wireless internet theift

Peter

Who do you use as the ISP ???

Mainey . . . (wireless internet user too)

PETER

is you wireless encrypted? if so maybe time to change the code if you suspect someone is thieving it,cheers.

I assume you are talking about a wireless network in your house and using ADSL rather than picking up the internet via wireless.

In the software with your router you can setup the IP adresses that are allowed to access the router.

Sounds like you should review your router setup to make it more secure.

HI there , as peter above me stated .. is your connection encrypted?

I have netgear router and the software has a built in feature that allows you to easily set up the encryption - it also MAKES you change your code every 30 days( on all computers)

Via my laptop - you can see the connections in the area that have wireless going ..... they usually show if that connection is secure or unsecure .. i am guessing yours is showing unsecured , hence the easy access to your computer

best bet would be to get the install disk that came with your router - and read it from beginning to end -- it will have in it, how to make your connection secure.... this is how i worked it out ...

Boc

We have had cases locally where people drive the streets searching for a wireless connection, and will park outside someones house using their ISP, if not password protected. Several backpackers have been sprung in this area lately doing just that.

And I blame the likes of Hardly Normal.
They sell wireless routers to clueless customers (i mean that in a nice way) and all it takes is less than 5 minutes to show them how to secure it.
Hardly Normal don't care they've got their money.

Peter,
Unless you are downloading copious amounts of data (movies etc) or doing a lot of Google map stuff.(especially looking at satellite images a great deal) then someone may be tapping in to your wireless connection. I can only assume then, that although you may think you set your modem up correctly ie securely, in fact you have not.

Make sure your modem is set up to WPA-PSK standard or higher. If you are not confident then seek help from people in the know.

Your ISP (internet Service Provider) may help you set it up although with my ISP, I was on my own as they did not take responsibility for wireless security of my wireless modem at that time as the security set up is at the user end and is set up by the user on their PC and therefore out of ISP's control. I was told this before I went ahead with my contract with them.

Toolman

Your wireless network is NOT secure unless you use the latest encryption and wpa2 security.

We had a similar episode after we got a new wireless router to run our laptops from at home.
The old one didn't have a very strong signal and we never had an issue, but the new one wanted to hook up with the rest of the world. I'm guessing that the neighbours didn't even realise it happened, our modem just went looking for all punters within range.

We've fixed it by putting password access on our modem. Don't ask me how, my son did it and told me about it after the event, but I believe it was a simple excersise executed from one of our own machines. Your ip, or it adviser - or grandchild - should be able to give you the good oil.

Any chance you've recently installed some p2p software such as bittorrent which is (in the background) sharing some data?

do you use limewire
if not shut down correctly, you may be still be uploading unknowingly.

I believe the password system in wireless routers etc etc is very good....try changing your password

Peter,

No wireless network secure enough. Any encryption just postponing break-in. Best method is setup your router in such way that it can talk only to certain computers base on unique NIC number. Most modern routers have such facility. If your router has not then ditch it and get those one that has. Setup routine differs from brand to brand and it is difficult to give universal advice. Ask your (grand)kids or someone with computer background to help.

I am IT supporter and my router and laptop wireless enabled. But I use, prefer and recommend old trusted cable.

Cheers
Serg

Gday Peter
I have a brother who is a good christian, he wanders around in his car and steals other peoples internet time.He told me once that people don't mind. I told him that it was theft. He stawed at our house for three months, and the computer bill hit heights that have never been seen by Kath and I, even with the kids at home.
Any way , lock it up.
Murray

It could be an accidental thing also. The brother in law was at my mum's place, connected to the phone line (he had dial up at the time) as he had done many times before. Was downloading some updates and was surprised by the speed. The laptop had detected next doors new unsecured wireless network and used it. The wireless network card was active on the pc by default and the pc picks the fastest connection.

If you are using wireless you need a strong password on the router, a white list (access control list of accepted IP's) and WPA with a strong key. Even then with persistance an intruder will likely gain access eventually.

You should check for malware on the PC. If your PC is on all the time someone may be routing data through the PC to avoid detection. Also SocNet and other sites have been used to recruit PC's as part of a netbot group. Security of an actual SocNet site is usually ok but there is not much protection for a user of the site.

Think of the internet as a battle zone and you will not go to far wrong. The tools and information are out there for anyone to use. You no longer need to be an experienced hacker. Some tools are deliberately distibuted to disrupt targeted internet sites. Think I'm wrong, google defcon or black hat.

Steve

With the wireless router setup you should do the following.
Not broadcast the SSID. Change the SSID from default setup.
Change the default IP address and log in password.
If using the routers DHCP server facility, limit the amount of available addresses to the number that you require.
Use MAC filtering to only enable your equipment to access the network.
If possible, reserve the specific IP addresses issued by the router to your specific equipment by use of their MAC addresses.
You can set it up without the DHCP server but I found this way more simple & quicker to set up a network.
With all this, encryption is not really necessary unless you are concerned about someone "sniffing" the packet data being sent out.
Encryption will slow down the data rate as some of the bits in the data packet are used for encryption hand shaking rather than general data.

Cheers, Tony.

Nobody here has looked at another obvious solution - your PC has been hijacked by some sort of bot or trojan which is happily using up your download/upload for nefarious purposes. Before you try to work out who is 'stealing' from you via wireless networking, run some test to make sure you don't have some malware that is using your PC as one of its conduits to spread it's own spam/viruses/trojans/etc to the world.

Has your PC slowed up lately?

Does your DSL light flash continuously when you are reading (not downloading) a web page?

Has your PC changed it's behaviour when you are on the 'net'?

It's worth investigating.

In Singapore they flogged a kid for using his neighbour's wireless internet connection.

I take the view that if a wireless network is not secure then it isn't theft. Its like reading by the light thrown through an uncurtained window. Is that theft of electricity?

When we had an apartment I didn't check to see which network I logged onto with the laptop - assuming it was my own secure connection. Only to find on many occasions that I was inadvertently using someone else's insecure network. Tough titties.

So the bottom line is if they flog someone in Singapore it must be OK to do it here.

Until you sort the problem - switch off your modem whilst you are not accessing the internet.

PeterD

Do you use Skype?

The Skype peer to peer network can use your computer as a node to transfer calls between users you may not know. It is banned from our corporate network for that reason.

This link is worth a read:

Site Link


Regards

Pete

Firewall

I was once caught out and it was someone in England using my PC and account to UPLOAd abut 20 gigs a month!

Once I installed a firewall, I tracked his ISP and complained - they warned the kid and he attempted to do it again and they disconnected him from the net.

A few days later the same attempts were made to access my ports and the forewall stopped it - I tracked the ISp - this time to a university in England in the same town as this Kid.

I emailed the dean of the university with all the fcatual dats - the kids home ISP no and the ISP no from the unversity being used.

Dean had someone investigate at their end and expelled the computer sciences student.

Problem solvered......

Until recently..

Had Telstra send out a contractor to install a wireless Aerial on the roof to tap into the mobile network for internet becauseit was 2 times as fast as our old sat network.

By 2nd months bill we had 15 - 20 gigs of useage (historically mine was only ever about 1.2 gigs a month for many years).

I have no idea how they did it - we have firewall on all our computers - my kids had their own accounts, but the new co account was HUGE (quite a few $1000s) as we only had a 3 Gig plan / account and the extra 12 gigs for two months added up very quickly.

Somehow someone was using our wireless network - don't ask me who or how.

Cable is probably more secure IMHO

Cheers