Hey everyone! My family recently got a pretty decent internet plan, but I've noticed some kids hanging outside our house a lot. We live in an alley with houses close together, so it's not too unusual, but my parents are worried that these kids might be stealing our Wi-Fi.
I've done a few things to secure our network. I stopped broadcasting the SSID, changed the Wi-Fi password, set up a Mac address whitelist so only our devices can connect, and disabled WPS. However, the kids are still around, and while I've checked the router settings and everything seems okay with just our devices shown as connected, I'm curious if there's a chance they could still be using our Wi-Fi in some hidden way. Anyone have ideas for improving security further or ways to find out if they might be accessing our network?
Also, is there any chance they could be using their own mobile data or stealing someone else's internet? Just looking for clarity here!
3 Answers
Honestly, your security seems solid with the current setup you have. Not broadcasting the SSID doesn't really keep them out since they can still connect with the password. They could just be using their own mobile data to play games, which kids do nowadays! You might be worrying for nothing; they could just be hanging outside for fun or socializing.
If you've set everything right, it's highly unlikely they're stealing your Wi-Fi. Another possibility is that your ISP could have hotspots available in the area, and they might be connecting to that instead. You might want to check your ISP settings to disable hotspots, just to be safe.
You're on the right track with those security settings! Given your MAC address filter and a strong password, it's pretty unlikely they're stealing your Wi-Fi. If you're still worried, take a look at the connected devices list on your router to see if there are any unfamiliar ones. But honestly, kids might just be hanging out without needing your connection—they probably have their own data plans!
Yeah, I checked the list and it's just our family devices. I guess it's just a coincidence they're always around.
That definitely makes sense! I'll try to stop stressing over it.