Protecting a private WiFi network is the most important point when creating home group. The fact is that the access point has a fairly large range of action, which can be taken advantage of by attackers. What to do to prevent this? How to protect a private wireless network from attacks by unscrupulous people? This is exactly what this article will discuss.
How to protect your home WiFi networks
Before moving on to the question of how to protect your private home WiFi network, you should understand how it works. So, to organize a home wireless network, as a rule, a router is used, which acts as an access point. In order to become a member of the group you need to connect to it.
This suggests that to protect confidential information, it is necessary to deny access to the router to unauthorized people. How it's done? There are several points here:
- A long and complex password to enter the router settings menu.
- A strong password for connecting to a Wi-Fi network.
- Selecting a secure encryption type.
- Using a MAC filter.
- Access settings in the operating system.
As you can see, there are quite a lot of security settings. This is necessary, since protecting the confidentiality of the Wi-Fi network depends on it. However, most of them are in the router settings.
So, let's look at all these points in order.
WiFi network protection: Video
Key to enter the router settings menu
Since almost all security settings are set in the router, we need to come up with a complex password to enter the settings system. In addition, a login is used here, which must also be original and complex. How to do it?
First of all, it is worth noting that each router has a different interface, but the principle of operation is almost the same for all. We will look at how to change the router login password using the D-LinkDIR-615 model as an example.
First, connect to the router via wireless communication or via cable. After that, open a browser and enter the address of your router in the address bar. It is indicated on the bottom cover of the device, as well as in the instructions.
How to easily find out the IP address of a WiFi router: Video
In the overwhelming majority, this is the following address - 192.168.0.1 (the following addresses can also be used - 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1).
After entering the address, the system will prompt you to enter your login and password. Initially specified as admin, admin respectively. It is these values that will now need to be changed, since the manufacturer uses an insecure login and key so that the user can easily enter the settings and change the data at his discretion.
After entering, press “Enter”. Here we are in the router settings menu. At the bottom of the screen you need to click “Advanced settings”. Several additional sections will appear, among which you need to find “System” and select “Administrator Password” in it. This is the very key that we need to change.
In the window that appears, you just need to enter a new password and confirm it. Next, just click “Apply”. At this point the process of changing the key is completed, and now the protection of your home wireless WiFi the network has become higher.
How to find out the password for your WiFi connection in the router settings: Video
note that this model The router does not allow you to change the administrator login. However, devices from other manufacturers or even just other models allow you to set any login to log into the system.
Wi-Fi network key
A very important parameter on which the protection of information in Wi-Fi networks depends is the network password. It prevents unauthorized attackers from connecting to the router via wireless communication. That is why the network key must be long and complex.
It is worth noting that initially the router does not have Wi-Fi connection protection at all. In other words, anyone within the coverage area can connect to the device without entering passwords.
To fix this, we need to go back to the router settings menu. Now we are interested in the “WiFi” section, in which we need to find and open the security settings. In the window that opens, we will need to select the encryption type (type of authentication). This is also an important parameter that affects network security.
So, select the encryption type WPA-PSKWPA2-PSKmixed. This is the recommended secure authentication type and provides the most security. A line will appear below in which you must enter the network key. Enter the invented values. It is recommended to use a mixture of Latin letters and numbers. Moreover, the number of characters must be at least 8-12.
Router MAC filter
Each device equipped network adapters, computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet and so on, has a unique MAC address. In order to increase network security, it is recommended to install a filter for such addresses. In other words, in the router settings you can allow connections only to trusted devices by specifying their addresses.
To do this, go to the router settings menu again. In the “WiFi” section we find the MAC filter and open it. The window that appears has two tabs:
- Filter mode.
- MAC addresses.
The first is the regime. Here you can choose one of three options:
- Allow – the specified MAC addresses will be allowed access to the network. Everyone else will not be able to connect to the group.
- Deny – denies network access to the specified addresses.
- Disable – filter mode is disabled.
