Network Hijacked

buzzmag · 2010/03/27

Got a call from Verizon telling me I had illegally downloaded copyrighted movies. Went to the Verizon site they directed me to and, sure enough, I had four copyright violation notifications in my account.

I absolutely did not download any movies especially those which were listed. The dates of the downloads coincided with the day I replaced a dead wireless router. I guess I have only myself to blame because I put off securing the network until the next day.

I live in a condo and I guess it's safe to assume many residents have DSL service and use wireless and had the capabilty to get on my network before I secured it.

My question is can whoever used my network be traced?

TonyT · 2010/03/27

If the router logging was enabled then there will be a log of all network communicaytion along with the source and destination of each connection. However, you'll not be able to know exactly who did what, you'll only be able to know the ip addresses of the computers that were connected. The ip addresses were assingned by the wifi router and these may still be stored in a list on the router along with the mac address of the computer that was connected.

To identify exacty who is who you'd have to access someones computer and match up the mac addresses, these do not change.

However, the easiest way to catch someone would be to set the netwok unsecured occasionally and then monitor the router connections. But don't do this without consulting with your ISP.

Even if your wifi network is unsecured, there are laws in mosts states which state others may not use a wlan they do not own. It's a misdemeanor, local police may or may not be of assistance.

buzzmag · 2010/03/27

"TonyT said: ↑

If the router logging was enabled then there will be a log of all network communicaytion along with the source and destination of each connection. However, you'll not be able to know exactly who did what, you'll only be able to know the ip addresses of the computers that were connected. The ip addresses were assingned by the wifi router and these may still be stored in a list on the router along with the mac address of the computer that was connected.

To identify exacty who is who you'd have to access someones computer and match up the mac addresses, these do not change.

However, the easiest way to catch someone would be to set the netwok unsecured occasionally and then monitor the router connections. But don't do this without consulting with your ISP.

Even if your wifi network is unsecured, there are laws in mosts states which state others may not use a wlan they do not own. It's a misdemeanor, local police may or may not be of assistance.
Click to expand...

Tony,

Thank you. I'll check the log.

Log in or Sign up

Network Hijacked

buzzmag Well-Known Member Thread Starter

TonyT SuperGeek Staff

buzzmag Well-Known Member Thread Starter

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Network Hijacked

buzzmag Well-Known Member Thread Starter

TonyT SuperGeek Staff

buzzmag Well-Known Member Thread Starter

Share This Page

Useful Searches