Dear Rob, This is For You

I am usually pretty conscious about internet security. But sometimes my brother will drop around. Or a friend. And they will need to check their email. So rather than going through the rigmarole of setting up new MAC addresses etc, I often just throw open the wireless port on my router. Of course, this means that anyone can access my internet connection …

So one day a few weeks after my brother visits, I can see that there is a light on my modem flashing. I was drawn to it in a strange way. I think it was because it wasn’t just flashing in a lazy, surfing the web kind of way. It was throbbing.

I knew that my computers were switched off so I immediately thought this was strange – and then somewhere deep inside my brain, a small voice said “open wireless, you idiot”. A minute or two later and sure enough – a list of the DHCP clients on my network showed “Rob” logged on.

Now, I don’t know about you, but the idea of having someone sucking up my bandwidth (at an obviously alarming rate) is annoying. And beyond that, it’s rude. So if you are like me, and you feel that a small amount of retribution is required, then take a look at this excellent how-to guide. It explains, easily, how to setup your router so that the undesirables end up with an undesirable result. And believe you me, it wasn’t “all kittens” that “Rob” was seeing. And I daresay he spent some time “explaining” his web surfing habits to his wife.