Even though your home’s or workplace WiFi network might be protected by combinations of letters, numbers, or both (a.k.a. a password), it’s still possible for someone to access it. Perhaps you shared your password with someone, and they opened their big mouth to others, and now your router is overwhelmed, leading to slow bandwidth and internet.
It’s also theoretically possible that someone has managed to break into your router and taken control of your internet and network. This is less common these days with WPA2 security being commonplace. Modern 256 bit AES encryption is pretty secure.
In either case, taking back control of your internet is crucial. You don’t want others to use it to download illegal torrents, slow down your internet, or use more bandwidth than allowed. This is especially true if you do not have unlimited data and they are forcing you to upgrade your plan.
It’s vital to learn to recognize when an unknown or unwanted device connects to your WiFi and how to prevent or deny access.
How to determine whether your WiFi is being hijacked
If you suspect that someone is exploiting your WiFi, you can use a few techniques to know for sure.
Log Into Your Router as an Admin.
Use a web browser to access the admin control panel of your router. Simply enter the IP address of your router in an internet browser and then press enter. It is often 192.168.1.1. or 192.168.0.1. However it can also begin with 10. Any RFC1918 private IP address could technically be used.
If that’ does not work, you must locate your WiFi routers IP address: Type “ipconfig” into the command prompt tool on windows or “ifconfig” into the terminal tool on Mac or Linux. and hit Enter.
Look for the “default gateway.” That’s your router’s IP address. Use it to log into the router’s admin control panel and then navigate to the list of client devices. If you see devices there that are not yours, you may have had someone compromise your WiFi network.
Utilize a WiFi detective tool
There are numerous apps that can scan your network and generate a list of connected devices. You can look through the app store for alternatives, but WiFiman is a dependable app based tool that’s accessible for both Android and iOS users. This app provides a list of all devices on your network, which you can browse to see if there are any that you don’t recognize.
Download From the Google Play Store for Android
Download From the Apple App Store for iOS
The names of many devices, including your laptop, phone, and certain smart home appliances, will be simple to understand. However, it can be hard to determine which devices are yours and which are intrusive because the app simply classifies some devices as “unknown.” But using the aforementioned trick of turning off all your devices, you can see the ones that are not yours.
Why not change the password?
While changing the network password is often the most popular way to stop WiFi thieves, it leads to many inconveniences. After changing your password, every device on the network, including yours, will have to be updated with a new password. That means you’ll have to endure the inconvenience of inputting the new password on every linked device.
Changing your password is your best option, but if you do not wish to do so there are other alternatives.
Wireless MAC Address Filtering
Before learning how MAC address filtering works, it would help if you first comprehend what a “MAC” is. MAC is short for Media Access Control. It’s a hardware ID number that uniquely identifies every device on a WiFi network.
Every network card has a built-in MAC address, meaning no two devices can share one MAC address anywhere in the world.
Consequently, you can automatically tell your router to grant or deny devices access to your network by utilizing their MAC addresses. Here are the steps:
● Log into your router’s control panel.
● On the dashboard, click on Advanced and find the MAC Address Filter option. Of course, routers differ so you might find the MAC Address Filter option in other sections, such as the Wireless or WLAN section.
● If the MAC Address Filter option is currently disabled, enable it.
● Continue by adding devices to the MAC Address list and selecting whether to grant or deny them access to your WiFi.
● Some routers simply provide the option to select or deselect the connected devices to add them to the MAC address list.
Direct Blacklist
In place of MAC address filtering, some WiFi routers let users ban unauthorized devices by putting them on a blacklist with the simple touch of a button. Depending on the router you own, you may generally add devices to a “blacklist” by going to the “Device Management” area in the router’s control panel dashboard or whichever section contains all the connected devices.
You’ll see a button that says “block” or something similar. Some routers have a “Bandwidth Control” section instead of “Device Management.” You’ll find the option to block devices there.
This is another efficient way to prevent someone from accessing the internet through your router without entering a new password. It is marginally more reliable than MAC filtering because a MAC address can always be spoofed and used to establish a connection again.
In contrast, blocking a device is reliable and essentially imposes a “lifetime” ban.
