Who Is Using My Wifi Mac App
Have you noticed your WiFi working slower than usual? Before digging into how to boost your signal and improve WiFi performance, find out who is connected to your WiFi network.
If your computer was stolen but you know the MAC address of your network card, it might be tempting to look for a MAC address finder or some sort of central database that can track MAC addresses. Unfortunately, this isn't something you can do.
Many devices in your house could be connected to your WiFi network, like laptops, smartphones, tablets, as well as smart bulbs, and home assistants. However, it could just be strangers logging in that’s causing your WiFi signal to lose speed.
There can be many different reasons why you’d like to know what devices are connected to your WiFi. Luckily, it’s an easy check. There are two ways you can go about this: Through your router’s web interface, or using network scanning software. For better results, try both ways and see if you find the same connected devices on the list.
See Who Is Connected To WiFi With Your Router
Call Using Wifi App
Your best option is to check your wireless router. You can do it in just a few minutes and don’t need to download any third-party apps to perform the check.
One thing you need before you do this is your wireless router’s IP address.
How to Find Your Router’s IP Address
In order to log into your router’s web interface, you’ll need to open a browser on any of your devices that are connected to your router. Then open a new browser tab and type your router’s IP address into the address bar.
Most routers have a default IP address of 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. If you tried typing both of them into your browser and neither of them works, you can find your router’s IP address on the backside of your wireless router.
If you’re still not sure what your router IP address is, there are a few more ways to find it. Some are more complicated than others.
The easy way to do it on Windows is by using the Command Prompt utility. When you launch the utility, type the ipconfig command and press Enter.
From there, you’ll find your IP address under Default Gateway.
On Mac, click on the WiFi icon in the menu bar and choose Open Network Preferences.
In your Network settings, choose Wi-Fi from the left-side menu and click Advanced in the bottom-right corner of the window.
Then choose the TCP/IP tab in the next window. There you’ll find your IP address under Router.
How To See Who’s Connected To Your Wifi Network
Now that you have your IP address, open a new browser tab and type it in. This will take you to the router’s login page. Some routers will have admin and password as the default login credentials.
Alternatively, you can find those details on the backside of your router together with the IP address. If you have changed that previously, enter your new details to log in. If you don’t remember your username and password, you can reset the router and then use the default credentials to log in.
After you log in, you’ll need to navigate to the list of connected devices. Depending on your router, this information could be located in different places.
Some routers will have all the devices listed on the main page under WiFi.
On D-Link routers, you have to go to Status tab and find Wireless Clients to get the list of the devices.
On Verizon routers the section you need is called My Network. While on Netgear, you need to look for Attached Devices.
No matter what router you’re using, the list of connected devices normally offer the same information. You’ll see some sort of table that includes the hostname and MAC address for every device on the list.
When the Complete Download window appears, click Next.Note: To keep a copy of the download file for possible future use to re-install, etc., be sure to check the “ Save a file for setting up” checkbox. Canon pixma mg5500 software for mac. Click Download. Select Next to install the helper tool.
When you see a device you don’t recognise, your first intention will probably be to boot it off your network. However, before you do that, make sure to check whether it’s actually a stranger feeding off your WiFi, or one of your devices that you simply didn’t recognize. A good way to do this is to compare the device’s MAC address from the list to the MAC addresses of the devices you own that could be connected to your wireless network.
Use a Network Scanner To See Who’s Using Your WiFi
Using your router’s web interface is the ideal way of checking who’s connected to your WiFi. However, there are other methods you can use. If your router doesn’t offer an option to see the list via its web interface, you can download software to your computer that will scan the WiFi network you’re using and list the connected devices.
There are quite a few different network scanners out there that you can use. To name a few tools that have proven its worth, we recommend LanScan for Mac, SoftPerfect for Windows and Mac, and Angry IP Scanner for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
The only downside is that these apps will only list active devices – the ones that are currently online. That means you won’t see any devices that are currently offline on the list.
Secure Your WiFi Network
In a situation where you need to give someone access to your local network, there’s a safe way to do that. At the same time, if you’re worried about someone hijacking your WiFi, it’s time to secure your network. Doing this will keep anyone from using your internet connection to perform malicious acts. It’ll also give you peace of mind.
Have you ever checked who’s been using your WiFi? What tools did you use to do that? Share your experience with us in the comments below.
How to See Who's On Your Wi-FiSee Who's On Your NetworkThese two apps can help you identify devices using your Wi-Fi connection and stop others from using
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Is your internet moving a little slower than usual? Are you seeing hints of devices you don't recognize in Windows Explorer, or when you cast media to your TV? If you suspect a neighbor is stealing your Wi-Fi, here's how to check (and boot them off).