In the first tab, select the appropriate mode. And in the second we enter the required MAC addresses. If you select the “Allow” mode, you must enter the addresses of only trusted computers. If the “Deny” mode is set, then you only need to enter the addresses of third-party PCs.
How to set up a MAC filter in a router: Video
Setting up access in the OS
The operating system also has built-in data protection features. In order to increase security, we need to enter the Network and Sharing Center. This is done by right-clicking on the connection icon in the tray.
In the window that opens, you need to open the item “Change settings public access" A menu will open in which you can configure access, enable or disable PC detection on the network, and much more. First of all, you need to enable password protected access. In this case, the system will independently generate a complex password. Write it down, because if you later want to provide access to any files, you will need it.
In order to configure maximum system protection, you should disable access in all points. There is nothing complicated here, carefully read the prompts on the screen.
So, now you know how to protect your private WiFi network from intruders. Now no one else will be able to connect to your group and harm information or steal important data.
How to determine who is connected to the network
We've sorted out the security settings. Now we can move on to the question of how to determine who will connect to my home WiFi network. Everything is very simple. The router registers the MAC address of each group member. Therefore, we just have to go into the router settings and look at the statistics. We are again interested in the “WiFi” section, only now we select the “Station List” item. If you are using a TP-LINK router, then you need the “Statistics” section.
The station list displays the MAC addresses of everyone in this moment connected to the network. Here you can disconnect one or another connection. As we already know, every computer has a unique MAC address. Now you know how to check who is connected to my private WiFi network.
To find out the value that your computer is using, just go to the Network and Sharing Center. You will see your connection in the center of the screen that appears. In the right half you will see the “Connect or disconnect” section, and a little lower - the type of access and connection. Click on the connection type and select “Details” in the menu that appears. Here you will find the "Physical Address" line. This is the MAC address of your network adapter.
How to find out who is using my WiFi: Video
I have more than 10 years of experience in the IT field. I am engaged in designing and setting up commissioning works. There is also great experience in building networks, system administration and working with access control and video surveillance systems.
I work as a specialist at the Techno-Master company.
When purchasing a device to access the Internet, people want it to be used only by themselves or their authorized representatives. But someone else can always easily connect to your network if it is not secure enough. What to do in such cases and how to disconnect a user from a Wi-Fi router? Below is detailed information about this.
View connections of other people's devices
You should think about the fact that you have a thief who is using wireless resources secretly from you when:
- The connection indicator on the router is constantly lit (provided that you are not using the Internet yourself).
- Data exchange is extremely slow, although there is no load on your equipment (for example, there are no file downloads or other activities that could negatively affect the Internet speed).
If the above occurs, you should check whether other users are connected to your network. To do this you need to do the following:
- Check the connection quality.
- Specify your login and password to enter the router settings.
- Find the section that displays devices that are currently connected to yours and are using the network without permission.
In order not to get confused, you need to know the names. Most often, they are registered by the factory or unique name that you yourself assigned to them. If you don’t know the names, then before entering the desired section, you can disable all your devices, then they will not be displayed (after disabling them, it is recommended to wait 15 seconds so that the router has time to update information about disabling equipment). This will allow you to detect other people's connections.
An additional way to view third party users is to use special program. For example, Wireless Network Watcher.
The work in it is simpler and more visual, and may be suitable for inexperienced users. Such a program will quickly scan and provide detailed results about freeloaders you didn’t know about.
A separate advantage of the program is that it displays which devices are yours and which are someone else’s.
For video instructions on how to detect, disable, and block third-party users from your Wi-Fi network, watch the following video:
Disabling and blocking someone else's user
How to block a Wi-Fi user so they can no longer connect to your personal router? If a third-party user is discovered who is exploiting your resources secretly from you, then to disable and block him you must perform the following steps (these steps can be performed both from a computer and from a phone):
- Check the functionality of the router and connect.
- Enter the router address into the browser.
- Specify the username and password to enter the settings (usually located at the bottom of the router).
