Network Users?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Graser
  • Start date Start date
J

John Graser

I'm running Vista Home Premium and have a wireless network set up in my
house. Is there any way to determine if anyone else is on my network? In
other words, who are the users currently using my network connections? If
Vista can't tell me, is there a utility program out there anyone can suggest
that will?
 
John Graser said:
I'm running Vista Home Premium and have a wireless network set up in my
house. Is there any way to determine if anyone else is on my network? In
other words, who are the users currently using my network connections? If
Vista can't tell me, is there a utility program out there anyone can
suggest that will?
Click to expand...

Authorized users or unauthorized users? Beyond that if you properly secure
your wireless network you will not have unauthorized intrusions. Here are
some security guidelines for home wireless networks...

http://theillustratednetwork.mvps.org/LAN/SoHoWirelessSecurity.html

AirSnare is a nice utility to monitor a wireless network if your really
paranoid. I don't know if it runs on Vista though. It may run in XP SP2
compatibility mode...

http://home.comcast.net/~jay.deboer/airsnare/

The bottom line is to SECURE YOUR NETWORK...

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...
 
Try going to the Network & Sharing Center, then clicking View Full Map.
That will make Vista probe and display a map of your local network. Look
for machines or devices on the network that you don't own. (This is the
view where the LLTD Responder for XP helps -- it makes the XP machines
contribute what they see of the network, which helps put them in the correct
place and improve the accuracy of the diagram.)
 
Hi John,
Here's another option, although I admit it requires rolling up your sleeves
a bit.

I don't know what brand of WiFi router you're using, but many allow you to
see what machines are logged on by going to the router's setup screen. Your
user guide should walk you through how to do this, but typically you punch
your router's default IP address--192.168.1.1 is a typical one--into your
web browser to access.

Then you should be able to see what machines are logged on (or have recently
logged on) by looking at the DHCP settings. It sounds intimidating, but the
concept is simple: Whenever a wireless device wants to log on to your
network, your router assigns it an IP address. If you know you have two
wireless laptops in the house, but see five assigned IP addresses, it's a
clue that you might have some freeloaders.

Each wireless device also has a unique code--called a MAC address--that you
can use to prevent this. Your router should show you all the MAC addresses
of devices within range and give you the option to filter out ones you don't
want to log on. This is a great way to beef up the security of your network.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it works out.

Michael Stroh
User Assistance Writer
Microsoft Corp.
 
Back
Top