Hi. I live in a shared house and i think people are leeching off my internet connection. Does anybody know any good protection software i can download for free? Thanks.
Hi. I live in a shared house and i think people are leeching off my internet connection. Does anybody know any good protection software i can download for free? Thanks.
July 23rd, 2010 on 4:54 am
If you are asking about protecting a WIFI signal, then yes you can protect it. It’s called encrypting. To do this you must enter the routers firm ware and set an encryption KEY. This is not difficult.
You enter the router via it’s web address. This is a number that you type into your browser’s address bar. This number is called "IP address". To find the router’s address, you need to use the "Command Prompt". So, depending on which operating system you are running, find and open the "Run Command". In the Run Command’s window, type "ipconfig /all" without the quotes, and then hit enter. If your router requires a user name and password, this is usully "admin".
Once you are into the router’s firmware, look under Security. You want to set a WPA2 KEY. It is the strongest method of encrypting to date. The KEY that you build should be alpha numeric or both letters and numbers and should be something that others can’t figure out. This KEY will be installed or typed into the firmware and then into any computer or device that you want to connect to your WIFI signal.
All of this is usually well explained in the manual that came with your router. If you don’t have the manual, it is available on the web. Just go to the router manufacturer’s web sit, look under "Support" or "Downloads", and download it. It will usually download as a PDF file, so you would need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to open the file.
Hope this helps.
July 23rd, 2010 on 4:54 am
First protect your wireless connection with a WEP key or better i.e WPA PSK etc. If you do not protect your wireless connection with a suitable password, then not only those in your house, but others within probably 100m will be able to use your connection.
If you have a firewall on your router, you could either block all IP addresses other than your own, reduce the DHCP range to one ip address and ensure it is allocated via the MAC Address of your network card so none else can get it. etc many many options, you don’t need software.