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how do you know if someone hijacks your broadband?

post #1 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:35pm
Thread Starter 
for wireless routers...

i was just curious. is there a tool or anything?
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post #2 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:44pm
I'm sure there are many programs but the only one I know of is Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 2005. I use it and it has a wireless lan security feature which will pop up a warning if a computer connects to your router. You can set it to trust or not trust computers too, so it wont accept anything from a computer on your LAN that you have not specified to trust.
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post #3 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:46pm
Thread Starter 
thank you robert. i am going to download it right now.
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post #4 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:47pm
Can't you set a WEP password?
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post #5 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:48pm
Theres a few ways. You can run a sniffer on your system and watch for unaccounted for packets or alot of wireless routers let you see whos logged on.

For something quick you can ussually just turn off your system and watch the router light. If it's blinking then someone is sending packets down the pipe.
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post #6 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by theorist
thank you robert. i am going to download it right now.
You're quite welcome.

Quote:
Originally Posted by coriolis
Can't you set a WEP password?
WEP can be broken in a matter of seconds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mwillman
Theres a few ways. You can run a sniffer on your system and watch for unaccounted for packets or alot of wireless routers let you see whos logged on.

For something quick you can ussually just turn off your system and watch the router light. If it's blinking then someone is sending packets down the pipe.
That's not true, it's very common for the wireless light to still blink even though nothing is connected.
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post #7 of 16
7/12/05 at 11:54pm
Thread Starter 
thanks mwillman. i looked in my router and found it in my dlink!

hey corilis, i was thinking of that, but my electronic media teacher told me that if i have a open network with no wep password, any songs downloaded or files illegally can't be blamed on me since anyone can use it and it may not have been me specifically. once again, that's what she told me, i don't know how valid that is.
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post #8 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by theorist
thanks mwillman. i looked in my router and found it in my dlink!

hey corilis, i was thinking of that, but my electronic media teacher told me that if i have a open network with no wep password, any songs downloaded or files illegally can't be blamed on me since anyone can use it and it may not have been me specifically. once again, that's what she told me, i don't know how valid that is.
Well all WEP does is keep an honest person honest, i.e. your neighbor most likely will not be knowledgeable enough to connect to you LAN, however anyone that knows what they're doing can break it very quickly. Also, your teacher was wrong, it doesn't matter if you have WEP or not, it was your network that did it. If that were true, anyone with wireless LAN would not be held responsible, because WEP is so easily broken. It's just like parking tickets, they can't prove you were the person that parked the car, but you own it so you get the ticket.
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post #9 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:07am
Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwillman
Theres a few ways. You can run a sniffer on your system and watch for unaccounted for packets or alot of wireless routers let you see whos logged on.

For something quick you can ussually just turn off your system and watch the router light. If it's blinking then someone is sending packets down the pipe.



That's not true, it's very common for the wireless light to still blink even though nothing is connected.
__________________
It sometimes works it depends on the router and your network.

I was just throwing out possiblilities.


As far as getting caught downloading files.

Personally I would run encryption and just not download illegal files. You can buy individual songs for what 50 cents. I mean it is someone's property. I say, do the right thing.
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post #10 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwillman
It sometimes works it depends on the router and your network.

I was just throwing out possiblilities.


As far as getting caught downloading files.

Personally I would run encryption and just not download illegal files. You can buy individual songs for what 50 cents. I mean it is someone's property. I say, do the right thing.
Agreed.
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post #11 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:29am
check out allofmp3.com. It's Russian, but supposedly legal, and cheap, cheap, cheap.
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post #12 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:34am
you can also log into your router and see the list of devices currently attached. and while you're there, specify which mac addresses to allow.
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post #13 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:47am
If you are running a wireless router that is DHCP enabled, you should be able to login to your router and check the "Status" page. That will give you a list of all DHCP clients. If there is one that is unaccounted for...then somebody might be using your router.

You can then disconnect said computer.

If you're that paranoid about people using your router then Enable WEP or WPA and then also enable MAC address filtering as well as disable SSID broadcasting(and change the default SSID and router password). Set it up so that only your computers MAC can connect to your wireless, turn of your SSID broadcast so that people don't even know the network is there unless they have the name of your SSID. IF they do somehow find out your SSID, you'll be WEP or WPA enabled, then they will have to run decryption, once they've broken your encryption, they will have to spoof your MAC address.


It seems like a whole lot of trouble to go through, considering that your next door neighbor probably doesn't even run WEP.
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post #14 of 16
7/13/05 at 12:59am
If you use a router, in your router it will list IP address and MAC ID associated to it that is active.

Compare that to see if the MAC ID is anyone of your system. If not, someone is using your boardband.
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post #15 of 16
7/13/05 at 3:47am
WiFi Defense is also an excellent app to monitor your wireless network without having to go into the routers utility. It also shows any computers plugged into the wired (if any) ports on the router. It will also alert you to any new devices connecting to your network.
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post #16 of 16
7/13/05 at 3:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JrsyMan
WiFi Defense is also an excellent app to monitor your wireless network without having to go into the routers utility. It also shows any computers plugged into the wired (if any) ports on the router. It will also alert you to any new devices connecting to your network.


Nice utility!
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