WiFi is a valuable resource, and you don’t want others (guests, neighbors, relatives, delivery drivers, hackers sitting at the edge of your garden) accessing it without your permission. With this in mind, we recommend regularly auditing who is accessing her WiFi and weeding out unwanted intruders.
How you deal with this depends in part on your home network setup and available devices. For example, many modern routers and mesh systems come with apps that clearly list all devices connected to the network. Here are some broad tips that apply to any network.
Check device connectivity
Routers record everything connected to them and access the web through them, so these logs are great if you want to be sure no one is logging on without your permission. How easily you can access it will depend on the software and hardware you have set up, but you should be able to find the appropriate screen within a few minutes.
For example, let’s say you invested in a mesh networking kit like Eero, Netgear, or Linksys. In that case, you can load the accompanying app onto your phone. EeroWhen you open the app, the connected devices will be displayed.[ホーム]will be listed in the tab. The Eero app can also notify you whenever a new device is connected. settingafter that notificationTurn on the new device toggle switch.
Other apps work similarly. If you don’t have the app, you can open your router’s settings. Please refer to the accompanying documentation or perform a simple web search to learn how. However, you usually need to enter the IP. (Internet Protocol) address. This will be something like “192.168.1.1”. You must log in using the credentials you used while setting up your router.
You may need to click to find the appropriate screen. Your screen may be labeled as follows: device or Wifi Or something along those lines. For Netgear routers, you will need to click. connected device For example, you’ll see a list of devices separated by wireless and wired connection types.
If the issue persists, try using a third-party tool such as: wireless network watcher For Windows or fin for Android can scan your network and find out which devices are currently connected. However, this cannot be done on Mac or iPhone. Security restrictions placed by Apple on third-party apps prevent them from scanning your network in a similar manner.
Start other devices
Once you have a list of other devices connected to your router and using your internet connection, half the work is done. However, this list is not always easy to understand. In some cases, you’ll see a series of numbers representing the address of the device on your local network, but you may also see the operating system the device is running.
It may take a little detective work to figure out what’s what. You can turn your device off and on again, monitor the list of connected gadgets along the way, and identify which entries in this list belong to you. It may have already been given a recognizable name during setup.
Whether you can block your device from your router or network app depends on your settings. If you purchase a new router or mesh system that is managed by the app, you may be able to block your device when you select it. These features are less common if you have an older router provided by your internet provider.
The easiest way to wake up devices that shouldn’t be connected is to change your WiFi password. You can do this from your router’s settings or from your network app. Anyone who manages to log in somehow will no longer be able to go online unless they can guess a new password.
In fact, we recommend changing your router’s WiFi password regularly. You’ll have to reconnect everything you own, including smart cameras, laptops, phones, and video game consoles, with new details, which will cause some inconvenience, but you’ll know who’s connected. This gives you even more peace of mind.
