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Stealing Neighbors Bandwith

I recently went to my sister's house and was using her laptop. The speed was very slow compared to what it should have been and I noticed it right away. I called my friend who is a MCP and he quickly found out the problem. The neighbor was stealing bandwith. Even though the system was secured with a password the neighbor who is a system admin for a chemical company was able to get in. My friend said from the looks of things he was stealing from everyone on her block. My sister who is recently widowed is angry but more hurt. This has been a long time neighbor and so called friend. Should she confront him or just let it go? My friend was able to fix the problem so it won't happen again. All in all a very DB move on the neighbor.
 
If you are currently securing your wireless with WEP security consider changing it to wpa2 and change your password every few months if you suspect that someone is getting on again.
 
Maybe change it to something like "*Insert friends name*, get your own Wifi." :lol:

 
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Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
What the neighbor did is actually a crime, I think. I say confront him, and inform the other victims. He needs to buy his own service and stop stealing it from others.
 
All good suggestions. Changing to WPA2 instead of WEP and changing the password should keep him from being able to get back on. And I love the idea of changing the wireless network name.

She has a right to be upset about this. I believe it is a crime in itself but not positive. Another thing to worry about though is some people do this sort of thing in attempts to make illegal activity less traceable or pin it on someone else. Your sister doesn't want the FBI showing up thinking she's been up/downloading a bunch of child porn. I think it would be a good idea to report the activity just to cover herself against something like that.
 
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change to wpa2. its pretty hard to get through wpa2 although not impossible!
and yes, she should confront him.. and let the others on the block know about it too!
but confront him before telling others about it!
 
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oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!
Would it be okay if he ran an extension cord to one of your outdoor outlets, or hooked a hose up to your spigot without your okay? This is the same thing.
 
On a more serious note, I am no computer expert, but what about enabling MAC address filtering on your router? I enabled that on mine (a cheap Cisco router), and even if you know the password, you cannot log into my Wifi network, unless I have your MAC address on my whitelist. Look at this article for some more information.
 
Change the network name and set it so the router doesn't broadcast the network name so someone can't connect unless they know the network name. Matthew's suggestion is good too.
 
Its called Theft of Services and it is illegal (at least in my state). I would say she should confront him and inform him she will be informing everyone on the block and if he does not cease the authorities will be called. What a slimeball.
 
On a more serious note, I am no computer expert, but what about enabling MAC address filtering on your router? I enabled that on mine (a cheap Cisco router), and even if you know the password, you cannot log into my Wifi network, unless I have your MAC address on my whitelist. Look at this article for some more information.

while a great idea for the general public, mac addresses can be spoofed. A sys admin would probably know how...
 
My limited understanding is that there are 3 ways to secure a Wi-Fi network.

1) Turn off SSID/network name broadcasts. A minor inconvenience.
2) MAC address filtering. I had a lot of trouble in the past doing this, so I don't do this anymore.
3) WPA2 password with a strong password (random number/letter generated password as long as possible).

My understanding is that WPA2 with a strong password is significantly more effective than either or both of the other options. MAC address filtering can be "spoofed" or bypassed, and apparently there are ways of determining what networks are in the area even if the ID/name is not being broadcast.

As a joke, I have heard of people naming their network "FBI Surveillance Van". :001_tt2:

Your neighbor sounds unethical. I'm curious what their response will be. I suspect denial.
 
If you have actual proof, not just suspicion, then report it to the police. You could also notify his boss--he wouldn't stay a Systems Administrator very long.
 
Hide the SSID, change to WPA2 with a non-trivial password, ask neighbour for ideas (that will give him the hint that he may have been found out).
 
Confront him - be direct and tell him to stop. Then turn on whatever auditing is available on the router. If he continues, turn his sorry *** in.

Not only is it a crime, I wouldn't want my neighbor using my bandwidth for something illegal.
 
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