Belkin router... An unfamiliar address

simono1 · 16 Mar 2011

Hi again everyone,

The story today is.. I was talking with an instructor in college about routers. I told him I have a Belkin which is both wire and wireless. I stated we were not using the wireless part and he asked if I had turned that part of it off. I said no, and began to look for the wireless mode (which I haven't found yet) and came across something else. We have 2 computers, and I can see them in the setup area but, there is also another address there: what is this ip address (192.168.3.5) host name (ours-ay4j91epjq) mac address (00-02-A5-B7-2F-F8)

Once we had HP's help service remotely connect to one of the computers. I'm wondering if that is what this is. I would of thought they would at least have (hp) somewhere in the address. Anyway, I tried to refresh as it instructs but it is still there... leaving me to believe that there is still a connection here. I do not want anything else connected to this router if possible.

Q: Is this necessary?

Thank you,

Simono1

Remote access is disabled and so is Guest.

sordid · 16 Mar 2011

Any IP in the 192.168.x.x range is from your local intranet.
Seems like somebody is using your WLAN for internet access, mate.

Kari · 16 Mar 2011

sordid said:

Any IP in the 192.168.x.x range is from your local intranet.
Seems like somebody is using your WLAN for internet access, mate.

+1

If, as you told, you do not use the wireless connection, switch it off from router's control panel. It really seems that someone is using your WiFi. If you for instance have a volume based ISP contract, at the end it's you who has to pay.

Kari

simono1 · 16 Mar 2011

Ok... shut the wireless off. Am I correct in saying that the 2 addresses that our ours, are the only ones that should be able to use our connection?

sordid · 16 Mar 2011

Absolutely.
What kind of encryption are you using? Basically, with WEP you can as well completely disable encryption since everybody and their granny can easily compromise it and use it to their desire. Use WPA at least if possible.

simono1 · 16 Mar 2011

Let me check this out....

FliGi7 · 16 Mar 2011

I'd leave the wireless on.

Turning WiFi Thieves Worlds Upside Down

But, that's just me.

simono1 · 16 Mar 2011

I'm showing: WPA\WPA2 In security mode and PSK password, and 8-63 characters as the passphrase. There is also a password.... of course.

James Colbert · 16 Mar 2011

simono1 said:

Ok... shut the wireless off. Am I correct in saying that the 2 addresses that our ours, are the only ones that should be able to use our connection?

Do you have a printer, kindle or any other device that uses your wireless connection? If so, it likely is using the .5 address. If not, you can and should turn the wireless off (you can verify by removing the address and see if the device can connect). No point in leaving it on if your not using it, for security reasons if no other. I have a wired network with a wireless AP. It has a very strong passphrase and I disconnect it when not in use.

Also, be sure that you have changed the default password on whatever router (or both) you will use. Use strong passwords. In fact, it may not be a bad idea to change any passwords you have now, for routers, computers, devices and user accounts. Always use strong passwords. You can download Password Safe for free and keep all your passwords in it. That way, you only have to remember that one password, but the others are at your fingertips when needed, and can simply be copied and pasted in.

James

Kari · 16 Mar 2011

Do you have a mobile phone or for instance a WiFi printer? Before turning WiFi off, be sure that that unknown device is not one of yours.

Using WPA2 / PSK with a good passphrase should be be quite secure. What about the credentials for the web interface of your router? If you have not set your own password for that, by default Belkin routers come with no admin password so anyone within the radius of your router can simply login to it by giving the address http://192.168.2.1 and clicking Login. Then it's easy to check the password for Belkin has this "feature" to show password / phrase instead of just showing *-signs for each character.

What I mean is that if you are sure you do not need WiFi, turn it off and relax. If you want to leave it on, set both router's web interface password and WPA2 / PSK passphrase as strong and complicated as possible.

How to set router web interface password: Belkin : Support Setting the router's administrator password

Kari

EDIT:

Added a screenshot to show how to get a random, strong WPA/PSK password generated in Belkin routers. Wanted also show this IMO quite stupid system of Belkin's, to show the password. It can be hidden but the user must only untick the box Obscure PSK to see it. This way, anyone able to login to control panel can see what the PSK is.

The password generator is visible when you select Enabled in Guest account settings. Generate a password, then disable Guest settings again and use generated password as WPA2/PSK passphrase.