Sometimes, you are faced with the task of "quickly checking if your computer is connected to the Internet?". And there seems to be nothing complicated in this task.
The first thing that comes to mind is to open a browser. On the one hand, this is logical. On the other hand, the browser may have many tabs open, so it's not very fast. And the pages themselves can be loaded from the cache without accessing the Internet at all (some browsers, or rather their versions, do this when they are first opened). Plus, the lack of a connection in the browser does not mean at all that your computer is not connected to the Internet. There could be a lot of reasons for this.
The next thing that comes to mind is various programs who use the internet. For example, various programs for downloading files. However, there can also be nuances here. Trite, servers with uploaded files are not available or you are uploading files from the local network.
Another option is to look at the state of the network card. But, this option is no longer available for those computers that use routers to connect to the Internet. Since changing the numbers of incoming and outgoing traffic does not necessarily mean that there is Internet.
From all this, a completely logical question arises with a small addition "how to quickly and accurately check the Internet connection?". And there is this way.
Using the "ping" command to check the Internet on a computer in Windows
Windows includes enough a large number of network management tools. Among them is a very old command called "ping". This kind of command can be found in almost all common operating systems. And in most cases, it is this command that is used by technicians to check the connection. Also, such a command is quite often found in various manuals, which in their steps require you to check the availability of an Internet connection.
How it works. Ping sends signals (so-called packets) over specified address and measures the response time (i.e., the response of the addressee). Default, this action performed four times. In principle, the number of actions and a number of other settings can be changed by specifying parameters, but in this case this is not so important. The destination is either a domain name or an IP address (in the usual case, a domain name will suffice).
So, to check the connection you will need:
- Open command line(See the article opening the command line)
- Enter command:
- ping ya.ru
If you see that lines with the text "Reply from ..." appeared on the screen, and no lines "Timed out", then your computer is connected to the Internet. If all four answers contain the lines "Timeout exceeded", then this means that you are not connected to the Internet.
Footnote: It is worth noting that at one time there was even a joke about pinging a Yandex page. It was specific to its time, therefore it is not given in this article.
You can use not only the "ya.ru" domain, but also any other site. However, keep in mind that not all sites respond to the ping command, so make sure in advance that the site responds to the command. It should also be noted that the domain name must be entered without protocol prefixes, i.e. without "http://", and without specifying any pages, i.e. do not try to enter "mysite.ru/my-first-page.php".
Note: if you use a router to connect to the Internet, then using this command you can also check if the router is available by entering its IP address instead of the domain name.
Note: there are times when the ICMP protocol is completely filtered (that's what ping uses), and then there will be no response from any site. But, this is a very specific situation, which is typical for a closed network that has its own administrator (it is worth contacting him).
Note: this way suitable for most common situations. If there are any problems, then most likely the situation is very specific, and will require various additional tools.
Well, since today we started talking about, let's continue this conversation. In this case, I would like to talk about such a sore problem as connecting a certain user to your wireless router. I can say that the problem has become gigantic, and due to the fact that many users do not even suspect that someone is using their connection, there are more and more such impudent people.
Just imagine. You connected to the network, set up your router, connected your laptop and phone to it, surf the Internet and enjoy life. But suddenly you begin to notice that in the evenings the connection speed clearly drops and even such popular sites as or Google are loaded with a very long delay. Of course, some virus that managed to get into your PC, or, for example, problems with the provider’s equipment, can become the reason, but often the reason lies in a neighbor who picked up the password to your Wi-Fi.
Today I will talk about how to view the list of those connected to your router and restrict access to it.
We are looking for connected
There are two methods for finding intruders. One of them does not require the installation of any additional software at all. Let's start with him.
We need to get into . In general, I spoke about this in great detail in one of my recent articles, but so that you do not waste time, I will repeat. First, we are looking for the address to enter the settings panel. Usually it is located on the bottom cover of the router, where you can also find the login and password to enter:
The addresses may be different depending on the model of your device, for example: 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. Actually, it doesn't play any role. We add the address to the search bar of the browser, press Enter and the main page for entering the configurator opens in front of us. We enter the username and password, we find ourselves in the settings panel.
