- Technological progress is moving forward, and from year to year we have more and more devices in our homes that are connected to the Internet. Among the devices that use Wi-Fi, there are not only smartphones and laptops, but also televisions, game consoles and printers.
- We do not always remember all the devices that use our home network and this is quite normal, but for the sake of our security and the state of the wallet, we must regularly check the devices connected to the router.
- It may turn out that your neighbor is using your network for free. How do you know who is using Wi-Fi from your router or computer and block unwanted devices?
How to check quickly Who is using my Wi-Fi? For this purpose, you can use Network management applications For mobile devices and desktop computers. It not only displays a list of all devices currently connected to our router, but also allows you to change permissions and block “intruders”.
One of the most interesting options on the market seems to be Glass Wirewhich also acts as a firewall, showing bandwidth usage and allowing us to enable notifications when a new driver is installed, or A new device is trying to connect to our Wi-Fi network. The basic option is completely free, but unfortunately only the paid version ($39 for one PC) allows you to monitor network devices.
- Router web interface
Fortunately, there are also free and easy ways to find out who is using my Wi-Fi. Just take advantage of it Router web interface on the computer. It is the router that contains the most accurate data about the devices connected to it.
To get it, simply enter the device’s IP address into a web browser. Once the router configuration interface appears, simply sign in with your network password and you’re ready to go. Now you can view and manage your network activity, if you are not sure of your router IP address, windows We can find it easily by following these steps:
- Press Options: Window + R,
- We write cmd to hijack the command prompt,
- In the Command Prompt window, enter [ipconfig] And confirm with the Enter key,
- An IP address will be displayed next to “Default Gateway” or “IPv4 Address” in the results.
seek The IP address of the router on your Mac It is even simpler. To find it, just select System Preferences, then go to Network, and from there go to Advanced and TCP/ICP. Router’s IP address next to “IPv4 Address”.
In addition to the above options, You can also download a program to your computer that scans the Wi-Fi network you are currently connected to (for example Wireless Network Monitor from NirSoft).
Finds and lists active devices. Unfortunately, unlike router web interface tools, Scanning tools often fail to detect devices that are not connected to the Internet. So we will only see the devices online.
When we find the “intruder” among the devices connected to the router, we can permanently deny him access to the Wi-Fi network. The method of blocking the person stealing the Internet from us varies depending on the interface of the router, but most often the procedure is carried out, using the device preferences menu.
A user manual for a specific router model is available on the Internet. But before locking the device, make sure that the device does not belong to one of our family members, or it is not a forgotten tablet or printer for example..
If, despite disconnecting unwanted devices, we are still afraid that our neighbor is stealing our Wi-Fi, for example using another device, We can only change the password to a stronger one using a strong security protocol.
We must do this if we have already given him the password, for example when visiting. It’s a good idea to run the highest possible network encryption. Ideally, it should be WPA3, or at least WPA2.
The new password for the Wi-Fi router should be the most complex, not for example 0000 or 1234, as this will not protect us from an intruder. You have to remember that then Change the password for a Wi-Fi networkYou will have to re-enter it on all of our devices and it will be automatically disconnected.
Read also:
Why isn’t the Wi-Fi working on my phone? This problem is easy to fix
Where is the Wi-Fi router located? However, make a change, and the internet will be fast again
Wi-Fi enabled smartphones, cameras and refrigerators are better protected from hackers
See also:
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