Solved Do I have squatters on my WLAN home network?

[Elwoodch]

Hi there,

When checking under Network in explorer I do see my other PC and the router (WRT610N). For few days now, I also see 3 additional PCs I do not know.

Strange because my WLAN is WPA2 protected and only known MAC addresses are authorized on my network

What are these 3 other PCs? I cannot connect to them.

Despite my security setup, do I have unwished guests?

My PC seems clear, malwarebyte done and Avast at startup done.

How can I check this?

THank you in advance for any feedback.

 

[pparks1]

Any chance these devices showing up are other items online in your home...like a game console, tablet device, etc.

 

[Phone Man]

Have you looked at your router and see what it shows?

Jim

 

[Elwoodch]

well I checked directly on the router (MAC filter is activated), and it doesn't see these 3 PCs.

it is not one of my other devices. Shown names of unknown PCs are:
LAZOU-PC
ACER-9DEB84EBB9
PC

I checked the network via my laptop (XP) on same WLAN and it only see my PC and the router. Not the 3 others.

How can I check these PCs, check activities?

 

[maxseven]

What kind of ISP do you have? I looked at my sister's "My Network" after her wireless ISP upgraded her hardware, and a whole bunch of outside PCs showed-up on it! Nothing was secured. Can you open e.g. LAZOU-PC and see any shared files?

 

[Elwoodch]

LogMeIn Hamachi a security threat?

No I cannot open these PC, access not granted or a psswd is required.

But I think I discovered the root cause of this:

My son, playing online minecraft, has installed a program called "LogMeIn Hamachi" and these mentioned PC are listed in this program under others. When these PCs are "online" in LogMEIn Hamachi, my PC see them under "Network"

I do not know what this program is for and what threat it is for security. Any idea, comment?

Thank you for all replies so far, I appreciate.

 

[Barman58]

Not wishing to start a family "discussion" but to do what it is doing this program has breached your security set-up at least partly. It may be benign but if the access is reciprocated to the other devices you cannot be sure that the other users can be trusted

I would uninstall the program with something like Revo and provide my offspring with their own Standard account and change the password on the admin account, at least untill they learn the" House rules"

 

[cyclic]

An easy solution in my opinion is to go into network settings for your WLAN and create a secure connection key. The only person with access will be you, if anyone complains theres has gone off, you know who they are and either give them the key to logon or not!

 

[HammerHead]

LogMeIn

Check this out.

LogMeIn Hamachi Review & Rating | PCMag.com

 

[Elwoodch]

Dear all,

thank you for all these replies. I asked my son about this and he told me he need this programme to be able to play together with his friends on same Minecraft playfield.

Checking on Hammerhead link, it seem "just" to be a VPN client.

I don't mind my son to use this if it is not a security threat for me. He told me the people on the VPN he defined are only his friends.

I am not very familiar with VPN neither with Minecraft, so I don't know.

My WLAN is still secure and only under my control (nobody has the passwrd and mac filter is activated)

WHat do you think?

 

[maxseven]

I think if your son needs to play "Minecraft" then he should have his own computer to do so. At least, if you use your PC like I use mine, what with very important files, financials, passwords, pictures, etc. I'd insist on separating-out his activity to another PC.

 

[Phone Man]

Public RSA keys are issued for all clients for security. It supports encryption, compression and surprisingly customizable chat.
Users can access one another's shared files and data by selecting "Browse" with the client interface. Once you have two Windows clients connected to the same virtual LAN you can use Remote Desktop to remotely connect from one machine to another

So your son has now established his own LAN and everything on your PC can be accessed unless you lock down all your folders. If you allow him to keep this setup you need to really setup your PC so your data is not accessible.

Jim

 

[Elwoodch]

wow

does it mean they can access my data without even needing a password?

then I will de-install it.

thank you all for support

 

[Beta]

I would recomend setting up a MAC filter in the router. This will not allow any computer to connect unless your computers MAC address is saved in the router.

 

[smarteyeball]

wow

does it mean they can access my data without even needing a password?

then I will de-install it.

thank you all for support

You know how you can see, but not access the other PC's? Unless your sons left the security settings wide open, the users on the other end can see you, but not access either.

Instead of removal, perhaps de-active the service/process from running on startup. Your son can still connect when he needs too. Even if he has to start it manually. Your not 'seen' all the time and your son gets to play.

 

[Elwoodch]

good point, ty.

Threat solved and closed.

TY all.

 

[smarteyeball]

You're welcome. Best of luck with it.