Stealing The Net

I knew I wasn't crazy.

I had an old D-Link wireless router that worked, although my laptop would drop its signal every five minutes or so. I didn't think it was my laptop since the signal wouldn't drop at other locations, only at home.

I suspected a thief.

Yes, I wondered if one of my neighbors was "borrowing" my wireless signal for their own surfing.

I had security set up, but when my main computer's Internet started slowing down, I reset the router and started fresh. Speed picked up -- zooming! -- and the laptop stopped dropping connections so much. For about a week. Then things slowed down, and signals got dropped.

Fed up, I went and bought a new wireless router. I got it all set up, and it came with this software to get everything connected. It all worked!

I went downstairs and was working on the laptop when the signal started falling off.

I went upstairs, and lo and behold, there was a message on my screen. "A new device has been added. Do you want to view it?"

Yes. Yes, I do.

When I clicked YES it showed my desktop computer, my laptop computer, and some other computer that I did not own, and certainly did not authorize.

I double-checked security. Yes, it was enabled. The password was some indecipherable mash-up of letters and numbers -- something like jKr576Dgssl9Osjw or whatever.

Someone was on my system.

So I unplugged it.

Then I did a little research. How can I keep the bugger out?

The answer came in something called a MAC address. Each computer has its own MAC address. So, I plugged everything back in, entered the MAC address for the laptop and told the router to ONLY allow that MAC address access.

It's been three days. I just checked, and there's no one else on my system.

Hee hee hee. I defeated the hacker. I only wish I knew who the little thief was so I could let the air out of his tires too. (Not really, but I have strange fantasies like that.)