Is it possible to observe peoples' wireless internet use?

Question

I once read an article that said that you can see what other people are doing over wireless internet connections (i.e. spy on them) if their security settings aren't properly configured.

Is this really possible, and if what kind of software allows you to do this?

Also, how can I be sure that people aren't spying on my wireless internet use?

Answer 1

Yes you can spy easily.

The kind of software is wireless packet sniffers, although you do have to have skills in both computers and algebra to make use of sniffers to spy on encrypted WEP networks (takes away the requirement of algebra skill for unedcryped/unsecure wireless networks), unlikely to happen; by the way the decryptability of WEP prompted WPA encryption.

I don't think you can be sure of no spying because someone can always do the sniffering stealthly.

Answer 2

yes, it's possible, although pretty unlikely. Unless you have a super hacker living next door to you. With all of the security enabled, it'll take a VERY long time for someone to hack your account and decrypt all of the data. Most likely, someone could be scamming free internet off of you though.

Make sure all of your security protocols are enabled.

You can monitor the activity going across your router. There should be a logging function built-in that'll let you monitor the traffic going across it. If you see things that shouldn't be there, then at the very least, someone could be tapping off your internet to get online. Some people do that so they won't have to pay for their own.

Answer 3

To answer your second question - make sure you configure it as a secure network that requires a password and that it is all encrypted. (this is all part of the setup process)

Answer 4

sounds like invasion of privacy to me