broadband freeloaders

M

moylan1

Registered User
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i have ntl broadband. it broadcasts from the living room via a product that sits on my telly made by Netgear. my computer is in the kitchen and has a receiver. how do i stop freeloaders tapping into my broadband. any help would be appreciated. thankyou
 
In order to stop unwanted users accessing your connection (important for security issues as much as not wanting them freeloading) you need to enable your security settings. It can be slightly different depending on the equipment (I've never used the Netgear unit you mentioned). If the paperwork that came with the unit doesn't explain how to secure the connection then maybe you can find the details for the specific model online.

Lots of info available on AAM by searching "wireless" and "security".
 
Enable WEP or better still WPA/PSK encryption
Lock it down to specific MAC addresses
Change your router's administrative password!
 
paddyc said:
Secure it by mac address as the security keys can be easily cracked
Click to expand...

Securing by MAC address on its own is useless as your mac address can be captured and replicated in a couple of seconds. You also need to enable WEP or WPA.

WEP can be cracked very easily so if your router and client support WPA then you should use this. You still need to generate a stong key to use with WPA. Search google for WPA key generator. WPA can sometimes still be cracked but you would have to capture several days worth of data which will eliminate all but the most determined of people.
 
paddyp said:
WEP can be cracked very easily so if your router and client support WPA then you should use this.
Click to expand...
Most people won't bother cracking WEP. But if your neighbours wear thick glasses, unstylish clothes and pocket pen holders then beware.
 
ClubMan said:
Most people won't bother cracking WEP. But if your neighbours wear thick glasses, unstylish clothes and pocket pen holders then beware.
Click to expand...

haha I don't know anyone that looks like that honest!

Depends on your circumstances, if you live on top of a hill in the west of Ireland like I do it's about 1 in million someone will try but if you live in an apartment block in dublins inner city you never know. A lot of people don't want a phone line of to get into a contract with irish broadband etc.

Packages like aircrack and airopeek have made it unbelieveably simple to crack WEP. With an 18db panel antenna I could pick up about 100 wifi connections at my friends apartment near CIT in Cork - with that many engineers / nerds in proximity its food for thought.
 
Perhaps there's a chance you could make some money out of these free-loaders? (www.fon.com).

Of course they wouldn't actually be freeloaders but rather, "valued clients" in that case.
 
i need somebody to explain what i need to do in plain english. thanks in advance. btw i wear thick glasses unstylish clothes and pocket pen holders (nothing wrong with that) ive tried using the software which came with the hardware and i wasnt successful
 
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