Computer problems with wi-fi

[Willabe]

I'm having a problem with the internet on my desktop.

It all started with my wife getting an acer chrome (windows 8) laptop. After about 6 months with no problems on either computer, 1 day she couldn't get on line. Talked with Comcast, they said internet signal is coming into the house. Looked up netgear on line their service company said that the netgear box generic code that comes from the factory was never changed. So 24 people where using my desk top and had turned off the fire wall, erased drivers, 7 mal-ware viruses, where using 36 of my desk tops programs, etc.              

My wife wanted to be able to stream movies and that's why we got the netgear box when we changed to Dish from Comcast. The installer never told me you have to change the Netgear boxes code. I had no idea. Had to pay them $120 to fix it with a 1 year guaranty. They cleaned up the damage and put a 64bit(?) encrypted code in the netgear box so no one could get in again. It worked great, just like new and all the little goofy gliches that came and went disappeared. I sat and watched what he did and it took a good 2 hours for him to clean it all out. I saw all the search charts/read outs on the screen. It was really pretty interesting.

Turned out the wi-fi thief's had kicked her off line. I still probable wouldn't even know if they finaly hadn't done that.              

I had Norton and didn't know it doesn't have mal-ware protection. We now have Kaspeski (has mal-ware protection) and system mechanic. Both seem to be doing a good job and both say every things fine. I do all the scans and de-frag and had system mechanic reconfigure the drives, this took about 5 hours. Got rid of redundant programs and shut off all unnessecery start up programs. I've always kept my e-mail/spam box cleaned out every day.

But yesterday I was having a hard time getting on line. Home web page took forever and only text would appear and I had to wait long period's to log in here. Then if/when I would get in it took forever to open a thread.

Called Comcast this morning they said internet signal is coming into our house just fine and they re-booted(?) the modem box, no change in internet speed.

So I called the netgear service company (www.fixme.it) So the guy says it's my wife acer laptop. It has windows 8 and my desktop has windows 7. So he says hers is eating up the internet signal and is causing static that interferes with my desktop?

I asked if I could just turn hers off, he said it will work at 1st turning hers off but over time it'll mess with my desktop as far as getting on line.

I said can I just keep my desktop hard wired to the modem/bypass the router box and only use the router box for wi-fi for the laptop? He said no it will still mess with the desktops internet signal.    

Said to fix it you have to reconfigure the acer laptop to my desktop settings? Want's a $100 to fix it.

Is this true? (Is any of the stuff he's telling true?)

If so can I do it myself?

I turned her laptop off and right now it's as fast as it's ever been and it's going through the router box.


            Thanks,     Brad        

[Shrapnel]

Going wired (Ethernet) to the router and leaving her wireless can help if the bottleneck lies in the wireless bandwidth being used up quickly (I'd have to blame the router if only two devices are actively using it.)

Just make sure your wireless connection is secured (WPA or WPA-2, not WEP) with a good strong password. Won't hurt to cycle them if you have issues still.

This repair guy makes his money on people who are like this: "When I push this button, this happens. Now when I push it, nothing happens. HELP!" Using the data in this link should help and not cost you a penny to do it.  You may want to do this anyway considering that a a dish/satellite network connection can charge quite a bit for data used.

[Willabe]

Thank you so much Shrapnel!         I'll read that.

I'll have to find out if WPA or WPA-2, and not WEP.

She's been home for 3 hours or so and we did have to get her laptop back on line, just had to pick the network and put in the password  but both a working without a glitch.  


             Thanks,    Brad     

[EL34]

I don't bother with encryption because it's way more hassle than just entering the mac address into a list in the router

Only mac addresses on the list can access my router

When someone pops by with a tablet or whatever, it takes about a minute to enter their mac address into the list

Access your router through a browser, look to see if it has a mac filter
Only mac addresses on the list can access your wireless

you can usually find the mac address on the bottom of devices
If not there open the wireless program you use to access wireless networks and your machines mac address should be there
If not there you can find it in windows networking info for the wireless network adapter  

It looks like this in my Linksys router

[sluckey]

I don't bother with encryption because it's way more hassle than just entering the mac address into a list in the router

Same here. I use one other trick. I disable wireless SSID broadcast. So, the neighborhood hacks don't even know I exist.

