90% OT Computer query

YES

Yes, it is possible to encrypt and password-protect your wireless communication. Furthermore it is also possible to lock your transmission to selected computers. But why bother? Lay a cable! I am IT who doing lots of network installation including wireless, yet I am using cable at home. Faster and more reliable. And 100% secure.

Cheers
Serg

It is a criminal offense and people have been charged and convicted in Australia of it. You neighbor is stealing from you.

If you are on speaking terms with the neighbor discuss it with them.

If not, contact the Police as what the neighbor is doing is no different than breaking and entering into your property. You also may be able to seek some civil damages against your neighbor.

You should be able to get the MAC (or Ethernet) address of the neighbors computer from the router logs. This will prove the offense has occurred and when it occurred depending on what logging is available.

As for putting more security on the router, yes you should. You should have MAC address filtering enabled and also enable WPA2 encryption (Do not use WEP as it is easy to break). Note, Windows XP requires a update from the micro$oft site to support the WPA2 standard. It is till possible to crack your network with this sort of security enabled but it is very difficult.

If this technical stuff means nothing to you I strongly suggest that you engage a networking consultant to assist you.

This is a very serious issue with wireless routers and business have lost millions of dollars from these sorts of breakins . The only way to stop it is to educate wireless network users and prosecute the offenders who commit the crimes.

Sorry to Hijack your thread Ian/Brushmarx. A Question For SERG/KSV:
Where abouts do you work Serg as I am having problems with broadband? I cant get it. I am in Suburban Perth. Are you in Perth?
Cheers Matt
mattdanica@aapt.net.au

Hi Ian,
If all you are trying to do is prevent your neighbour or any opportunist using your bandwidth then have a quick look at your wireless manual and use WEP as it is dead easy to do. you will need to use a password but as you have a trust relationship with those inside your house (for computers anyway) you can easily write the password down and stick it to the side of your computer.

I use WEP at home as it is very easy for my PC's, PDA and phones to all talk without lots of setting up.

To use WEP just select it as the security and select a password and that should be about it. It can get a lot more involved than that but it will stop the opportunistic or casual user from outside your home.

I am lucky as my boundary is further than the signal can carry, but I still use WEP as a precaution. Yes I also have MAC address filtering and hardware firewall systems but for you it should not be necessary.

If you still find unauthorised use, you then should consult both the Police and a network consultant (but not in that order).

I also have a cable network within the house but outside the server room I use wireless. I did run a cable to the workshop but that was mostly because the signal wouldn't travel that far.

Cables are too much of a hassle if you cannot run and connect them yourself or if you do not want to run them within the wall cavity. That is probably why you are using wireless.

If you are using ADSL+2 you need a comparable wireless router to get the most of the speed. If so you are probably faster than standard ethernet cable anyway.

Cheers Cam

I think you have got the wrong idea, but thanks anyway.
What I was after was the feasibility of placing a physical barrier between the router and the neighbors house like a lump of aluminium or steel or lead, so the little invisible rays can't head to thier house and just bounce in another direction so they disspate after the 20 or 30 metres thay can fly.
Talking about WEPS etc is over my capacity, and if a simple fix can be had, it will be easier than the stress fighting it out. Worst case scenario, I'll just burn the bastards house down.
Thanks
Ian

Get someone to come and set up encryption in your security settings. You only have to do it once and if you write down the key which is 64 digits long you can reenter it if you have problems.
You have to enter the SAME key on each machine connected to the router and in the router itself. Not hard to do. I had to buy a new Gateway router last week and had it all up and riunning in half an hour.
Interstingly in that time some nasty neighbour had hooked into it before I set the security. They wont be able to now and I have the MAC address of his machine so he better not try again.
Any one who doesnt enable this is rather naive as people go around in cars with a laptop looking for people like you to d/load theu for free. Surprised you havent been caught before.

Ring Belkin and they will tell you how over the phone . The number should be on the paperwork you got with the router .

I am not answering the question except to say that there is security somehow available.

I ot caught by internet theft when I was on dial up with low downloads.

Over 4 months it cost me $2,ooo with me blaming the kids for downloading movies etc. which they denied.

Then one day I was home by myself switched on the computer and there was some emails saying I had used 100% of my allocation and then a couple of hours later it was up to 150% ... remember only me at home.

Long story short I had to pay Big P the money and I had no recourse as you don't know if it is a neighbour or someone parked out front that is stealing.

WEP protection and set the router to only allow specific MAC addresses that you add individually

Your router manual will tell you how to do this - it is relatively simple and fairly secure unless your neighbour is hell-bent on accessing your network

I have heard that a CD sitting over the aerial can help direct the signal but I have never tried it.

brushmarx,

I suggest you post your question on www.whirlpool.net.au - it is a broadband/IT forum with places for questions just like this. Explain that you have problems with a neighbour using your wireless connection, and that you need someone to help explain step-by-step in layman's terms how to configure the router and your computer to secure your network and stop your neighbourhood thief. WPA2 security is generally straightforward to configure on your router and PC - just post the router model number and version of Windows you're using in your initial post so that you get the correct instructions.

Your neighbour would most likely know that they are connecting to your wireless network and pinching your broadband (and is probably relying on the fact that because you've left your network unsecured that you wouldn't have the savvy to figure out they were using it), a knock on the door or a note requesting them to cease using it might help in the short term until you get your security sorted. Another poster in this thread was right - it IS theft and can be treated as such by the police (if you aren't on neighbourly terms!).