Here we select the section Wi-Fi - "Station list". Be careful, your list of connected devices to the router may be under a completely different address, for example, “Wireless Mode” - “Wireless Statistics”. In any case, it doesn't matter - you need to find connection statistics.
In this section, we see everyone connected to the router. Or rather, the MAC addresses of these devices. About what it is and, I talked just yesterday.
The screenshot shows only one device. This is my smartphone. It is easy to disable it by clicking on the "Disconnect" button in the router's configurator. You should have approximately the same picture, however, there may be many more connected devices. You look up which ones are yours by comparing MAC addresses and disable them. In addition, you must immediately change the password for Wi-Fi. But this, unfortunately, is often not a panacea, because if someone was able to pick up the password once, he will certainly be able to pick it up again. Therefore, there is only one way out - to filter MAC addresses. But more on that later. In the meantime, I want to talk about a program that will help you see who is connected to your router.
Wireless Network Watcher
It's about the program Wireless Network Watcher. It is distributed completely free of charge, takes up little space, and therefore will become a reliable assistant.
Download the program (I recommend downloading it only from the official website), install and run. You need to run it only from the computer to which the router is connected, otherwise it makes no sense. After a short scan, you will see a list of devices that are connected to the router, and you can also find out their MAC address and manufacturer.
Unlike the previous case, when we found intruders through the configurator, it will not be possible to disable them here - only information is displayed on the screen. To disable, you still have to use the configurator.
Filtering MAC addresses
So, you now know the MAC addresses of all your devices. Let's add them to the exclusion list. Thanks to this, no one can connect to your router, even knowing the Wi-Fi password. This is very effective way protection you must take advantage of.
We go into the interface of the router, select the Wi-Fi section - MAC filter and allow access.
Then open the MAC addresses tab and add the addresses of your devices one by one.
After all devices are added, be sure to save the settings and reboot the router directly from the interface.
Check if your gadgets are connected to the router. Also try to connect from an unknown device to be sure of the protection. If the Internet for an unknown device does not work, then you did everything right.
What to do in cases where the gadget's MAC address changes? I had this problem on my smartphone. I had to go into its settings and edit the entry to make the MAC address static. You need to do the same.
Almost every apartment has computers, laptops, tablets, Cell phones and other devices. To provide access to the Internet for all these devices, owners create home wireless networks and install Wi-Fi routers. To date, the issue of protecting these networks from illegal exploitation by other users remains relevant. In this article, I will tell you how to find out who has connected to your network.
Reasons for concern
- You should be alerted by the regular decrease in data transfer speed on the Internet. Another user joining a wireless connection is not the only reason for slow speeds. But it doesn't hurt to take control of the situation.
- If you are sure that all devices in the apartment are disconnected from wireless network, and the indicator on the router continues to flicker rapidly. This is another reason to find out if one of the neighbors is connected to my Wi-Fi.
How to check how many devices are connected to the router
1st way
To find out who connected to Wi-Fi, you need to go to the router settings. To do this, open a browser and enter the IP address of your router in the address bar. If you enter the settings for the first time, then you will need to enter your username and password. IP address, username and password, you can find out yourself. To do this, you need to look at the sticker with reverse side devices. 
You can also find this information in search engine by entering your router model. Provided, of course, that you have not changed them before. On the start page, select advanced settings, and then the "DHCP" tab. This tab displays all devices that are currently this moment work from your router. By MAC address, you can find out if someone else is connected to the wireless network. 
The possibility of network administration is provided. By removing the MAC address, I will block the access of someone else's device to my Wi-Fi. Watch a detailed video on how to determine who is connected to a Wi-Fi router, for example, a router from D-Link:
2nd way
With the help of the program Wireless Network Watcher. Download on the Internet free utility WNetWatcher. Run her. The program will scan the network and show who is connected to your Wi-Fi router. First on the list are my computer and router, below are the devices that are connected to my Wi-Fi. 