[EL34]

Good tip
So if you disable SSID broadcast no one can detect your wireless network

I have it enabled but my closest neighbors are farther than my router can broadcast
Someone would have to drive onto my property and part the way up my driveway in order to know there was a wireless network present

[sluckey]

So if you disable SSID broadcast no one can detect your wireless network

Correct. The wireless router ain't squawking it's name and saying y'all come on in, so unless you know the network name you can't log on because the network does not show up in the list of available networks when you try to connect. And when you add in a MAC filter, even if you guess a network name and try to connect you're still outta luck if your address is not in the list.

It's a poor man's security. But it works fine for me. I hope!   

[PRR]

My NYC-area brothers think my wi-fi is strange.

Wide-open, obvious name, no password.

But nobody gets that close to the house without a good reason.

I can't "see" my one neighbor's router from here. The other neighbor is 100 acres of idle wood-lot. Old man across the road is way out of range.

> 24 people where using my desk top

There's not 24 people per MILE out here. (Which is why I will never get DSL, much less fiber.)

[Heinz]

Network security is my job so let me chime in...

Hiding the SSID and using access control based on MAC addresses should not replace strong encryption with a good password. All someone has to do is sniff the traffic while your PC/laptop is communicating with the access point and they'll know both. These days most wifi adapter have configurable MAC addresses, so it is pretty easy to gain access with very little effort.

Cracking a WPA-2 encryption is much more of a challenge. I tried to hack my own wifi by sniffing packets and even after weeks of sniffing I wasn't successful. That was 2 years ago. I have heard that there are better tools available now but it certainly requires a lot of skill and criminal energy. It is definitely not for the "casual" hacker.

[sluckey]

Network security is my job so let me chime in...

Heinz, I'm glad you spoke up. I'm changing the way I operate today. Thanks...

[PRR]

> These days most wifi adapter have configurable MAC

I was doing it over 20 years ago, in Novell Client. (Yes, it was round-wire not wireless, and it was a work-around for defective cards not an access control, but it seemed easy then so I don't put a heap of trust in a MAC.)

> sniff the traffic while your PC/laptop is communicating

While the plumber, UPS, or the mail-lady could easily sneak a sniff, I just realized that my wi-fi is idle 99% of the time. The main PC is on twist-wire. The laptop gets turned-on maybe 3 mornings a month.

Also I know the plumber can't be downloading entire-season TV shows, even when he's here for an hour, because Time Warner Cable really sucks. Lucky to get video in real-time.

And none of the people who come here (besides my kin) would know what a sniffer or a Torrent was.

Things WILL be different anywhere you can see your neighbors or tolerate strange cars parked in the street. (Last odd truck on my street, I gently confronted, and he drove off.)

[DummyLoad]

Network security is my job so let me chime in...

Hiding the SSID and using access control based on MAC addresses should not replace strong encryption with a good password. All someone has to do is sniff the traffic while your PC/laptop is communicating with the access point and they'll know both. These days most wifi adapter have configurable MAC addresses, so it is pretty easy to gain access with very little effort.

Cracking a WPA-2 encryption is much more of a challenge. I tried to hack my own wifi by sniffing packets and even after weeks of sniffing I wasn't successful. That was 2 years ago. I have heard that there are better tools available now but it certainly requires a lot of skill and criminal energy. It is definitely not for the "casual" hacker.

+1
in an urban setting, WPA2 enabled with a strong password.

--pete

[EL34]

Same here PRR
No one can see my network unless they drive onto my property

It would be very different if you live close to other people or the road is close to your house

If someone comes up my drive and parks, they would probably see the business end of a 12 gauge, some Glocks an AR15 or two dogs

[Willabe]

If someone comes up my drive and parks, they would probably see the business end of a 12 gauge, some Glocks an AR15 or two dogs

             

[EL34]

Or all of those items at the same time   

[Willabe]

Or all of those items at the same time   

Glad I live in a different state.