13.9.16
Is someone stealing your Wi-Fi? How to tell, and what you can do about it
Each physical device that connects up to the network, such as a
smartphone, laptop, or a printer, has an individual MAC address. This is
unique regardless of what a user calls their device and is provided to
the router so that it can assign the device a network IP address in
order to send the correct data to the right place. This address can be a
very handy way to identify any offenders who are accessing your
network.
The first port of call is to log in to your router. This can be done through a web browser on any device connected to your network. The exact IP address and password that you will have to enter varies a lot, but they usually look something like 192.168.X.XXX. If you need help finding this, you can open up the ipconfig command on a Windows machine or use a WiFi config app for Android, see below, to find the default gateway IP address. The router’s administrator password can almost always be found attached to the box or inside the user manual.
Once you’re in, you can see how many devices are connected to your network. A basic count should be able to tell you if you have any intruders, but you can also manually compare the MAC address of any devices you have in your position against the addresses saved on the router. On Android devices, simply head into Settings > About device > Status to see the address, while the same information can be found on PCs by using the ipconfig command.
If this all sounds a bit too hands on, there are other methods for checking out connected devices. On Android, there are a number of apps available that will allow you to discover and manage other devices over Wi-Fi. However, these likely only expose “public” devices, and sneaky users may choose to keep their devices private, in which case these methods may not show you all of the devices that are connected to your network. Here’s a list of Android apps that are worth checking out, and there are plenty more to try in the Play Store:
The first port of call is to log in to your router. This can be done through a web browser on any device connected to your network. The exact IP address and password that you will have to enter varies a lot, but they usually look something like 192.168.X.XXX. If you need help finding this, you can open up the ipconfig command on a Windows machine or use a WiFi config app for Android, see below, to find the default gateway IP address. The router’s administrator password can almost always be found attached to the box or inside the user manual.
Once you’re in, you can see how many devices are connected to your network. A basic count should be able to tell you if you have any intruders, but you can also manually compare the MAC address of any devices you have in your position against the addresses saved on the router. On Android devices, simply head into Settings > About device > Status to see the address, while the same information can be found on PCs by using the ipconfig command.
If this all sounds a bit too hands on, there are other methods for checking out connected devices. On Android, there are a number of apps available that will allow you to discover and manage other devices over Wi-Fi. However, these likely only expose “public” devices, and sneaky users may choose to keep their devices private, in which case these methods may not show you all of the devices that are connected to your network. Here’s a list of Android apps that are worth checking out, and there are plenty more to try in the Play Store:
- Wi-Fi Inspector (free) – see IP and MAC addresses of all devices connected to your WiFi network, whether wired or wireless.
- Fing Network Tools (free) – see enhanced details about all the devices and the router connected to your network.
- IP Tools: Network utilities (free) – advanced diagnostics for all network connections, but includes a LAN scanner to see who’s on your current network.
# posted by claus_kirche @ 19:44 