IP / MAC Address Binding
Using IP / MAC address binding is another way to remove someone from your WiFi network. A strict binding policy can be achieved by setting up your router so that users can join your WiFi network only if their MAC address is recognized from a list of authorized devices known as a whitelist.
The blacklist (prohibiting certain MAC addresses) and whitelist configurations are the most common ways to set up the strict binding policy on routers. A white list works the opposite way. Devices using IPs on a white list will be granted access.
Depending on which policy you choose, you must review the list of MAC addresses in your router’s ARP table and place them in a white list or black list, as applicable.
A whitelist is often better than a black list because, as already mentioned, MAC address spoofing is a thing. Also, the individual could just change their device, meaning their MAC address will no longer be on the list of the ones to block. On the other hand, a whitelist requires that the authorized users use static IPs. Static IPs don’t change. They stay unchanged throughout time and are consistently assigned to their particular devices. They remain the same even when the devices are switched off and on.
The majority of routers let you whitelist every connected device. After that, you can eliminate offenders one at a time from the whitelist. Restarting the router after making the configuration modification will disconnect any devices that aren’t on the list. Each time they attempt to reconnect, the router will deny them access.
Always ensure that only recognized devices are connected to your WiFi router. Hackers may be using unknown devices, and once they gain access to your network, they may have full access to your computers, including your data and documents.
Utilizing Apps
To block or allow access without logging into your router’s control panel, you can use third-party network apps that you can install on your phone or computer. For instance, FING, which is compatible with iOS and Android smartphones, offers users a range of control choices that let them:
● Block unauthorized devices and intruders even before they connect to a network.
● Notifies you when new devices join your network, making it simple to spot unauthorized users.
● View a list of the users and devices on your network.
● Run WiFi diagnostics for real-time WiFi speed, connection, device malfunctions, and other issues.
● Get accurate info on devices’ IP and MAC addresses, manufacturer, model, vendor, and name.
● Get phone and email notifications for network security and connections.
Unplugging Router When Not in Use
Some people are so cunning that they wait till you are gone so they can connect to your home or office WiFi without being detected.
Once you return, they log off. As a result, you won’t know who has been accessing your WiFi, but if you have a limited plan, you will undoubtedly run into issues. Disconnecting your router when it is not in use is the best way to deal with such dishonest people.
However, we caution you about regularly turning off your WiFi router. Routers are made to be powered on more or less all the time
Why Kick Someone Off Your WiFi
Have you shared your WiFi password with someone? Are there too many people on your network, resulting in slower internet? Kicking people off your WiFi is the best thing to do. Too many connections, whether authorized or not, can slow down the bandwidth and your internet.
Additionally, you don’t want hackers to gain control of your data, which is very much possible if they gain access to your router. They may hit you with DDoS and other attacks you might not be able to deal with.
Also, you don’t want people to use your network for illegal torrenting. It can potentially land you in trouble with the authorities. Plus, if they exceed FUP limits, you might be forced to upgrade your data plan.
Now, in many cases, asking people politely to stop using your internet may not work out. Sometimes, being polite is overrated. Taking action to exhaustively block their access to your network is the best approach.
Any of the aforementioned procedures can be used to prevent a device from connecting to your network, regardless of how it did so. You don’t have to change your password.
It is recommended to make sure that your network only allows authorized devices. Unidentified devices may be hackers, who may be after your documents, files, and other data.
Only let those you trust know your WiFi password. You may be liable if someone exploits your network to steal unlawful content. Also, use stronger passwords. Avoid using your kid’s birthday or pet name because people close to you can easily guess this info. Strong passwords combine uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, and special characters and are at least 15 characters long. Stay away from names that are found in dictionaries. Protect your WiFi and the information on your devices.
Conclusion
You may want a simple way to kick people off of your WiFi without changing your password. There are methods that certainly can work. However, changing your password is ultimately the most secure way to kick people off your WiFi.
Alternatives such as MAC address filtering are relatively easy for someone to bypass using spoofing. A good long 15+ random character WiFi password set to use WPA2 with AES encryption is significantly harder to bypass.