- Find the section that displays the devices that are currently connected to you. Depending on the router model (ASUS, TP-Link, Rostelecom, etc.), the names of such sections may differ.
- Copy the MAC address of the device of interest.
- Select someone else's device and click on the button to disconnect it from the Internet (if necessary, you can disconnect all of them at once. To do this, check the boxes next to each device and click on the corresponding button).
- Go to the section responsible for filtering MAC addresses.
- Copy the MAC address of the device that was disabled there. After this, the device will be blocked and when it tries to connect to your router, it will not be able to succeed.
In addition to the above method, you can disable router freeloaders using a special program (for example, SoftPerfect WIFI Guard, Netcut or other similar programs).
Such a program will perform a full scan, identify other people's devices, and offer you to disconnect them from you.
The downside of the program: it disables someone else’s device, but does not perform full blocking (it can only be installed on a router). If there is no blocking, the user may reconnect to your network after some time.
ASUS
To disable users in this model you need to:
- Log in to ASUS.
- Click on the “Clients” button, after which information about other users will be displayed.
- To block: go to the address filtering tab, specify the necessary ones, after which access for them will be denied.
TP-Link
To disable and block “left” clients, do the following:
- Log in to TP-Link.
- Select “Wireless mode” and go to the statistics section, where you can see the MAC addresses of other users.
- To block: go to the MAC address filtering section and set connection ban for a specific address.
Rostelecom
To disable other people's users in this model you need:
- Log in to the router.
- To view connected devices, go to the “List of Wi-Fi clients” tab (for more details technical information you need to go to the DHCP tab).
- To disconnect unwanted clients, you need to select the required client in the list and press the disconnect button.
- To block: copy the MAC address, go to the section for filtering such addresses and add a selected one. After this, the device will not be able to connect.
How to improve security?
Other people's devices can connect to your network if there is low level protection. Here are 3 simple rules that will allow you to increase your level of security:
- Must be installed good password and fulfill a number of requirements for a high-quality password:
- at least 8 characters;
- contains Latin letters and numbers;
- includes characters of different case, as well as special characters;
- does not match your personal data (they are easy to find);
- The password is changed once every 1-3 months.
- Do not disclose your password to third parties.
- Turn off your router when you don't need to use the network.
How to protect your Wi-Fi networkFi, you will find out in the following video:
Well, useful material? And which of our readers has encountered the fact that a neighbor has joined the Wi-Fi? What did you do? Share your experience, ask questions! Always happy to chat! Thank you for choosing us!
Hello friends! Today I will write interesting article. I'll tell you what to do if you find that your Wi-Fi router someone has connected and is shamelessly using your Internet. I'll tell you how you can identify and block such a cunning neighbor :). More precisely, I already wrote about how to determine who is connected to your wireless network in the article, but if you have already read my article and found an “illegally” connected device, then I will tell you how you can block it, so to speak, cover up the freebie :).
And before getting into the technical part, I would like to clarify and explain something.
I wrote in the title of the article “how to block a thief”. I used the word “thief” because I couldn’t find another word :), the word “thief” kept popping into my head. In no way do I consider people who use other people’s Internet to be thieves. Unless they are deliberately hacking into someone else’s wireless network, and what kind of thieves they are, they are freeloaders. It's not good to do that.
But excuse me, when, for example, I don’t have a router, and the laptop finds at least one open wireless network, it’s a sin not to connect to it! I think you agree with me :). By the way, if you do this, then you will be interested in reading the article Yes, nothing will happen, connect and use it, since the owner of the network has not locked it with a password. True, perhaps he doesn’t know that his network is open, well, who’s to blame here, let him read my blog more often :).
But today I’m writing as if from the side of wireless network owners, so let’s get back closer to the topic of the article.
Let's start with the fact that if you live, say, in an apartment and your neighbors have laptops, phones, etc., and they do, and you also left your Wi-Fi network open and want no one to access it connected, then this is already a plot from science fiction :).
