.

Lock it down

If you suspect someone is stealing your Wi-Fi, it’s a good idea to beef up security. If you don’t have a password on your network, add one. If you still use the default router name and password, change it. You can do this from the admin page on your router. To change your password, look for the PSK or Pre Shared Key in your security settings. Changing your wireless password will kick off all current devices (including those unwanted freeloaders), so you’ll have to reconnect your devices once you have a new password.

 

Related: How to find your router’s IP address and login info

 

To change your router name, locate the Service Set identifier (SSID). This is typically found in the wireless settings menu.

Lastly, it’s important to use the strongest wireless network encryption available for consumers, which is currently WPA2. If you’re router was manufactured prior to 2006, it may not be compatible with WPA2 encryption. If that’s the case, you may want to think about getting a new router. Thankfully, we have a few suggestions.

 

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[straycat19]

They forgot to add 'don't broadcast your SSID.'  Most of the WEP/WPA2 systems in my neighborhood are easy to crack for one stupid reason or another but if they weren't broadcasting their SSID and they did change it to something other than 'Smiths Router' or some other easy to guess names, it would make it more difficult.

[Ice Frog]

well i'm that neighbor

[Maxxx0508]

LOL, my lovely neighbour goes to my house and request me to share my wifi password 

[Batu69]

26 minutes ago, Maxxx0508 said:

LOL, my lovely neighbour goes to my house and request me to share my wifi password 

 

....And you got hacked by your lovely neighbor, SE method  

[straycat19]

On 8/16/2016 at 2:02 AM, Maxxx0508 said:

LOL, my lovely neighbour goes to my house and request me to share my wifi password 

 

At least he didn't ask to plug an ethernet cable into your router like I had one guy ask me a few years back.  From what I later found out, all these upper middle class semi rich people had been sharing their internet among each other for years, actually running ethernet cables from house to house.  They even had the damn things buried in conduit!  That crap stopped after I moved in, at least he isn't leeching from me, maybe his other neighbor was more sharing.

[Pequi]

I leeched my internet from the local wireless provider for 3 years here in town, mainly because the owner was a bs&^%&^, but when the mainline providers moved in I stopped doing it, and went legal. I even had a script so I could jump from one user/MAC/password to another, so I would not affect their bandwidth.

 

Advice ---> MAC addresses can be duplicated in a couple of minutes, WEP cracked in about 20 minutes. WPA is harder, can take as much as a day, depending on the lengh and complexity of the passwd. But they can all be broken.

 

If you want to know if there is someone hitch-hiking, log into your router as admin and look in the logs for DNS servers you don't use, or IP adresses you are certain you did not visit. If they are there, you have a guest. You might have to turn logging on, depending on the model of the router. Unless the "guest" has EXACTLY the same tastes for sites you do, that's the only way you will catch them. If he/she DOES have exactly the same tastes, you've probably found a friend... or maybe a long forgotten twin.

;)

[Togijak]

Some way tho share that makes sens