We also encourage you to download a comprehensive WiFi analysis application , such as NetSpot, to understand the reason why someone has successfully joined your wireless network. NetSpot can create an easy-to-understand heat map of your wireless signal strength so you can determine how far from your router someone could be and still have access to your wireless network. A lot of sensitive information is being sent and received over wireless connection: passwords, identity information, payment card credentials, private correspondence, etc.
A vulnerability exploit attack on WPA2 — one of the most secure protocols for wireless networks — can intercept and get hold of this important information. Keeping your security protocol as well as your devices hardware up-to-date is rather important in order to not fall a victim of such an attack. It is of course up to you, but we wouldn't recommend letting strangers use your WiFi.
You might be lucky and someone is just looking for a free way to browse some basic stuff online and disconnects quickly. But what if someone connecting to your network is already infected by malware that spreads over WiFi? To avoid dealing with such an unpleasant situation, we'd recommend keeping your network password-protected and only letting in those people you know personally. Then log in to your router with your credentials, default ones are usually indicated in router's documentation and yes, it is best if you have changed them!
Once logged in, find a section dedicated to connected devices and compare their IP or MAC addresses, as well device names to the ones you have. You can get a better handle on which MAC address represents which device by using a website like macvendors. If you still use the default router name and password, change it — you can do this from the admin page on your router. To change your password, look for the pre-shared key in your security settings.
To change your router name, locate the Service Set Identifier. This is typically found in the wireless settings menu. Look up more specific instructions for your specific brand of router if necessary.
So you may want to start thinking about getting a new one that features WPA3. If your router is outdated, you might not be able to find support for it anymore.
As a result, you may not have access to security features such as these. If this is the case for you, it may be time to consider purchasing a new router especially with all the cool, new tech products coming out.
The simplest thing you can do right off the bat is changing your password to something more complicated, which will kick you and everyone else off your network. The details column will likely already show an accurate description, the type and class of device, and even the operating system of a remote device. With recognize, you can manually search for and find the right name from an internal database.
You can even use a QR code or a local web address to help identify connected devices. Fing is more likely than any other program to help correctly identify tricky or unknown devices.
Download Fing Desktop. WiFi Guard is like a more basic version of SoftPerfect Network Scanner that is more suited for detecting unknown or unauthorized network connections. It will scan your network for connected devices and rescan every xx minutes, popping up a message if a new unknown connection has been found. Softperfect made many of their tools shareware only a few years ago, this is the last free version of WiFi Guard from If you have more than one active network adapter the program will pop up the settings window on launch to select the adapter you want to scan.
Otherwise, you will be taken to the main window where pressing Scan Now will detect all devices connected to the network. While running or minimized, WiFi Guard will rescan between 0 and 60 minutes default is 30 mins and popup a message on screen if a new unknown device has been detected. Download Softperfect WiFi Guard. GlassWire is a very well known piece of software that is part firewall, part network activity monitor, and part network usage monitor.
Another feature it has is being able to scan the network and list connected devices while notifying you about their activity. Just press on Things at the top of the window and the list will be shown. There is information for IP address, MAC address, first seen time, and the network adapter manufacturer.
Hover over the name and a small box will appear to the right where you can enter a more recognizable name or label. GlassWire can scan for devices every xx minutes. Download GlassWire. This is an all round network administration tool that can do a number of tasks in addition to scanning your network for connections. Of course, those features are handy but unnecessary for simply scanning your network for wireless connections.
By default Advanced IP Scanner will set the address ranges for all connections on the computer, only the range that the WiFi connections are likely to be on will need to be scanned, such as You can find details on Netgear router setup procedures, Belkin router setup help , and information on Asus router setup processes.
Regardless, you should have recorded the default or the new password when you set up your router, or after it was set for you by an installation technician. Other routers have their own organizational structure for this information, but every router should provide it. Once you are on the list, you can identify every device based on its MAC address. If you have trouble identifying all the devices listed, turn all devices off or refresh the map.
There are some excellent third-party tools that will help you do the job. One such great tool is the F-Secure Router Checker. It is a free and quick solution to see whether your router had been hijacked or not. It will assess any vulnerabilities in your router and alert you to them. It is an excellent way to identify devices accessing your network.
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