How secure are wireless home networks?
zasegrey asked:
I’m going to live with my sioster for a while and she and her husband share a wireless home network, which I will also be using. Frankly, though I love her, she’s a snoop, lol! Can she–being a “Master” of the network, remotely search my computer and/or see where I’ve gone on the internet? I have “shared folders” turned off and have zone alarm firewall–thanks!
I’m going to live with my sioster for a while and she and her husband share a wireless home network, which I will also be using. Frankly, though I love her, she’s a snoop, lol! Can she–being a “Master” of the network, remotely search my computer and/or see where I’ve gone on the internet? I have “shared folders” turned off and have zone alarm firewall–thanks!
October 19th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Depends on the router and her computer skills…but yes, she can log everything that goes through that router.
October 22nd, 2011 at 7:13 am
She cant see much.
She would possibly be able to sniff all your traffic and see what websites your browsing and downloading.
If you have a firewall on etc then she cant access your machine.
It all depends how good she is with networking.
October 24th, 2011 at 8:42 am
if you guys are going to be on seperate computers no. The same computer…yes.
October 25th, 2011 at 10:35 am
you can set a password for it
October 27th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
It is possible. It depends both on the hardware setup and what software she has. Something as simple as a packet sniffer can pick up traffic that you pass across the network. Switches make this a little more difficult to do. however if she set up a proxy server for her network to pass all internet traffic through then there is little you can do to keep her from seeing where you go on her internet.
however you can try using a VPN tunnel and that will at least encrypt your data. There are several free. The higher the bit rate the longer it will take to decrypt. I hope this helps you. and good luck
October 30th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Unless you turn on file sharing, and share out some system folders, she won’t be able to see anything on your computer.
If you want to be more sure that you’re not part of the home network, change your workgroup name. Then you won’t be “seen”. (I’m assuming a Windows computer.)
November 2nd, 2011 at 3:59 am
Well, you’ve got the right idea. Turn on your built-in software firewall, add or change your account password(s) to one that is not in the dictionary and is not guessable, and you’re in decent shape.
Next, don’t surf or send any e-mail that you don’t want to risk someone else reading. If your sister does not have an account password and WPA encryption enabled on her router, what your sister sees is the least of your problems.
November 3rd, 2011 at 3:56 am
secure to the avg joe living beside you any one whos been in the busniss long enough can destroy your home network but any who si that good has no reason to hack your home network so no worries
November 5th, 2011 at 9:30 am
You should switch to pc tools firewall – its free plus you can modify the rulesets if you know what you are doing. Zone Alarm is more basic. You got security under control when you can block whatever ports and ip addresses you want. Plus it give you application control. IF you use pc tools firewall plus a router, you will be in good shape. I also recommend using these other 2 programs: Malbyteware & Asquared.
November 8th, 2011 at 3:24 am
If all you wish to do is share the internet connection and not be connected to your sister and brother-in-law’s computers via the network, then no, she couldn’t look at your files or anything else. All you need to do is keep your network sharing turned Off. If you use Vista all you need to do is go into the Network and Sharing Center and ensure all Sharing is Off.
Now, she cannot find out where you have been on the internet unless she installs a keylogger or some type of parental control software on your computer. Sometimes a router manufacturer offers parental control software and service inside the router itself which then blocks certain activities for all computers that use the connection either wired or wireless. However, you would know this was occurring because you would receive notifications that you are blocked. If you are of age, and not in your sister’s custody then she has no right to block your system.
Now, she may try to make the argument that because your system uses her network any malware you receive through your browsing and download habits would also infect her computers. That is correct IF sharing is turned On and you have communication between her computers and your computer. To counter such an argument all you need to do is tell her that you do not wish to Network with her computers and that as long as you do not that would not occur. In order for a piece of malware to “jump” from your system to her networked computers your computer needs to have an open communication line. As I said, as long as you turn off all networking/sharing features there will not be an open line of communication. In addition, she can use her firewall to block your IP address from accessing her systems. All she needs to do is utilize the feature in her systems firewalls. She would need to do this in each one unless she uses a server in her network and has a domain.
If you do share files back and forth with your sister she could place a keylogger on your machine without your knowledge. If you think she would stoop to such under handed measures you should not use her network connection or even live with her because that would be a violation of trust. But, that is your decision and prerogative. You know your sister and so can make the decision on whether or not you trust her to keep your privacy respected.
Good luck and please have a nice day.