How to know who is connected to my Wifi
Wifi networks are present in both public and private spaces and more commonly than you might imagine, unauthorized people manage to link to these connections to benefit fraudulently. When an internet intruder is suspected, it is very important to know what actions to take to detect and stop it.
Internet theft is one of the problems that people have to deal with more than you might imagine. Especially if they do not have reliable security and protection systems. In addition, access to tools to violate the blocks on Wi-Fi networks facilitates the work so that practically anyone with basic computer skills can access a private network.
In addition to this, it should be noted that the security of your own home could be compromised by the presence of intruders on your Wi-Fi network, since today many appliances are linked to the domestic connection to provide special functions to become the best dishwasher, washing machine, fridge or even the vacuum cleaner, to name a few.
How to know if your internet is stolen?
There are a couple of small signs that can indicate that there are intruders who are in charge of stealing Wifi for PCs, mobile phones, tablets or other electronic devices on your private network.
One of the most noticeable and most annoying is the slowness of the network itself. You can verify this by seeing that your downloads are not completing as quickly as they used to, or if you keep an eye on the speed fluctuation, you may notice fairly sharp highs and lows. Also when trying to load web pages, videos on the internet or any other action that requires internet resources.
If you have begun to notice slowness, you can verify the excess traffic on the network by doing a test: disconnect absolutely all the devices that are connected to the Wi-Fi at home and move closer to the modem. This equipment has several LED indicators and you should look at the one that is showing the status of the Wifi. If it is blinking even with all computers disconnected, it means that the traffic is active and some foreign device is linked to the private network.
What to do if your internet is stolen?
Now, we will help you with some tips that you can take into account if at any time you suspect that someone has infiltrated your home Wi-Fi network:
Change the password of the router
One of the first actions you should take is to change the password of your router. To do this, launch the browser on the PC and type in the IP address of your modem interface which is usually 192.168.1.1.
Once you have accessed with the username and password, navigate to the Wireless Security option and here you can update the credentials required for network access.
Know your IP
Simply by knowing the IP of the router, hackers can access endless information that is stored within your networks. For this reason it is so important to analyze Wifi and obtain this data as soon as the presence of an intruder is suspected.
In this sense, to detect Wi-Fi intruders more easily, you need information about the router, since this way you will be able to access the device’s interface and see who is linked to your network in real time.
To do this, start by running the Windows CMD tool following the steps mentioned above and type the command ipconfig, press Enter and this will display information where you should locate Default Gateway and the numbers that follow will be your IP address.
Use of external software
On the other hand, if you are one of those who usually search the Internet for a “program to detect intruders on my Wi-Fi network and block them”, one of the virtual tools that could be useful to you is Wireless Network Watcher, a free program with which you can Easily access a list of connected devices on your router. This tool will also allow you to block IP or MAC addresses, in case they are foreign to the devices you use at home.
Frequent questions
1. How to know how many devices are connected to my router?
To know how many devices are linked to your Wi-Fi network or router in real time, you must be connected to it. Then, run the browser of your choice on the linked computer and type the address 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 in the bar to access the interface.
Once loaded, enter the username and password, which are printed on the modem sticker. Once inside, the main page usually shows a summary along with the number of devices connected to the router and to the Wi-Fi network.
2. How to find out who owns a MAC address?
Knowing the manufacturer of the card in the equipment that is connected to your network can help you identify the owner.
To do this you must review the acronyms following the unique identifier of each company worldwide or OUI (Organizationally Unique Identifier). This encryption uses the first 6 digits of the device’s MAC address to identify the manufacturer.
After obtaining the address, you must enter them in search web pages that will provide you with freely accessible information with the manufacturer’s data.
3. How to see Movistar connected devices?
Movistar Spain offers its customers a free download of the App Smart Wifi application from the same company, through which they can access an interface with the necessary tools to manage the operation of the Wifi network.
Within this application you will be able to find out which devices are linked through the option See devices connected to my network, where you will have access to a list with their respective MAC and IP addresses.
In addition, you can also manage the name of the connection point, allow or deny access to certain computers, change the password and many other options.
