Nowadays, every building has numerous wireless networks. As a result, many people consider not renting their own internet line and instead using their neighbours. Hence, causing the owner's internet connection to be slow or problematic. Here are some simple methods for determining who is stealing your Wi-Fi and what you can do to stop them.
Checking The Router
Checking the lights on the router itself is one of the simplest ways to determine if someone is stealing your wifi. You may have noticed that your router has a lot of lights. They display internet connectivity, hardwired network connections, and wireless activity. So, disconnect all of your devices from the network and check to see if the light indicating wireless activity is still blinking. If it is, you can be certain that someone is stealing your wifi. But you can't do anything else with this method. It's simply a quick and easy way to validate your suspicions.
Check The Device Router List
This list can be found in the administrative console of your router, which can be accessed by logging into the router console. Simply enter your router's IP address into a web browser window to accomplish this. Once inside, look for a page that lists all the devices that are connected to the network. You should see a list of IP addresses, MAC addresses, and device names on the page. Simply compare them to your devices to see if there are any unwanted devices.
You can also use network monitoring software on your computer to identify unwanted devices that are connected to your network. Most of these software tools will also include some advanced features that will allow you to gain more control over your network. Before downloading a third-party tool, check to see if your router includes its own software.
How To Stop Them From Stealing
Once you've determined that someone is indeed stealing your wifi, the question becomes, "How do you stop them?" The first thing you should do is examine the security protocol that is being used to protect your network. Make sure to avoid outdated security protocols like WEP and WPA in favour of more modern protocols like WPA2-AES. The following step is to create a strong password. Not only that, but it's critical that you change your password every two months or so to keep intruders at bay. Even if someone cracks your wifi password, they'll be kicked out every two months, forcing them to stop being cheap and get their own connection.