Broadband: wireless network traffic from my neighbor
wireless network traffic from my neighbor
by jeff19722 - 11/30/05 2:52 PMI have a broadband connection through my local cable company but my neighbor is on a wireless network. Every once in a while I get a notification that I am connected to that wireless network and I am able to view the same places on the net as my neighbor. Is there anyway to fix this?
Not really..
by jackintucson
- 12/2/05 2:01 PM
In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722
Talk with your neighbor and explain what is happening. It's his responsibility to keep his signal from encroaching in your space. I'm sure he's not going to like the idea of you piggy-backing off his signal. Try different adapters. Some go only 10meters and some over 30meters. Moving the adapter/pc around may not be practical to either of you but must be mentioned. Setting up an interference signal will only knock both of you off.
You say you are on broadband but didn't say if you were on wireless. If not, your system must have wireless. Disable it. Delete it from the Device Manager.
and life goes on...
Jack
Authenticate to your Wireless if you're using wireless.
by tleroy-homecomputeraid - 12/13/05 3:33 PM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722If you're using wireless (I assume you are since you're connecting to your neighbor's), set your wireless router to use authentication of some kind (WEP, WAP, or WPA), and set your wirelss PC up to do the same. There should also be an ability on your wireless PC to tell it to connect only to secure networks.
Security loophole
by TonyGore - 12/15/05 12:49 AM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722If you are connected both to your broadband and to your neighbour's wireless, then your security could be compromised as you have effectively bridged two networks together.
(This is similar to using a dial up connection when you are already connected to a network)
It is not clear if you have a wireless access point yourself. If not, but your computer has wireless built in, then turn it off. If you do use wireless yourself, then choose some form of security e.g. 64 bit WEP is the simplest and will then prevent simple accidental connections.
You might also do your neighbour a favour (assuming that you are on good terms) and suggest that he does the same and adds simple security.
Over here in the UK I have seen this happen a lot - probably because our houses are closer together - it is amazing to see how many people working from home are exposing their entire computer to anyone nearby.
Connecting to neighbor's wireless
by anwhite - 12/15/05 6:33 AM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722Go into wireless network configuration and tell it ignore the neighbor's network. I had to do this.....
Also make sure your are using WEP (at least)to keep others from connecting to YOUR network.
Is there a problem with this scenario?
by bakernx - 12/15/05 8:37 AM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722Does your connecting to the neighbor's wireless access in any way expose this fellow's computer.
Sure, the neighbor is sharing his bandwidth but how would this negatively impact this guy?
The neighbor is totally exposed if his access point is not secured with a key.
Correct me if I am not wrong on any of these points.
Thanks
Your neighbor is definitely at risk
by VidPro - 12/15/05 10:22 AM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722You don't give enough information about your neighbor's access point security, but it sure seems his computer is unprotected.
Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, as your neighbor may have set up protection for the wireless router and felt safe, but left his computer wide open for drive-by snooping, in addition to access by you and other nearby wireless neighbors.
I agree
by tekwrite - 12/16/05 7:54 AM In reply to: Your neighbor is definitely at risk by VidProThe first time I saw my neighbor's network on MY PC I thought someone was hacking me. 
But no. And he was broadcasting his SSID which was the default one that came with the router! Dumb!
Another possibility
by VidPro - 12/15/05 10:26 AM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722It could be that your neighbor has both the access point and desktop computer(s) set up properly, but either has, or brings home from work, a laptop that is not so secured.
What made me think this may be the case is that you say it only happens every once in a while.
Likelihood of another intruder
by MarkPulham - 12/15/05 4:46 PM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722Some years ago, I remember hearing about criminals driving around with a garage door opener clicking on it to see if someones door was using the same frequency. It seemed that every third door would open in a lot of cases. If there was no car in the garage, they would rob the place. If you and your neighbour are able to wirelessly connect to each other, the chances are the someone else can do the same, and I guess the above scenario could still happen with someone driving around with a laptop. As you have broadband, you are probably leaving the Internet connection on all the time. Get WEP security. Does anyone know of this happening?
WEP
by Fatbaby - 12/16/05 5:45 AM In reply to: Likelihood of another intruder by MarkPulhamWhat is WEP and how do I get it? I am new to wireless, just bought the linksys 4 port router 802.11g
I noticed late at night when I turn off my computer it says there is someone logged on to my computer. I have changed passwords to the linksys, installed zone alarm, have anti virus and this is still happening.
Any suggestions?
Wanda (fatbaby)
WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy
by tleroy-homecomputeraid - 12/16/05 7:24 AM In reply to: WEP by FatbabyWEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, but it is crackable. Here's a link to a definition:
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WEP.html
WPA or WAP are more secure. It isn't something you "get" necessarily. It kind of has to be built into the Wireless devices you're connecting together. If they're relatively new, and relatively high end devices, they should be capable of more secure communication than you can get with WEP. You just have to enable it on all devices and configure them with identical settings.
It may be best to post to a new thread rather than ask a question like this inside someone else's thread in the future.
Check firmware
by tekwrite - 12/16/05 7:57 AM In reply to: WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy by tleroy-homecomputeraidCheck your router's firmware to see if there is an upgrade if your one doesn;t have WPA or WAP. Mine has WEP but Linksys will NOT upgrade the firmware to let me take advantage of its features! Grrrr.
yes you CAN stop this...
by Jim Johnson - 12/16/05 8:54 AM In reply to: wireless network traffic from my neighbor by jeff19722Admittedly your neighbor has a security problem, and the polite thing to do is to point it out - but you be the judge of that.
To stop your systems from connecting to your neighbor's network is pretty easy in XP.
Control Panel/Network Connections, then right-click on your wireless network adapter and select Properties.
Click on the tab 'Wireless Networks'
Your in-house wireless connection should be listed and identified as 'automatic'. If any other connection is shown, click on it and select remove.
Now click on the 'Advanced' button. Make sure you have selected 'Only Access Point Networks' and then...
un-check the box that says 'automatically connect to non-preferred networks'
OK your way out of the nested dialog boxes. From here on, your system should only connect to YOUR wireless network.
By the way - you HAVE enabled whatever security features are available for your wireless network, haven't you?
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