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Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

OldCrone
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎09-01-2008

Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

Hi,
I know I am stupid -so I don't need a lecture.
We have a router and all the kids are lan connected but as we often use laptops infront of the TV we also have wifi enabled.
Today I connected to t'internet using a wifi connection (I don't usually use one) and discovered (I think!) that a network called "Macbook" had piggybacked onto our network.
As soon as I enabled/used a wep key the network disappeared.
Looking into the router the WAN has received 397508818 bytes which seems a lot as the wifi was only used for 10-20 mins this month. Am I right?
Unusually we have used up nearly all of our download limit so -
q.2 is it possible to buy a few extra GB for this month only? We are on Plusnet premier option 2
Thanks for looking
30 REPLIES 30
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

First - the fact that you didn't use the wireless network is irrelevant if the router still had the wireless enabled.
Second - you should use WPA encryption which is much safer
Third - on Premier as far as I remember you can't buy extra usage unlike BBYW. However, if you ask nicely, a rep may bounce you up to Premier Option 3 for a month.
OldCrone
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎09-01-2008

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

I had trouble with XP and WPA key, I simply could not log on last year so resorted to WEP. Then I reset the router and forgot to reset the key Embarrassed  Then discovered that our usage had really gone mad, which was why I checked out the wifi network.
I will try the WPA again. Any tips?
I will also ask about the different broadband available as we pay about £29.99 with a discount so actually pay £24.99. (Still great value for our lot)!
As we only have a few close neighbours I will find out eventually which one uses a mac  Angry

Our usage                Peak          off peak        Total
25 Feb - 24 Mar  9.28GB          9.07GB  18.35GB
25 Mar - 24 Apr 7.11GB          8.89GB 16GB
25 Apr - 24 May 25.36GB          34.19GB      59.55GB
25th May to date  is about 25GB again!
I reset the router because I could not get into it with my password! Heyho!
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

It should be fairly simple.
I say should because when I used the Speedtouch 121g USB adapter I could only get it to work if I allowed registration automatically and broadcast the network name.
Currently using various wireless cards (PCI and built in) with XP and it all seems to work with WPA, Allow registration automatically and broadcast network name.
I haven't added a wireless card to Vista 64 bit yet (the USB one won't work as they won't issue new drivers).
OldCrone
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎09-01-2008

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

WPA now.
The person doing this managed to break the WEP in about 8 hours! It was a simple one but I am still shocked that someone is so determined! (There are only a couple of houses close to us).
Thank you for your help...BTW Customer support won't let me buy more GB so I will have to be very careful for the rest of the month!
Mark
Grafter
Posts: 1,852
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

Hi there Old Crone.
I've added a comment to your ticket.
Shout if you need me Wink
PS. A quick reboot of your router will be required Smiley

Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

If he breaks in again you will need to lock down the router to block any new stations.
I would also change your router password if you haven't already done it.
The other option is to go round to your neighbours and threaten to report it to the police - it may put the frighteners on as I assume it isn't an adult doing it.
MickKi
Grafter
Posts: 543
Registered: ‎30-09-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

You may wish to only allow access to the MAC addresses of your own computers.  It's just an additional measure though which is trivial to overcome (spoofing a MAC address is easy).  Unless you have a more sophisticated router (e.g. DNS authentication using SSL certificates) WPA2 is as much as you can do.  It should work fine, unless the cracker is seriously educated in the dark arts!  Undecided
OldCrone
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎09-01-2008

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

Smiley I have been given an extra 10Gb for this month! Thanks plusnet, my loyalty has been repaid and some! another 5 years it is!
I now have a WPA not WPA2  encrypted network- I really need educating here! I will read up tomorrow on which I should have.
The neighbours -  a bit tricky....there aren't any teenagers! Teenagers I can cope with and would have talked to.
After some thought (I am very slow) obviously the "macbook" which, when I viewed  (before I did the encrytion thingy) was being used to connect other PC's to the network obviously isn't a nearby router. They are all called things like Dlink, BT_home_hub, Wannadoo, and a default apple laptop might be called "macbook!" doh!
Yes I was a bit daft. However,  in my defense we are really rural here.  There are only two houses it could possibly be, one lady is in her 80's, so that leaves one new neighbour....
Thanks AGAIN guys!
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

With regard to WPA2, to use that on XP SP2 requires a Hotfix to be applied (917021). I believe Microsoft actually built this into the newly released SP3.
Of course it also necessary that the router supports WPA2.
David
Mad_Moggies
Rising Star
Posts: 1,285
Thanks: 43
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

Might be that the person on the MacBook has that set to automatically connect to any open network without asking (though if it broke through your WEP pasword, maybe not). My Mac sometimes asks me if I want to join the local BT Openzone network when our router is off when it wakes up in the morning.
It's best not to broadcast the name of your network either; then there's no temptation to try and access it. Our router doesn't show on the list of available networks unless the computer is connected to it.
Just a thought. There haven't been any cars parked nearby from which someone could be connecting to your network, have there? It's not unknown for people to cruise around till they find an open or easy to crack wireless connection.
Plusnet user since November 2003
Full Fibre since September 2023
Mac OS14 and Firefox user with latest versions of both
OldCrone
Grafter
Posts: 25
Registered: ‎09-01-2008

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

Thanks for the advice.
I have also noticed a radio ham type mast on a house about 100 yds away. Would this be able to pick up router WIFI?
The WPA has not been broken into, so everything seems calm here at the moment.
I will look into WPA2, the router is a Dlink DSL-2740B I will change the password again though! It really is too obvious.
MickKi
Grafter
Posts: 543
Registered: ‎30-09-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

A directional antena can pick up signals from longer distances.  Strong encryption and equally importantly strong passwords are a must!
paulby
Grafter
Posts: 1,619
Thanks: 1
Registered: ‎26-07-2007

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

@Old Crone
You could also try whitelisting the MAC addresses of the PCs on your network - one more hurdle for a hacker to jump over.  There's usually an option somewhere under wireless security to enable MAC address whitelisting.
Edit:  Its under Advanced>WLAN Filter on your router.  You need to set the restrict mode to "Allow" to only allow those PCs in your list.
If your router doesn't list the MAC addresses of connected devices automatically, you can get the MAC address by opening a command prompt and typing ipconfig /all.  You need to note the number against "Pysical Address" for your wireless adapter.
stordoff
Dabbler
Posts: 24
Registered: ‎03-05-2008

Re: Bit of Bother - "macbook" network piggybacked onto my network

Quote from: Paul03
You could also try whitelisting the MAC addresses of the PCs on your network - one more hurdle for a hacker to jump over

I wouldn't bother TBH if you have WPA/WPA2 enabled. MAC Addresses are trivial to spoof, and if someone can find the key, they will to be able to find a MAC address on your network.
A Strong key is also a must. I use this: https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm (63 random printable ASCII characters) and put it on a key drive.