Telus wifi - can my neighbors monitor my activity?

[nonlinear]

Hi,

My neighbors have Telus wireless, and they are letting me hop onto it for free (yea they are great people). I don't plan to do any major downloading or anything, but i'm curious if they can somehow monitor which websites I visit and what bandwidth I am using, etc. And if they can see when I am connected?

thanks

[Sharpie]

Yes. You better stop looking at all that gay porn.

[Dren]

Originally posted by Sharpie
Yes. You better stop looking at all that gay porn.

[nonlinear]

c'mon guys, i'm being serious here. can they see my activity? and if so, what exactly can they see? can they see my bandwidth, websites, etc. I am on IRC a lot and do a lot, and sometimes do DCC file transfers on there. can they see torrents?

please don't reply if you're not going to help out here.

[A790]

Originally posted by nonlinear
c'mon guys, i'm being serious here. can they see my activity? and if so, what exactly can they see? can they see my bandwidth, websites, etc. I am on IRC a lot and do a lot, and sometimes do DCC file transfers on there. can they see torrents?

please don't reply if you're not going to help out here.

With the right software they can see everything that you are doing. Chances are that if they are the typical north american household they have no idea how, but there is always the possibility.

However, it's not like they will be able to monitor your keystrokes. Anything you send over a secure server (ie- online banking) is still encrypted and safe.

[nonlinear]

they are not computer geeks, so i doubt they are trying to spy on me.

[A790]

Originally posted by nonlinear
they are not computer geeks, so i doubt they are trying to spy on me. i'm just curious if they can see when (i.e. for how long) I am connected, and how I am connected (i.e. can they tell i'm using MSN, IRC, a torrent, the web, etc.). When I'm on the web, can they tell what websites i'm on.

of course I look at porn (not gay tho), but before i do it on their connection i want to know if they can see i'm doing it

The basic router settings allow them to see when you've conntected, how long you've been connected for, your computers name, and your MAC address.

As far as tracking what sites you're viewing and what software you're using (to d/l etc.), they would need to have more advanced tracking methods.

[nonlinear]

^^right on. can they see the bandwidth i'm using?

[toyboy88]

Originally posted by nonlinear
^^right on. can they see the bandwidth i'm using?

i'm not sure if they can tell directly from their comp, but i'm sure they ccan call easily and find out how much has been used from telus

[topmade]

I think they are letting you connect to their wireless network because they don't know how to set up the security on it because anyone just a little bit of computer knowledge would know that leaving your wireless connection open like that is not good.

So with that said I think you are safe to surf your gay porno sites without them knowing.

[nonlinear]

no, they gave the the WEP code to use. apparently telus sets it up for you, but they changed it from the one telus gave them.

[lilmira]

Your neighbour might be able to see your monitor through your windows. Be careful with the volume if your room is not very sound-proofed.

[RobTheGob]

Originally posted by nonlinear
no, they gave the the WEP code to use. apparently telus sets it up for you, but they changed it from the one telus gave them.

Keep in mind that WEP is *not* secure.

This means that they may or may not be able to see what you are doing (or care) - but the computer nerd one floor down definitely CAN.

Just something to think about while using the access.

[Mixalot27]

Start a bunch of posts talking about how your banging your neighbor's wife/g/f.......if he shows up at your door to kick your ass, you know hes watching.