'So someone's watching Netflix on my internet,' you may say. 'What's the big deal?' Even if you have a little bandwidth to spare, you probably don't want other people on your network, especially if it's unsecured. If someone has access to your network, they have access to all the computers on that network, and that's dangerous. They could access files you're unknowingly sharing, they could infect you with malware, and in certain situations they could even steal your passwords and other personal information.
As a result, you should take care to make sure each device connected to your network is one you can trust. Thankfully, there are free tools that'll help you see everyone on your Wi-Fi right now.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
See Who's On Your Network
Windows users can download a free, portable program called Wireless Network Watcher (scroll down to the Zip download link below 'Feedback' to get it), and Mac users can download a free, slightly more complex program called Who Is On My WiFi from the Mac App Store. Both tools will provide a list of every device currently connected to your network, so you can identify the ones that belong to you.
Who Is Using My Wifi Mac App For Laptop
Wireless Network Watcher
To use Wireless Network Watcher, just launch the program, and it will immediately begin scanning your network. This will take a minute or two—you'll know it's working if the bottom-left corner reads 'Scanning..' Once it's done, that message will disappear, and you'll be presented with a full list of connected devices.
Find Users
The resulting list may look a little cryptic, especially if you aren't super tech-savvy, but don't worry. You can ignore the IP address and MAC address listings for now. If you're using Wireless Network Watcher, just focus on the 'Device Name' and 'Network Adapter Company' columns.
For example, I see an item named 'Dulce' in Wireless Network Watcher, which is the name of my wife's MacBook. I see another with no name, but with 'Philips Lighting BV' as the network adapter manufacturer, which means it's probably the hub for my Philips Hue lights. You can double-click on a device to add 'User Text' that helps you identify each device, which will help you narrow down all the items in this list.
Who Is On My WiFi
To use Who's On My WiFi, launch the program and choose 'Yes, set up continuous automatic scanning' from the popup. Click Proceed on the next window, and the app will begin scanning your network for devices. You'll see the 'Scanning' message in the upper-right-hand corner when it's working, so just give it a minute to do its thing.
Find Users
If you're using Who Is On My WiFi, the 'Description' column and the 'Manufacturer' name that appears in the right pane when you click on an item is what you need. These two values will clue you in to what each device is.
In Who Is On My WiFi, you can't give custom names, but you can give the device a label like 'Desktop' or 'Tablet' and mark it as 'Known.' Go through the list and mark all the items that are familiar to you.
Get a Second Opinion
If you're lucky, you'll be able to recognize all the items on that list, but there may be a few that don't have enough information. After going through my list, for example, I was left with a couple devices that listed no name and no manufacturer. However, I was able to get a little more information from my router's web interface.
Open your router's management page by typing its IP address in your browser's address bar. (If you've never done this before, you can read more about how to do it here). Once there, look for an option that sounds like 'Attached Devices' or 'Client List.' This will present you with a similar list as Wireless Network Watcher, but the information may be slightly different. After cross-referencing the unknown devices between the two, I found one of them was listed as 'AzureWave Technology, Inc' in my router's interface, but not Wireless Network Watcher. A little Googling revealed that this was my Rachio sprinkler system, so I was able to mark that down and move on.
Eliminate Alternatives
If you see any other unlabeled devices in the list, check around your house for any internet-connected gadgets you might have missed. I realized that my Amazon Echo wasn’t listed, so after checking the Alexa app on my phone, I was able to match its MAC address to one of the unlabeled items in Wireless Network Watcher.
If all goes well, you should be able to identify every device on your network. If there are any left over, and you’ve combed your house looking for other internet-connected devices and found nothing, there’s a chance someone nearby may be using your Wi-Fi.
Beef Up Your Network Security
Even if you discover that a neighbor is stealing your Wi-Fi, you don't need to hunt them down and start a fuss—you can just kick them off with a change in router security. Head back to your router's web interface and find the option to change your password (usually under the 'Wireless' section somewhere). If you don't have a password, you absolutely need to start using one, and it needs to be strong. Without a password, your personal information is up for grabs to any amateur hacker that drives by. Choose WPA2 for the password type, since it's far more difficult to crack than the now-outdated WEP.
If WPS is turned on, you should turn it off, since this feature makes it easier for people to crack your Wi-Fi password. (If you want to let guests on your Wi-Fi without giving them access to your devices and information, you can always enable your router's guest network.)
If you already had a password—maybe it was weak and easy for your neighbors to guess—changing it to something new should be sufficient to kick them off. Of course, you'll also have to re-authenticate all of your devices, but you should be able to rest a little easier knowing that all the devices on your network belong to you.