How can I tell if someone is tapping into my wireless internet?

Question

My computer keeps popping up the same message- an unknown user is trying to get into my wireless internet connection. I am not crazy about flipping the bill for someone else to be using the Internet. Any idea how I find out who it is? I have an IP Address, Mac and Device type (it is a router). Is there anything I can do to keep others out of tapping in? Is it possible for them to be 'stealing' my ID this way?

Answer 1

Turn off the router and listen for the scream of frustration.

Answer 2

Is sounds like your computer might be set up in Ad Hoc mode. This mode allows other devices to connect directly to your PC. go into your wireless network settings and deselect this option first. On your wireless router make sure you set up security. If you have a choice of WEP, WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK use WPA2-PSK, pick AES encryption and choose a nice long password. You will need to set up your PCs with the same configuration. Be careful as some older WiFi cards may not have the WPA and WPA2 options...if you get that problem update your network card drivers before you change the settings on the router.

This is a bit general but you can look up how to do this on your router and network card manufacturers website.

MAC filtering and WEP encryption are really not very safe ways to secure your network. Both can easily be circumvented with a couple of quick downloads on the web.

Answer 3

You can block that MAC address at your router. Log into it and deny access to that device or MAC. Implement some security like WEP or WPA-PSK [TKIP]. I prefer the latter because you can encrypt transmissions with a passphrase and not just a password. They will still see your network but they can't logon to it. You can do that under wireles settings after looging into your router. Remember to change the username/password for your router from admin/password or admin/admin to something somebody won't know. Can you get into his router? See if you can log into his and change his SSID or password. That's fun! You have to configure each of your network devices with the same password/passphrase as you set for encryption. Good luck!

Answer 4

I personally like the MAC filters, as WEP or WPA sucks up bandwidth. But, if you want to be completely secured, then you can enable MAC filter and WEP.

You can log into your router and check the logs to see when someone is getting into your network. By getting into your network, it is possible for someone to hack into your computer. If you do not have security measures on your router, I doubt you have a firewall either on your computer.

Answer 5

I can see when someone is using my internet. I don't mind who uses my internet. If I didn't want people to use it I would have it password protected. I live out in the country on a large dairy farm. The only traffic on our road is our neighbors, the school bus, the mail lady, feed trucks, and the milk truck. Now if I lived in the city, or a heavy populated area, I would password protect my internet.

Answer 6

Secure your wireless connection by using WEP or MAC filters. Check your router manual for more details.

Answer 7

If you don't have a firewall with passwords, then assume someone is using your bandwidth. But if the message just says someone is TRYING to, then it seems they are not succeeding.

Answer 8

i donno sorry