It's possible that a neighbor—or even an unknown individual—is using your home Wi-Fi network, according to recent reports. Signs that may indicate unauthorized access include slower internet speeds, unexpected outages, or the appearance of unknown devices on your network. Detecting these intruders can be done by checking the list of connected devices through your router’s administration interface. To access this, users typically open a web browser and type the router’s IP address, which is commonly 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. They then log in using the username and password printed on the router itself. Within the interface, sections like "Connected Devices" or "DHCP lease table" show a list of all devices currently using the network, including details like IP addresses, MAC addresses, and lease times. To make monitoring easier, users can assign fixed IP addresses to their known devices. This way, any new device that connects will get an IP address outside of this range, making it easier to spot. There are also apps such as Fing, My WiFi, WiFi Thief Detector, and Wireless Network Watcher that can provide a visual overview of connected devices. However, newer smartphones may hide their MAC addresses for privacy, making identification harder. A MAC address with the second character as 2, 6, A, or E indicates it’s a private, software-generated address rather than a hardware one. If an unauthorized device is detected, users can block it by adding its MAC address to the router’s blacklist. They should also change their Wi-Fi password to a strong, unique one that includes uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The network should use WPA3 encryption, or WPA2 with AES if WPA3 is not available. It’s also important to disable the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) feature, as it can be exploited by attackers. Some routers may not fully disable WPS through the interface, so users should confirm the change is applied. Some common security measures, such as MAC address filtering or hiding the network name (SSID), are not as effective as they seem and can be easily bypassed. A better approach is to create a separate guest network with its own password and name, which isolates visitors from the main network. Regular updates to the router’s firmware and checking for unfamiliar devices can also improve network security. Staying proactive and informed is key to protecting your home Wi-Fi from unauthorized access.