5 Ways to Detect If Someone’s Stealing Your Internet

When you have your own home internet connection, you need to make sure it is secure and private. So, you have to take all the measures possible to ensure this security. This is because as the internet has become more accessible and convenient, so has its associated criminal activities. You don’t want your IP to be used by unsavory elements for illegal activities. In addition, if someone is leeching off your internet, it will also affect your own online experience.

Therefore, if someone is stealing your internet, you need to know about the situation and take action accordingly. After all, you’re paying for those premium internet plans and should be able to benefit from them properly. So, here are a few ways through which you can find out if your internet is being used by others.

Check the Router’s Administrators Logs

You should be familiar with your router settings and administrator logs in order to keep your network secure. To do this, you should get into the router settings, log in to the relevant portal, and access the privacy and device settings. Here, you can see how many devices are connected to your network, along with their names.

Make sure you go over the list of connected devices regularly. If you see any extra or unidentifiable devices, you should remove and blacklist them. You can also involve the authorities and report these breaches, especially if you feel like your connection might be used for illegal activities.

Check for Data Consumption Discrepancies

When you investigate your router and data settings, you should also keep track of your data consumption. Many routers let you do this on their portal or even remotely with apps. If you feel like the data consumption you see does not match with your household’s internet activities, investigate further and see if there are any unfamiliar devices connected to your network.

Similarly, if your connection has a data limit and it tends to run out sooner than expected, you should check if someone else is using and stealing your internet. This also holds true if your internet seems like is costing more than usual. if your Optimum pay bill or other such bills cost higher than normal, you should investigate the issue.

Investigate Speed Slowdowns

There are many signs which can indicate that someone is stealing your internet. Frequent speed issues with no identifiable cause are some of these signs, especially with decent connections like Cox internet plans. If there are no reported issues from the backend and your signals are just fine, then you should check if someone else is using your internet connection.

If there are too many devices connected to your network, then your network speed may be affected. This is not only a hindrance to your internet experience but also a risk to your network security and privacy. Therefore, you should take these instances seriously.

Use Internet Monitoring Software

If you feel that your internet connection is at risk or might be being used in an unauthorized manner, then you should monitor the internet activity on your network. You can do this if your router offers the relevant settings, or you can opt for third-party apps.

These monitoring systems let you gauge who is using your internet and how much data they are consuming. You can check whether there are unfamiliar devices on your Optimum packages or if there are discrepancies in data usage. Then, you can detect whether there is unauthorized activity on your network and take action accordingly.

Disconnect All Your Devices

There is a simple way to detect if your internet is being used by people outside your home. you just have to disconnect all your devices from the network, and then check whether your router’s light is blinking. If it is, then someone is stealing your internet, and you need to take action.

However, this method has its drawbacks, as it is quite difficult to remove every single device from your network. Now that even your appliances are connected online, you may not be able to get every single gadget off your network. However, if you’re not that much of a techie, you can take this step and then report any unidentifiable usage.

How to Protect Your Network?

Now that you know how to detect unscrupulous activity on your internet connection, you should also know how to protect your network. You need to take all possible measures to prevent hacking, theft, and other malicious activity on your internet connection. Here are a few simple methods you can use to protect your internet connection.

Set Strong Passwords

You should set strong passwords on your home internet connection. Your password should contain a healthy mixture of alphabets, numbers, and special characters. In addition, you should change your password regularly so that it’s harder to guess. Make sure you don’t use personal details like birthdays and children’s names in your passwords.

Use Wireless Network Encryption

Check whether your router has the latest in wireless encryption technology. WPA encryption is now outdated, so you should update your router if you have this encryption. Try to buy a router with WPA3 encryption, as that is the latest technology. In addition, you should make sure you enable these settings, and update your modem and router whenever you get notifications. Furthermore, you should reset this equipment every few months to clear the cache and any extra elements in there.

Use Device Filtering Settings

If you have some tech know-how and want to protect your network as much as possible, use device filtering settings. To do this, go to your router admin page, and add specific devices to a blacklist in order to remove them. You need to know the MAC numbers of the devices in order to implement these settings. You can even use these settings to only allow certain devices to use your internet connection. However, this can be a bit tedious if you have guests or visitors over who need to use your network. So, use these settings if you really need to secure your network quite strongly.

In conclusion, you can detect whether someone is using your internet connection in a variety of ways. Most of these ways are quite simple, but you must make sure you’re also keeping your network safe in the first place.