Surely if occasionally your Internet connection is slower than you think you should have thought that someone could be stealing WiFi. There are multiple tools to do it, or you never know, especially if you do not try too hard to protect or live in a community where there may be several neighbors wanting to take advantage of your indiscretions.
So today we will propose a couple of tips and several free apps so you can find out for sure regardless of operating system you’re using. With them you will know if you really have unexpected guests, and take any measures to prevent further advantage of you.
How do you know if someone steals WiFi?
But before you start to install anything and admit that maybe have a problem, you may first want to make a couple of quick and simple checks. The simplest passes look out at the lights in your router. First off all devices you have connected, and then look if still flashes the activity light on your router as if someone was using it.
This is a fairly rudimentary check, so if you want you can also have a look at the web configuration of your router by typing your IP in a tab in your browser. It should be listed devices connected to your network, but if you have no access data or do not finish of accelerate here are a few slightly more advanced applications.
Fing, free and cross-platform tool
Once we have spoken of Fing, and this is a unique opportunity to recommend several years later. This is a free tool that allows you to learn quickly all the equipment connected to a network, providing a wealth of information on it and the devices connected to it.
Among the data you see are the name or manufacturer of the devices, their IP address and MAC address. Another of its great advantages is that it is a multiplatform application, so as you will see on your download page you have versions for Android and iOS mobile devices, plus Windows, Mac OS X and various GNU / Linux distorts like Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora 10, Slackware, Gentoo and Raspbian for Raspberry Pi.
You maybe interested to read another article on LifeStyleQA: What is an aggregate router?
GlassWire, visual and connection alerts
GlassWire is one of the tools most comprehensive network analyses that you can find. With it you can analyze the use of your bandwidth, namely data connected applications and monitor your privacy. It even includes an option Firewall offer extra protection against unwanted visitors.
As if this were not enough, has a graphic attractive in which to view the status of your network, and an alert system that will warn you every time someone connects to your WiFi, when an application attempts to change something or when an installer is installing a new system driver.
Nmap: Good open source alternative
If you’re a freak open source Nmap is another alternative that may interest you. It provides various tasks related to the analysis of a network, and although the most common use is usually given is to trace the ports of a client device also lets you scan an internal network and check the number of clients connected to it.
As has a somewhat complex use, also you have available an application called Zenmap, which is nothing more than a graphical user interface for those with less knowledge can also use it. It is a multiplatform application with versions for GNU / Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and BSD.
Wireless Network Watcher, Windows only
Another useful little program to analyze your networks, comfortable and easy to understand. Only run you can already know which devices are connected to the network. We also know your IP address, device name, MAC address, the manufacturer, the number of times it has been detected, when it was first detected and if active.
It is only available for Windows, and your download page you have two alternatives available. The first is a ZIP file containing a portable version not need install, and the second is an .exe to install on your computer.
You maybe interested to read another article on LifeStyleQA: What are the safest Antivirus for your PC?
Wireshark, only for advanced users
Whireshark is an application with multiple uses. On the one hand it helps you monitor everything that happens in your WiFi networks, but also allows the WiFi hacking others. This second activity can be a crime, so I would not recommend you try it if you do not want to get into trouble.
But here we are talking about analysis, and this application will allow you to have all data from the computers that connect to your network. Yes, it is a bit difficult to use, so if you are a novice user might want to take a look at other alternatives first. The application can be installed on Windows computers and OS X.
How to prevent further stealing WiFi?
Okay, you know that someone is taking advantage of your WiFi. Now what to do? The first thing is to change the password, of course, and try to make it as difficult to guess as possible avoid using the classic worst network passwords. Nor would further change the access data from your router, since most make the mistake of leaving the username and password from the default, and that can put you in danger.
Change the security of your router making sure you have enabled WPA2, enable the UPnP protocol and check from time to time that the firmware is updated to nobody takes advantage of some new security bug.
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