- Unfortunately, even at this stage of events, it continues to happen that neighbors steal WiFi, taking advantage of those of us who pay for this service to browse for free
- Worse yet, this also means that all movements can be monitored by someone outside the house, and both our privacy and our security will be in check.
- Thus, you should try by all means to eliminate those outside the home from your network
Although it is true that many times Internet service providers lie and hide offers and services from us, on other occasions they are not the real culprits of the bad experience we have when browsing. Therefore, if you feel that your Internet experience is not going smoothly as it should and you have an additional suspect, who is nearby but you do not know, in this article we will show you how to prevent your neighbor from stealing your WiFi ..
The fact is that no matter how secure we think we are, it is always possible that in a large neighborhood, there is someone capable enough to enter your network, and not only take advantage of it to avoid paying for their own connection, but also put at risk your safety and that of your family, accessing your navigation .
But how to see who is using my network and block them?
If, as we said, you suspect that there is some stranger connected to your network without permission, but you are not very sure, there is always the possibility of finding out, with a series of techniques that will allow you to be certain about it..
If you suspect that someone is using your WiFi network, the first thing you have to do is check what devices are connected, to rule out which ones belong to you, and reach a conclusion about potential intruders . Beyond that, it will vary according to the manufacturer and Internet provider the way to check the connected equipment.
Also, some routers will allow you to block specific devices, using their MAC address to do so. In just a second you will have blocked that annoying person, and you will be safer, with greater privacy. Obviously, you have to be careful, and if you have made a mistake and locked a team of yours, unlock it..
Get rid of WiFi thieves step by step
Disconnect your router
If you need someone to stop using your router for any particular reason, for example if you think they are trying to steal valuable information from you, the quickest thing to do is to unplug the modem, to break your connection .
All you have to do is remove it from its source of information and, in just a few seconds, you will cancel it. After the reasonable time has elapsed, or after making the modifications that we will propose, you can reconnect it.
Disable open WiFi access
If you're running an open WiFi hotspot that allows people to connect without a password, it might be time to rethink that strategy, because you're ultimately setting yourself up for something bad to happen .
To fix this, you have to log in to the router's configuration interface with some of the encryption systems that we are going to dwell on in the next section. Say goodbye to that hospitality. It's for your own good.
Uses a modern encryption standard
Older Wi-Fi encryption methods such as WEP, WPA1, and WPA2-TKIP are considered insecure today. You have to look for reliable ciphers, such as WPA2-Personal, or WPA3-Personal if available.
If you don't use an encryption standard that's up to the task, you're risking leaving yourself vulnerable. As long as you do this, you will keep spies away, and prevent an intruder from accessing your Internet network.
Also, you should disable the old WPS protection , which right now doesn't make sense either, and could even be a gateway for that neighbor with some knowledge in the matter, who detects your defenseless network.
Disable the guest account on your router
Another issue that you can repair to prevent your neighbor from stealing your WiFi has to do directly with guest accounts, which are very common in the most recent routers that came onto the market.
Many of these modems support guest accounts, which is convenient more than once , especially if you have a space where you constantly receive people from outside, and you don't want to pass on your password to everyone.
But these guest accounts can be perfect for someone who wants to steal your WiFi, so if you notice suspicious movements around your connection, you should disable them, and leave the network only for those nearby.
Change your WiFi password for a more secure one
Finally, we also did not want to fail to mention an issue that does not seem to be of much importance. But he has it. You can not put a very simple password to your WiFi network , such as your street and the number of your house.
In case someone outside takes a few minutes, they will find out the access to your network, and nothing you could do with it. You have to find a strong password, difficult to guess, or impossible, that you don't even remember .
Also, remember that there are other ways to share your WiFi, so that is no longer essential.
Have you been able to prevent your neighbor from stealing WiFi with these tricks that we have taught you?