Well, if after such protection, you discover that someone else’s device is connected to your Wi-Fi router, then your network was most likely hacked, or they got into your house and stole your Wi-Fi password, or you yourself gave the password to someone , and then changed their minds, or... Come on, that's enough :). In short, in any case, you need to block this device.
Imagine a case where someone connects to your network, but your login and password to access the router settings have not been changed and are set to default. This "somebody" decides to make a joke, and locks your computers :). I'm not kidding. You will have to reset the router settings. How? written in the article What if you have a local network open through a router? The information on your computers is already at risk.
Blocking someone else's device connected to a Wi-Fi router
Of course, we will block by MAC address. And by the way, before blocking, change the password for the wireless network itself and for access to the router settings.
If the passwords have been changed, then go to the router settings (I hope you already know how) and go to the tab Wireless – Wireless MAC Filtering.
First you need to enable filtering by MAC address. To do this, click on the button "Enabled".
Now we only need to add the MAC address of the device we want to block.
The MAC address itself needs to be looked at on the tab Wireless – Wireless Statistics, or DHCP – DHCP Clients List(the device name will also be displayed on this tab). Actually, that’s where you found this device. Copy his MAC address immediately (use Ctrl+C – Ctrl+ V).
Returning to the tab Wireless – Wireless MAC Filtering and press the button “Add New...”.
In field MAC Address specify the address of the device you want to block. Near Description You can specify a description for the device. On the contrary Status leave the value Enable. Click the button "Save".
That's it, the device will be blocked. You will see the rule we created. It can be deleted or changed by clicking on the appropriate links Delete And Modify. Or you can create another rule by clicking on “Add New...”.
Of course, the “thief” can change the MAC address and connect to your Wi-Fi networks. But I hope you changed the password for your network? As a last resort, you can block absolutely everything MAC addresses and allow only devices whose MAC addresses are registered in the router to connect to the router (good way wireless network protection). How to do this, I wrote in the article, read from the title “What if the client changes the MAC address?”.
Afterword
Well, that's all, now you know what to do if you find an unknown device connected to your Wi-Fi router. Block him and that's it :). It seems like I wrote everything and forgot nothing.
If you have questions, comments, or additions, please write. Let's try to decide. It will be good if you leave a question on our forum, which, by the way, is already working and is waiting for new participants :). Best wishes!
Also on the site:
Someone connected to my Wi-Fi router. What to do and how to block the “thief”? updated: May 13, 2013 by: admin
And every home now has Wi-Fi. Using wireless Internet, you can always access the network from almost anywhere. This is very convenient, because you can work, watch movies, download useful information and be always in touch using various devices. But there are situations when third-party devices connect to the Internet for which you pay. As a result, the quality of communication deteriorates. And you are thinking about how to find out who is using your Wi-Fi and how to disconnect a third-party user.
None of the users wants to share their network with other clients
How can you tell if someone is using your network? You should be wary if at least one of these signs is present:
- The indicator blinks constantly. This means that information is being transferred. It's worth paying attention if the indicator flickers while all your devices are turned off.
- Data exchange speed has decreased. There are several reasons for the decrease in speed. One of them is connecting a third-party device.
Ways to determine who is connected to your Internet
There are two most convenient ways identify unwanted user.
In the router settings. Disconnect all your devices from wireless internet except the computer. Find out the IP address and MAC address of your computer. This can be done through the command line using the ipconfig command. will be indicated next to the “Main gateway” item. It is often written on the device sticker, and the default login and password are also indicated there. Next, go to the router settings, enter the device address in the browser address bar, then enter your data. You will see the MAC addresses and IP addresses of all connected devices if you go to the “Clients” and “Statistics” sections.
How to view router clients:
- TP-Link. On the left menu, select the “Wireless Mode Statistics” section. Here you can see a list of connected devices. Through MAC Address Filtering, you can disable an unwanted user.
- Asus. On home page The Clients circle is displayed. Click on it. A table will be displayed on the right where all clients will be listed.
