It might be difficult to imagine, but only just 2 Decades back, the Internet was nothing more than a royalty. It was a method for incredibly smart researchers or college professors to share data. And for a few people, it was a way to surf all over the newly designed World Wide Web. E-mail was way different than it is today. The ancient e-mail systems discovered at universities or even via accounts provided with the first ISPs (Internet service providers) such as America Online or Prodigy were often hard to employ.
Coming to this day, things have altered considerably. Where wired connection once kept us glued at one place, today’s mobile devices and laptops offer us access to endless entertainment and friends practically anywhere using 3G, WiFi, and 4G techs.
While we employ 4G and 3G data on our handsets as we are out and about in the world, Wi-Fi still rules in our houses. And in libraries. And coffee shops. And airports. This is all due to the ubiquity of hotspots and wireless routers, just about any plain old wired Internet connectivity—cheaper and faster and without the restricting cellular data’s bandwidth—can be converted into a suitable WiFi zone.
Whether we get them from our Internet suppliers or install them ourselves, most of us these days have WiFi routers in our homes. That can cause a few issues: When wireless signals are working on a similar frequency, they can create interference, particularly if you are living in a building. And without the correct safety, somebody can simply jump onto your wireless network.
Odds are you are reading this article because you think somebody is using or piggybacking your WiFi without your approval. When unlawful wireless tenants pinch your WiFi, they consume your bandwidth. In extreme scenarios, they might even steal data off your PC or infect devices with a virus on your network. But do not worry: it is simple to fight back. Let us begin with a fundamental overview of controlling a wireless network, which is the first action towards keeping your network setup secure and nice.
Knowing The Basics
Before you can notice if somebody is using your wireless Internet connectivity without your approval, it is essential to know some fundamental computer networking facts. Let’s have look at a few of the regions comprised in a WiFi that will offer you a baseline for deciding if your WiFi signal is being unexpectedly sapped.
A wireless network is made up of a broadband Internet connection from a cable, DSL, or satellite modem. You link the wireless router and the modem, which then creates a network and distributes the signal.
This is what’s dubbed as a LAN (local area network). This LAN is where you configure computer peripherals such as laptop computer or your desktop and printer. Your router will have what’s dubbed as a DHCP (dynamic host client protocol) table. Basically, your DHCP table is a list of your guest of every permitted piece of computing tool.
Every device has its own MAC (media access control) address. Think of this as its unique mark. Your router employs these addresses to allocate every device on your network an IP (Internet protocol) address. The IP and MAC addresses of your tool will be helpful in a moment when we look at methods to know whether or not somebody is pinching your WiFi.
There are also a few essential terms associated with WiFi that you must be aware of. An SSID (service set identifier) is the name that verifies a wireless network. This will possibly be the name of your router by default: ASUS or Netgear or something analogous. But you can have fun by altering it to something more creative or personal, such as Abraham Linksys. The most commonly employed WiFi speed these days, 802.11n, has the potential of almost 600 mbps (megabit per second) data transfers. 802.11ac is the next protocol, which will permit for wireless speeds of more than 1 gbps (gigabit per second). 5GHz and 2.4GHz are two separate wireless frequencies employed in wireless routers.
If you are confused by some of these terms, do not be. What is essential is that you know what to see for when we are all set to analyze your WiFi connectivity. Having said this, let’s see how to do it.
Configuring A Secure Network
Is your Wi-Fi operating slowly? Do you have irregular losses in Internet access and you cannot understand why this happens? In all probability, no one is pinching your Internet. A number of things can lead to slow speed. Your ISP is overloaded with traffic or may be having problems. Your WiFi router may be undergoing interference from different devices, or simply having issue penetrating the furniture and walls of your house to provide your computer a wireless signal.
There is only one thing you require to stop 99.9% of unlawful wireless tenant from employing your Internet connectivity: a password.
The most fundamental element of wireless safety is an encryption protocol such as WiFi Protected Access (WPA2). Older standards such as the first generation of WPA or WEP have been replaced by safer WPA2. You do not need to know anything about how the encryption operates. You only need to configure WPA2 standard on your router and keep a password for the WiFi. Make it something you can recall and that is difficult for others to guess (please do not use “12345!” or “password”) and you will be well on your track.
So how can you perform the above-mentioned actions? Well, that differs by the kind of router you have, but most routers are easy to get to from a linked device through the “http://192.168.1.1” address in a browser. Signing in is normally easy, as well, as most router makers employ an easy pair of words such as “admin” or “root” for the login and password of the device (you must be capable of finding this data in the user manual). That will bring you to a management page where you can modify all types of settings, comprising your WiFi security.
This suggestion may set off a little security alarm in your mind. You might think: If almost all the routers employ the same login/password and local address, couldn’t anybody get in there and change the security settings? Well, this is possibly true. Without a password, your WiFi is open for anybody to use. But a password is not quite all you require to be secure totally. You must also change the login information of the router to something besides the normal “admin.” That will keep almost everybody from changing the settings within your router.
Now, let’s take a look at how to know if someone is stealing your WiFi.
Knowing Wireless Piggybacking
Using the WPA2 security, it is improbable anybody will ever piggyback on your WiFi. But there is a simple method to spot unlawful guests. Since each device linked to your WiFi has a unique MAC address and IP address, you can simply see a list of linked machines, which are named as “clients,” on one of your wireless router’s settings pages. Many machines broadcast an ID since they have been named by their users, so if you view “John’s Laptop” linked to your WiFi and you do not know a John, you have found a problem! Even if a machine does not show a name in the client list of the router, you can add up the number of machines linked and evaluate to the number of machines you know must be present to see if the numbers tally.
Do you wish to make completely certain that no one is going to understand your password and pinch your WiFi? You have a handful of options. Your router can conceal its SSID, indicating it will not show up for anybody searching for WiFi. The address will have to be given manually. You can also configure a wireless MAC filter to “approve” devices you use, restricting access for anybody else. Certainly, this makes it a bit harder for welcome guests at your house to get online.
Web monitoring tool is also an alternative. For instance, AirSnare (the free utility) will warn you when unknown MAC addresses sign into your WiFi. But with a safe connection, you should not have to be concerned about that. The truth is: WiFi is not a valuable commodity like it before. You can practically get it at any coffee shop. Most of us have smartphones with data connection that is always-on. To some level, that makes WiFi access a cheaper and faster option, but it is not always the most suitable one.
As long as your WiFi is password-protected, only an attacker employing specialized tools is going to cross your security. But there is still a simple way to prevent even serious attackers in their tracks: Employ a strong password. The harder and longer to guess, the more secure your WiFi will be. With a better password, you shouldn’t ever have to be concerned about keeping tabs on who links to your WiFi.
