using my neighbors router?

[FLURG]

Hello,

How do I know if I am using my neighbours router? And if I am, why hasn't he blocked me out/asked me to stop using it??

Since I can pick up a connection almost everywhere in my apartment, I can only assume it's my next door neighbour, and he is rarely at home as I often see a pile of news papers on his doormat, and his mailbox is often full.

Also, can he see what I am doing on my computer; what pages I visit, the passwords I type in or what I write on any word-documents and the things I have saved on my local hard drive?

Thanks for any help. Not my intent to use some one else's wireless net.

 

[Guest]

Strictly speaking you may be breaking the law (in many jurisdictions anyway) if you deliberately use your neighbour's wifi.

Chances of being caught are slim though. The closest your neighbour can come to detecting is if he reads (and can understand) the router log. Or if he is present and checks the attached devices list.

If you are sure it's him (and not some fiendish plot by a hacker to entrap you) it sounds like there's little chance that any site you visit or stuff you send out would be spotted -- let alone anything solely on your hard drive.

But you should always avoid using wireless for accessing bank accounts or for credit card transactions.

 

[jaguarskx]

But you should always avoid using wireless for accessing bank accounts or for credit card transactions.

Yep.

Data packs sent via wireless can be captured, decrypted and reassembled to mine for data like passwords and account numbers. The likelihood is slim, but it's still there and you are exposing yourself.

Wireless data encyption is not as strong as landline encyption. It can still take considerable time to decrypt though.