Dear Lifehacker,
Lately it sort of feels like my high speed connection is bogged down, and I’m getting a creepy feeling that someone’s stealing my bandwidth on my Wi-Fi network.

How can I find out if other folks are leeching my Wi-Fi, and how do I stop them if they may be?

Signed,
Paranoid or Not?

Dear PoN,
In spite of the fact that your Wi-Fi moocher might be slowing down your connection, people connected for your network can also have access to a few of your shared folders (looking on what security features you utilize), and if someone’s using your connection to do illegal things, it may even bring the authorities for your doorstep. Don’t worry, though, we are able to enable you find out if, indeed, your Wi-Fi is being stolen and permit you to put an end to it. (Note: If it turns out that no person’s using your Wi-Fi, it’s your decision to try our guide to fixing your slow Wi-Fi connection .)

Without further ado, there are a couple of methods for sniffing out wireless intruders.

Low-Tech Method: Check Your Wireless Router Lights

Your wireless router must have indicator lights that show Internet connectivity, hardwired network connections, and likewise any wireless activity, so a method you will see if anyone’s using your network is to shut down all wireless devices and go see if that wireless light remains to be blinking. The hassle with that is that you would be able to have many other Wi-Fi devices (e.g., your TV or gaming console) to bear in mind to unplug, and it doesn’t offer you much other information. It’s still a brief-and-dirty method, though, which could confirm your at-the-moment suspicions; for more details, follow up with either the administrative console check or software tool suggestion below.

Network Admin Method: Check Your Router Device List

Your router’s administrative console let you find out more about your wireless network activity and change your security settings. To log into the console, go for your router’s IP address. You’ll find this address on Windows by going to a command prompt (press Win+R then type cmd) and then typing ipconfig within the window, then find the ” Default Gateway” IP address. On a Mac? Open the Network Preference pane and grab the IP address listed next to ” Router:” .

Next, type in that IP address in a browser window. You’ll be prompted to login to you router. In case you haven’t changed the default settings, your router documentation may have the login information, which usually uses a mixture of ” admin” and ” password” or blank fields. (Note: for security’s sake, you have to change the login as soon as you get into your router console, before a hacker does it for you.)

Attached Devices
All routers are different, but after you’re in yours, you’ll like to seek for a bit regarding connected devices. This may be called ” Attached Devices” (Netgear) or ” My Network” (Verizon routers), ” Device List” on the awesome Tomato firmware , or something similar. It will provide an inventory of IP addresses, MAC addresses, and device names (if detectable) which you could check against. Compare the connected devices for your gear to seek out any unwanted users.

What to do while you find an unauthorized device
As mentioned below, changing your security to WPA2 (or constructing a new password) will prevent access for your Wi-Fi network from unauthorized users (and kick any who are in your network now off until they give the brand new security key). The IP addresses and MAC addresses alone won’t really mean you can identify the perpetrators themselves, though, if that’s what you’re searching for. If you’d like additional information about where these moochers are, you can even try the software tool below.

Detective Method: Use a Network Monitoring Software Tool

It’s good to grasp tips on how to get into your network admin panel where you can actually change settings and consider logs, but maybe you furthermore may want more advanced network auditing or sleuthing. That’s where MoocherHunter comes in. Element of the free OSWA (Organizational Systems Wireless Auditor)-Assistant wireless auditing toolkit, MoocherHunter has been used for law enforcement organizations in Asia to track Wi-Fi moochers. The software description says it could geo-locate the wireless hacker from the traffic they send across the network, all the way down to 2 meters accuracy.

The software doesn’t run as an executable in Windows; rather it should be burned to a CD, then used to boot the computer. The premise is, together with your laptop (and the directional antenna to your wireless card), you’d walk around to triangulate the physical location of the Wi-Fi moocher.

We’re not advocating you employ the tool to take any actual action (like knocking to your neighbor’s door and having a physical confrontation) based on the software’s results, nonetheless it is in a different way to profit more about who, if anyone, is using your wireless network.

Moving Forward: Reinforce Your Wi-Fi Security

You didn’t mention what form of wireless security your network uses. In case you’re using the more secure WPA2 (or, to a lesser extent, WPA), you’re likely pretty secure. In case you’ve undergone the entire steps and your browsing still seems slow, it’s your decision to turn your thoughts to speeding up your web browsing . In case your connection isn’t encrypted or when you’re using WEP-that is very easy to crack -your Wi-Fi in all fairness at risk of anyone searching for a free ride. (In the event you’re undecided which sort of encryption your network is using, go on your wireless connection properties, to be able to identify the protection type.)

Just remember: Whether you discovered a leecher or not, you desire to still use WPA2 encryption, use a non-default SSID, and tackle other wireless router setup essentials . If, for some reason, you need to run an open wireless network or ought to use WEP because some devices (e.g., the Nintendo DS) won’t work over WPA, your best bet is to add a new, separate and secured wireless network for important stuff and only open the unsecured one for guests and WEP-only devices when needed (you can even get a router that broadcasts a separate wireless signal for guests only).

Here’s to knowing everyone who’s connecting to you…

Love,
Lifehacker

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This post is tagged: creepy feeling, high speed connection, indicator lights, internet connectivity, network connections, security settings, wireless router