- D-Link. Go to “Advanced settings”, then select “Station list” in the Wi-Fi item. There you can also disconnect the connection to a third-party MAC address by clicking “Disconnect”.
- Zyxel. Choose a section " System Monitor", go to the tab " home network", below you can see a list of devices.
Using the program. In order to determine who is connected to your Wi-Fi, there is a very convenient utility called Wireless Network Watcher. You can download it from the official website. Run the program directly from the computer via cable. The utility scans the network, identifying connected devices. Based on the results of the scan, their data and the name of the manufacturer will be displayed. After identifying dishonest users, they can be disabled through the router settings.
How to block someone else's MAC address
If you see foreign devices, you can block them through MAC address filtering. Allowing only some addresses to connect is a safer option, while others need to be blocked.
The password must be quite complex. The longer it is, the more difficult it is to pick it up. Use a combination of large and small letters, numbers, and symbols. Then the password will ensure sufficient security for your Wi-Fi router, and you will be able to use the Internet to its fullest.
Wi-Fi has become so popular that having a router is the rule rather than the exception. But, despite all the conveniences, you should take into account that it is visible to others. See for yourself how much is displayed in your home available connections. Hardly one or two, usually their number reaches a dozen or more. Likewise, neighbors can see your network among other available ones.
Few people want to outside users gained access to a personal wireless network
But if certain precautions are not taken, others may be able to connect to your connection. What does this mean? At the very least, a loss of Internet speed. You will not receive the full speed of your communication channel if someone connects to it at your expense. But the situation is much more dangerous if an attacker connects to your Wi-Fi and can use the transmitted data to his advantage.
To avoid this risk, you need to limit access to your Wi-Fi. Read below for recommendations on how this can be done.
Internet access for a specific list of devices
What is a mac address and how to find it out
To each network device even during production at the factory, a special mac address is assigned - a kind of unique digital fingerprint finger It looks like "A4-DB-30-01-D9-43". For further settings, you need to know the mac address of the individual device to which you are going to provide access to Wi-Fi. How to find him?
Windows
Option 1. Through the “Network Sharing Center”
- Between the battery and sound icons there is an Internet connection icon. Right-click and select “Network and Sharing Center.”
- “View active networks” - line “Connections”, click on the connection name - “Details”.
- The “Physical address” line will contain the mac address of the laptop.
Option 2: Through Settings (for Windows 10)
- Click “Start” - “Settings” - “Network and Internet” - “Wi-Fi” - “ Extra options" - "Properties".
- “Physical address” is the mac address of the laptop.
Option 3. Via the command line
- Hold Win+R - enter cmd (or Win+X - Command line(administrator) on Windows 8.1 and 10).
- Type the command ipconfig /all.
- In the "Wireless adapter" section local network. Wireless Network" in the "Physical Address" line contains the required information.
Android
- "Settings" - " Wireless network" - "Wi-Fi" - menu button - "Additional functions".
- The required data is in the MAC address line.
iOS
“Settings” - “General” - “About this device” - “Wi-Fi address”.
Once you have discovered the device ID, write it down or simply remember it. Now let's proceed to the next stage - we will establish access to the required equipment through the router.
Setting up the router
First, log into the settings web interface. Using a browser, go to 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. Enter your login and password - admin/admin or admin/parol. These combinations work on most devices. If there is no access, check the information on the bottom surface of the router or in its instructions.
The layout of menu items may vary depending on the manufacturer, but basic principles Applicable for all devices.
- In the “Wi-Fi network settings” section, enable filtering by mac address, because it is initially disabled.
- In the “MAC Address Filtering” tab, add the addresses of the devices to which you are going to provide access to Wi-Fi.
Now you can use Wi-Fi only through those devices for which you have reserved addresses. Attackers will not gain access to your data.
Other access restriction options
Replacing the network and router password
If you haven't changed your Wi-Fi password, change it. Moreover, it is advisable to do this regularly. In your network security settings, create a new password. It is equally important to replace both the factory password and login login when installing the router. The standard combination is the easiest way to access the connection.
