Wi-Fi is today, surely the most used to connect from all types of devices. Substituting the classic Ethernet due to the absence of cables, which is ideal for access from mobile phones or laptops, let’s say, drawback is that it does not need wire, anyone with the password can connect to them.
Sometimes the password may be easy to crack, or the lack thereof configuration or the device to which we connect does not have enough security to prevent it. Therefore it can be very important to check netwrok behavior analysis, especially if you have noticed a slowing of your connection, Wi-Fi monitor the network in search of unwanted users, and learn to protect it.
Network monitoring
There are several tools that can be used for monitoring of a Wi-Fi network in order to not find out which users are connected to the same–or how many devices, but perhaps the simplest is WiFi Guard.
Wi-FiGuard is an application that is having quite popular these days. With it we can identify devices connected to our network. It comes from the SoftPerfect, a company specializing in computer security, offering us a free and simple utility even for novice users.
Before seeing how it works, here are some of its advanced features:
- Real-time detection of connected devices
- Device detection with firewall
- Scheduled scanning for connected devices
- Alerts if any unknown device connects.
The application is based on the Wi-Fi network connection to which we are connected on the computer to show us – with the option Scan Now – connected devices. We will display the IP address, the name that the device emits, if it is not hidden, plus the MAC address and the time resolution to it from the program.
The idea is marked as valid devices that we know are connecting, on our part, to the network. For example, computer, laptop, games console and mobile phone. Once done, we can schedule WiFi Guard to alert us if any unknown device is connected. Bear in mind that if for example there does to us visit a relative who has access to our Wi-Fi, it will appear at the interface marked as unknown. Suffice it to mark it as known if so.
Guard WiFi not only works on Windows, but Linux users and Mac OS X can also be made with it through SoftPerfect. And best of all, it is a completely free utility which can be installed on a portable, ie, in such a USB drive, from which we can run on computers without installation.
Protect our connection
Of course, to avoid having to meet the surprise involving unwanted users connecting to our Wi-Fi, it is best to ensure something. If you changed your router or hired transmit herewith notes dated connection to the Internet recently, most likely that you already share with WPA or WPA2 security, a much more powerful system than the old WEP, which can be deciphered quickly.
Still, we recommend changing the password and use the same one that is long and strong, preferably that has characters in both uppercase and lowercase plus numbers and symbols, and of course do not focus on data such as telephone numbers, movies, or even words that can be in some sort of online dictionary.
Finally, it can be very convenient to close our network to unknown using MAC filtering. This basically means that we tell our router which devices can connect using the same MAC address, which uniquely identifies them. Filtering should give access only to devices of our personal list, closing the door to any stranger, even if it has access to the password.