For each device, the name, MAC address, manufacturer are indicated. You can find out who is using your network by the device name. Another option is to look at the MAC addresses of your devices and compare them with the addresses given by the program. The advantage of this utility is not only that you can see who is connected to your network at the moment. This program works in background. If someone tries to use your Wi-Fi, you will hear a beep. 
Disadvantages of wireless network watch:
There is no option to block an unknown user. Even if you find that an intruder is connected to your router, you won't be able to stop it. For the program to work, at least one device must be connected by cable to the router. Watch a detailed video on how to use the program:
How to increase the security of your wireless network
- Always change your username and password to log into your router. Those passwords given by manufacturers can be easily cracked by hackers. To change the password, go to the advanced settings, on the "System Tools" tab, select the "Password" item. In the tab that opens, you can edit the current password.
2. In the "Wi-Fi / Wireless" menu, select the "MAC Filter / MAC Address Filtering" tab. On the Filter Mode tab, select Allow. 
In the memory of the Wi-Fi router, enter the MAC addresses for which you leave access to the wireless network. After that, no device will be able to connect to your network, even if the person knows your password. Using the tips from this article, you can conveniently see who is connected to a wireless network without your knowledge and block access to free Internet.
The first sign that some “guest” has connected to the network is a drop in speed. It expresses itself different ways but most often:
How to know who is connected to my wifi
Find out exactly who is currently connected to wifi router, pretty simple. There are several options for this. To find out who is connected to the network, a program designed specifically for such purposes will help. In the same way, you can find out who connected to wi-fi using the control panel of the router.
Both ways are good and true. The program, for example, lets you know that someone has just joined the network. And the web interface of the router not only “sees” the connected device, but is also able to block unauthorized access forever.
Overview of connected devices in the router settings
So the first way to know if someone is connected to wifi router, is to view the control panel of the router itself. To do this, you need to make only a few clicks and know some basic things:
- you will need to find out the address to enter the control panel;
- must be connected to a wireless network;
- know the username and password to access the router responsible for distributing the Internet.
Getting this data is easy. It is enough to find out the model and look at the manufacturer's website for the necessary information. And also look at the back cover of the router, where a sticker with all the technical information is usually located. In order to find out who is unauthorized connected to the wifi router at a given time, you should take the following steps:
- Launch a browser, enter the numbers indicated in the documentation in the address bar. Many companies use 192.168.1.1 as the default router address, but you can change it yourself.
- Enter the relevant data in the "Login" and "Password" fields. The window will open after the page has loaded.
- Now you have access to the control panel. It differs depending on the manufacturer, however common features are present. For example, the location of the section of interest to the user is Wireless statistic.
- Open the Basic settings tab - " Basic settings". Go to Wireless - "Wireless Network". In the list that appears, select Wireless Statistic - “Wireless Connection Statistics”.
- On the loaded tab, view the list of devices connected to the network at the moment. And also analyze what kind of devices they are, based on the available information:
AT specific example it is easy to know that one user is connected to the network by cable. This is indicated by the AP-UP status. Therefore, this is the PC from which an attempt is made to find out who is currently connected to Wi-Fi. And, in fact, by looking at the number of connections with this status, the answer to the question is ready, how to find out how many devices are connected to the network at the time when viewing is performed. Laptops are a bit trickier because they fall into the same category as smartphones. To identify these devices, you will need to directly access them. But it’s a little easier to define “own” and “foreign” gadgets; to do this, turn off the connection to “own”. As a result, only “foreign” gadgets and the one from which you are viewing will remain on the network.
It is enough to look at the MAC address of the device to match it with the response from the router interface. And if they match, then the device is online on legal grounds. This is just the first way to view devices. There are other options to find out who is "sitting" on our router.
