If you give someone your Wi-Fi password, they have unlimited access and can also log into your network with all their devices. Today we will see how we can block them after their legitimate visit is over.
Did your neighbor ask you for the Wi-Fi password to make an emergency connection, while his is broken? Did you share your password with your guests so that they can send a photo or simply connect to the internet? In such a request, out of politeness alone, you cannot refuse to provide your Wi-Fi password to anyone who asks you for it personally.
But what happens after your guest leaves or in general when the need for a third party to own it disappears? If you do nothing, he will be able to use your network every time he is near you or he will even be able to share it on the internet.
There are several mobile phone applications in which anyone can declare the password of a network, for the benefit of all those who have downloaded the specific application. If any of you own one of these, you will see that in the list of nearby known networks, passwords from home Wi-Fi are also circulating.
So let's see what you can and should do.
Option 1: Change your Wi-Fi password
The easiest and most secure method. Simply change the Wi-Fi network password on your router. This will forcefully disconnect all devices from your Wi-Fi network, including your own. You will need to reconnect to your Wi-Fi network, entering the new password on all your devices. Anyone who doesn’t have your new password won’t be able to connect.
Let's be honest: If you have a lot of devices, reconnecting them will be a pain. But it's also the only real, dumb method that works. Even if you blacklist a device on your router so that it can't connect again, if it has the Wi-Fi password, it could still connect to a new device. And, even if you don't remember the password, there are ways to recover saved Wi-Fi passwords on Windows computers, and even smartphones. Xiaomi phones in particular exchange Wi-Fi passwords without rooting the device, simply via a QR code.
To change the password, you'll need to access your router's configuration settings, usually through a browser. Once you're logged in, you can change the name of the Wi-Fi network, even if you're already on it.
The way to log into your router settings, as well as the menu for changing the password, differs radically for each brand and model of router. And to find out how to log into your router, the best thing to do is to read the manufacturer’s official user instructions. Look for a section in the instructions called “Wireless” or “Wi-Fi” or something similar. Alternatively, you can do a Google search for these instructions. There are usually even explanatory videos.
Of course, this all assumes you have set a password on your router! When you log in, make sure you have enabled secure encryption (WPA2) and that you have set a strong password. If you leave it without a password, i.e. if it is an open Wi-Fi network, anyone will be able to connect.
RELATED: How many types of Wi-Fi are there?
Option 2: Use MAC address filtering on your router
Some routers have access control features that can manage which devices are allowed to connect. Each wireless device has a unique MAC address. Some routers allow you to have a “blacklist” (a list of prohibited devices) that can contain one or more MAC addresses. Some routers allow you to define a “whitelist” of approved devices, thus preventing all other devices from connecting.
Not all routers have this option. Even if you can use it, it's not completely secure. Someone who has your Wi-Fi password can change your device's MAC address to match an approved one (even if you've set up a whitelist).
For all these reasons, we recommend that you do not use MAC address filtering.
But, if you just want to temporarily throw out a device, for example your children's device, and you're not worried about them eventually getting around the block, this could be a good method.
You’ll need to look in your router settings to see if it supports this. For example, on some Netgear routers, this is called the “wirelesscard access list.” On other Netgear routers like the Nighthawk, the access control feature allows Wi-Fi connectivity and simply blocks internet access.
Each router brand has its own menu and feature, so for yours you should consult its official help.
RELATED: Secure Your Wi-Fi: Measures and Countermeasures for Everyone
Option 3: Use a Guest Network
If you need to give a guest access to your Wi-Fi network, you can make this process much easier for yourself by creating a guest Wi-Fi network on your router. A guest network is a separate access network. For example, you could have a “Home Base” network and another called “Home Base – Guest”. You won’t be giving your guests access to your main network.
Many routers offer this feature, calling it a “guest network” or “guest access” in their settings. Your guest network may have a separate password. If you need to change it, you can simply change the guest network password without changing your main network password and disconnecting your own devices.
Guest networks can often be “isolated” from your main network. Guest devices will not have access to shared files on your computers or other resources connected to the network.
Once again, you’ll need to dig into your router’s settings to see if it has a “guest” feature. However, guest networks are much more common on routers than access control blacklists or whitelists.
If you can access the device connected to your Wi-Fi
In the unlikely event that you have access to someone else's device and they haven't set a password or can't stop you, then you can remove the saved password. For example, you can tell an iPhone to forget the network or delete the saved Wi-Fi password.
We understand that accessing a device's data requires, first of all, that the user does not know how to protect themselves and therefore may not even be able to know how to reconnect to your Wi-Fi. On the other hand, it requires you to be very knowledgeable about either hacking techniques or the capabilities of your router and therefore you are not even reading us, since this article is addressed to dummies.
Apps that block people from Wi-Fi
Search the web for this topic and you will discover various users recommending software like Netcut or JamWifi, which can send packets to other devices connected to your Wi-Fi network, “telling” them to disconnect.
These software tools basically perform a Wi-Fi license removal attack, requesting a device's Wi-Fi to be restarted.
This is not a serious solution. Even after banning a device from connecting, the device will continue to try to connect. This is why some tools can continuously send “deauth” packets if you leave your computer running.
It is not a logical and surefire way to permanently remove someone from your network and force them to remain disconnected forever.
