Fireblade
join:2008-08-27
St Catharines, ON
 ·Cogeco Cable
 ·Vonage
2 edits | reply to bew
Re: Can neighbours use my internet connection?
said by bew :
I have an abgn wireless card that detects and can connect to any wireless networks in my area.
However, I always use my Cogeco modem when I'm at home and plug the cable directly into my laptop with nothing in between such as external routers of any kind.
My question is:
Can my neighbours connect to my wired home internet using their wireless laptops? I figure that my cumputer must be broadcasting its existent to my neighbours since I'm able to detect their internet connections through my own wireless card?
Is this correct since I know people can connect to someone's computer sitting near them at a hotel without realizing they're not connecting to the hotel's wireless network?
Your neighbors cannot connect to your laptop unless it's through an unsecured wireless router or if your wireless card/device is being utilized as an access point. Some ASUS cards have that ability built in but in your case I highly doubt it.
If you can connect wirelessly to their network, it's obviously through their wireless router, they should encrypt the signal.
At a hotel, most people are connected to the same access point, making it very simple to access other peoples machines.
If you're that paranoid, Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections: Right-Click wireless device (Probably called Local Area Connection 2), Then click Disable.
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