The slowdown in the WiFi connection is not always the issue with your Internet Service provider. Even when you are getting good speed, suddenly something happens, and you start to experience slow internet speed. That’s very common for many people as this might be the case of someone stealing your WiFi. Millions of people experience a sudden slowdown in the WiFi speed as something starts leeching the internet.
Most of the time, the background services on the computer consume a lot of Internet bandwidth, slowing down the internet. In Windows and the macOS, the background services like the updates, data transfer, and even the malware consume a lot of Internet bandwidth. Not just that, the leechers, or the people who have your WiFi password will consume a lot of internet behind your backs, causing you to lose the internet speed. If you are plagued by such issues, then you are at the right place. In this post, we are going to share detailed information on the ways you can check if someone is stealing your WiFi. By following the mentioned methods, you’ll be able to understand who is stealing your WiFi and fix the internet speed issues.
Knowing Who’s Stealing My WiFi
To understand who is stealing your WiFi, you should check the number of connected devices to the Router. Every router keeps track of the Mac address of the connected devices along with the name. In this first method, we will check if unknown devices are connected to your WiFi router and steal the internet behind your back.
Method #1 – Check Router Dashboard
Checking the Router dashboard will help you get an idea of the connected devices. Here are the exact steps to check if there are any third-party and unauthorized devices connected to your WiFi network.
- First of all, open the Browser and open the Router Dashboard Login link. Usually, the default Login Address is “ https://192.168.1.1 “ or any other variation. You can find the login address on the backside of the router.
- Now, enter the username and password combination to log in to the Dashboard. Just like the Router Dashboard Address, the password is written on the backside.
- It’s time to search for the “Connected Devices” list. Every router has a bit of a different Dashboard look. So, you have to find your way to the list.
- In the list of the Connected devices, you’ll see all of the devices with the name and MAC address. Find out the Unauthorized device, and Block the MAC address.
- Also, you can change the Router password for increased safety. In this way, you can restrict the Unauthorized users who have hacked or gained the password of your WiFi network from accessing the internet.
- After doing that, run the Internet Speed Test to see if the Internet Speed has restored to normal or not.
#2 – Use WiFi Monitoring Software Programs
There are a lot of useful WiFi Monitoring Software programs in India, which work perfectly fine for monitoring WiFi usage. The software programs like GlassWire monitor the WiFi network and show detailed statistics. With the inbuilt features, you can easily identify the unauthorized user and block the user.
Not just the connected devices, but such software programs can easily identify the Background services consuming the Internet Bandwidth. With such programs, you can easily control your WiFi network and prevent any issues like Someone Stealing your WiFi.
You can also use modern advanced multi-purpose routers aka extenders aka boosters like RangeXTD device, as they have WiFi monitoring software built in.
How to Prevent People from Stealing Your WiFi?
With smartphone apps and hacking tools, anyone can hack into the WiFi network with ease. That’s why you should take strict actions and increase the security to prevent such people from stealing your WiFi and Internet bandwidth. Here are the common ways you can do the same.
#1 – Use Strong Passwords
Using the default passwords is the biggest mistake many people make. With the simple to guess passwords, people become vulnerable to such issues. That’s why it’s essential to use strong passwords. Better to use strong passphrases, which only you can guess. Also, you can use the Strong password suggestion tools. Just make sure to use the Uppercase letters, Numbers, and Symbols in the password to make it stronger.
#2 – Turn OFF WPS Feature
WPS, or the WiFi Protected Setup, is a convenient feature, which allows the users to connect to the network even when the Encryption is ON. Many of the third-party WiFi hacking apps use this feature to infiltrate into the nearby network. If you turn ON this feature, then your WiFi router is vulnerable to such attacks and the leeching. That’s why you should turn OFF the WPS feature to stay on the safer side.
You can turn OFF the WPS from the router dashboard. Every router has a different user interface, but it usually lies in the “Wireless Setting” page of the router dashboard.
Final Words
We’ve been plagued by the WiFi Stealing issue multiple times. Due to the close vicinity of the WiFi networks and the availability of hacking apps, many people can easily infiltrate the WiFi network and steal the internet. Well, not just the people, but the Windows and macOS background services can consume a lot of data in the background, which causes a severe Internet speed decrease. We can easily kill the background services through the Task Manager, but finding and blocking the people is a challenging task.
In this post, we’ve shared multiple methods to fix this issue and prevent people from stealing your internet through Wireless Network. I hope you’ve learned how to check if someone is stealing my WiFi. Now, all you have to do is to follow the mentioned methods and get rid of the leechers and enjoy the high-speed internet without any interruptions.…
