Using your internet in peace and freedom is one of the most satisfying aspects of life. It is, however, very frustrating when you discover that somebody else has found solace in stealing and utilizing the services of your WiFi connection.
You might not know of the best solution at hand. But, without hiring a network specialist, you can be able to check if someone is stealing your Wi-Fi. Below are the steps to find out if someone is stealing your WiFi connection without your permission.
Check your wireless router lights
Check the lights on your router that indicate internet connectivity or wireless activity. Your Wi-Fi router indicator lights blink on the basis of how many devices are connected to the network.
To know if someone is using your WiFi, shut down all wireless devices such as your computer, TV, smartphone, or gaming console that accesses Internet and check if wireless light is still blinking. If any of the indicator lights is still blinking, this means that someone is stealing your WiFi connection.
Check administrator logs
Using the above method will only show you that someone is using your WiFi connection but can’t detect the network user.
T0 check logs and know who is using your WiFi, Log in to your router’s administration page by typing IP address of your WiFi router. For example, enter 192.168.1.1 (if it is your IP address) into the address bar of your browser.
If the IP address doesn’t work or you want to know the IP address of your WiFi router, press Win + R keys and type cmd, click ok to open command prompt. In the cmd window type ipconfig and press enter. The value corresponding to “Default Gateway” is your router’s IP address.
Now type this IP address in your browser and press enter to access the routers admin page log in screen for logging in to your router.
Then, locate the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses connected to your router. This can be found under wireless configuration, wireless status, or in the DHCP client list or named as Attached Devices, My Network, My devices. This differs depending on the type of router.
Use this list to count how many devices are connected to your internet and compare the ip address with the devices you have in the house using ipconfig all in cmd. if you find any device connected to your network and with a MAC address that is not matching with the devices in you have, then that’s the person stealing your WiFi.
How to stop people from stealing your WiFi connection
After knowing that there’s someone stealing your Wi-Fi, you might want to stop them. Here is how to stop them
Solution 1: Block all MAC address of unfamiliar devices
In case of any unfamiliar device MAC addresses connected to your network, you should block them. Here’s how to block them.
- Log into your WiFi router by entering its IP address in your computers address bar.
- Once logged in locate the security option under advanced settings.
- Under Security, click MAC Filtering, then Add Device all the mac addresses of the devices you earlier detected and want to ban from accessing your network and click save..
Solution 2: Change the Default Admin Password
Your router comes with a default “admin” username and password. This must be changed and a password known to only you can be created via your router’s web page. This will help stop any one from logging into your router settings/dashboard.
Solution 3: Use WPA2 encryption standard
If you’re currently using WEP type of encryption, you should change and use the WPA2 encryption standard to protect your password. WEP is the oldest and least-secure way to protect your Wi-Fi and is very easy to hack.
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