| you could try blocking the IP and then see if your computer can connect afterwards...
However... as a wise man once repeated and repeated and repeated .... Consistently and Frequently changing your passphrase (to a more complex and unrelated topic with each change) can only make your connection safer and harder to crack. |
| reply to sbconslt
Scott, at this point the explanation I'm leaning toward is that it was my own computer, three-way ID'd as .132, .169, and with the 0000... MAC address. I'm also thinking that this phenomena was somehow generated by my tweaking the modem settings because it was immediately after this that the device(s) showed up. We live in a quiet neighborhood with few neighbors, and the likelihood of one of them hacking into my network is slim. Still, seeing two unidentified devices on one's network is unsettling!
downclick, you are preaching to the choir about passwords!  As the sole IT person in my small office, I in turn preach this message which mostly falls on deaf ears. Having studied the various techniques for the creation of difficult-to-crack passwords and considering the number of passwords I have (about 200), I have arrived at a compromise which works for me - I use a memorable passphrase which contains upper & lower case letters, numbers, and symbols, with additional letters to identify each website. This allows me to log on to most websites without opening my password manager (I don't believe a single secure passphrase combo works everywhere because of the different requirements websites have for passwords; e.g. some won't accept symbols & some only allow 8 characters). I don't change the passphrase more than once every year or two because of the volume of places it needs to be changed. This system has worked well for me for a long time.
...So I guess I'll wait and see what develops - or hopefully doesn't - on my network. And in the meantime, I'll change the passphrase just to be on the safe side, and go ahead and set up the MAC filters and try beefing up the modem's security settings, which I so far haven't found to my liking, but also haven't understood some of the options. Funny how we're provided with equipment which has the potential of being quite secure, but not given user guides which clearly outline and define what the options are and how to use them...
Thanks to all you guys for your help! |