Programs for viewing a list of devices connected to Wi-Fi
Naturally, in addition to a way to determine who connects to wi-fi using the control panel of your router, there is also the ability to do this through a program. For this, there are developments for both PC and phone. But we are only talking about PC programs. There are several types, but they all work according to general principle. There is an appeal to the router, from where the information is taken. That is, the program for viewing connected devices performs the operations from the list above, saving the user from unnecessary actions.
This program is used to view devices connected to the router, the first of its kind. When it comes to Wi-Fi Guard, it should be remembered that its pioneer developers decided to exclude the router from viewing the list of active connections. This is the reason for the simplicity of the interface and functionality. There is no ability to quickly disconnect a user in the program. But there is a sound signal notifying about the active connection. True, in order to find out that the “extra” has just connected to the network, you need to keep the program background process. It minimizes to tray, from where it monitors.
From the previous version, in fact, does not differ. Performs the same function: the program is used to find out who else is connected to my wifi router. It also allows you to notify of new connections as they are established. It should be noted that the development of this program is ongoing at the present time. Therefore, the first difference is the interface adapted to fresh versions Windows OS. Alas, Network Watcher does not yet "know how" to break active connections. This feature is listed as under development though. It is quite possible that Network Watcher will be added to the program soon. In the meantime, it is possible to find out who connects to wi fi during its operation. There is a function of logging and displaying a list of devices connected during the program's operation.
Disabling third-party devices from Wi-Fi
After I managed to find out who is connected to my WiFi, I should move on. Now we have to take action without harming the rest of the users connected to the network. Or be able to freely connect to it. In theory, everything looks simple: just turn off the device. But in practice this is not enough. After all, a banal disconnection will allow a third-party “client” to reconnect to the network almost immediately. This means that a more radical solution is required.
When analyzing the question of how to determine who connects to our network, the router control panel has already been considered. But it serves not only to see the active connections on the computer. Also, using the web interface (this is, in fact, the same thing), it is possible to make changes in the settings of the router. This will allow you to find out and see who is connected to the network, as well as block further access for "left" users. You need to take the following steps:
- Log in to the router control panel (see above). This capability has previously tested connections.
- In the Wireless section, find Mac Filtering. Through it, the necessary operations are performed. It is also possible to configure Firewall on the router. But this is a bit more complicated than setting up access rules through address filtering:
- Select the rule to use. The difference lies in the fact that in the first case, access is blocked for all devices except those listed. In the second case, "listed" devices will be blocked. Which solution to apply is up to the user.
- Having made your choice, click Add new - “Add new” to display the following window:
After such a setting, the unwanted subscriber can be instantly disconnected from wi-fi. Of course, this method is very complicated and it is easier to change the password. But this does not mean that the "freeloader" is not able to learn a new one and connect again.
In general, the access denied method is not perfect. If you just change the MAC address, there is a chance of being connected to someone else's network again. And that means you have to go further. And the next logical action is to change the wireless network password. And this leads to the next question.
How to protect your Wi-Fi network from hacking
It's actually pretty easy to defend. Enough to have strong password, and ideally also change it at some intervals, which will ensure high security. Changing the password helps if someone managed to find out old password and connect using the code. After changing the password, any connected user will lose connection until they enter the new password. In a sense, this solution is more fast way protecting your “wifi” than blocking by MAC address.
How to play a prank on lovers of "freebies"
After you managed to see who is connected to my wifi, you can resort to non-standard solution. The user can really be punished by being funny, but in an unusual way. And it differs from the previous ones in that it will not prohibit access to the network, but will make it unbearably painful.
The point is that a rule is created when we do not disable foreign devices, but severely limit the access speed for them. True, the availability of this function depends on the model of the router. The examples above show a model that "cannot" do this. But the most common ones, like TL-WR740n and RT-N10E, have a similar option, and its setting is in the same place as MAC address filtering. As a result, a person who managed to find out the password from the network will regret connecting. After all, it’s unpleasant to find out that you, cunning, connected to the neighbor’s wifi, can use the Internet at a speed of 5 kb / s. It’s not always worth turning off lovers of free “bait”, sometimes you need to act cruelly and make sure that the cheese really lies in the mousetrap ...
