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Tech sharing internet with roommates

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by flutterby, Nov 28, 2014.

  1. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    so what are the potential problems? if its a wireless, wifi connection then can other roommates see what i'm typing, what sites i visit etc? Also, any illegal downloading will be the responsibility of the roommate who holds the agreement right?

    i actually do not like wifi at all and with the newer, faster upgraded wifi, I find myself feeling physically sick with it on. So....is it possible to share a wired connection with multiple roommates? how is this done since there is only one port on the router.

    thank you.
     
  2. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    wifi is less secure than wired ie. with wifi i think it's possible to see credit card numbers and passwords of other people on the network easily ?
     
  3. the mechanic

    the mechanic Active Member

    ... be sure to log out of all of the password sensitive sites you go to when you're finished online!
     
  4. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    i guess i need good information re: "How to share Internet Safely with Roommates" thi cant be a new issue right? People must be facing this in large numbers?
     
  5. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    To secure your WiFi from outsiders:
    1. Make sure the router is configured properly using encryption and a password. If you can use the network without supplying a username and password, it's not secure.

    To protect your privacy from other people on the network:
    1. Use HTTPS wherever possible. If you use Chrome, Firefox or Opera: this extension will help: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    2. Pay for an encrypted VPN or SOCKS proxy server (more complicated)

    It is unusual for a router to only have one port. You can set it up so that your roommates use the WiFi and you would use the wired network. However, wired networks might not be more secure depending no how its set up (hub/switch).

    Realistically, most people won't know how to spy on each other. Following the basic steps of protecting the network with a password and using HTTPS would make it even more unlikely.
     
  6. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    ok but im talking about each roommate having the same password for their wifi connection. yes, others won't be able to connect because they don't know the password but how safe is a network when everyone knows the password and is using it at the same time? does each separate computer have it's own password and individual protections? this is the question. from my limited undersanding on this topic, password protected networks only protect those on the network from outside interference but what about internal? ie from other logged in users on the network?
     
  7. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    @flutterby that's addressed in the second part of my post. You could set up multiple WiFi connections but that gets rather complicated. The easiest thing to do would be to use HTTPS, this prevents other people from intercepting your credentials and personal information. Alternatively, you could use a wired connection while everybody else uses wireless, routers will always have more than one port.
     
  8. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    so you are saying that there is a security issue then when people share a password protected network. what the puck is HTTPS? HTTP is a basic computer code ie. language so are you saying i need to use a specific browser or what? and obviously, if i can't be around wifi, it means no one in the immediate area can be using it because it is 'on' and transmitting throughout the house all the time. Even if i was the only user out of 4 that was 'wired', i would still feel the impact of it being on and available for other wifi users in the house.
     
  9. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    HTTPS is an encrypted connection whereas HTTP is not. If a site has HTTPS (facebook, banks etc.), you will see a lock beside the URL. You do not have to use a separate browser.

    I missed the bit where you talked about feeling physical effects from WiFi. What type of symptoms do you feel? With wireless networks everywhere in public (restaurants, stores, malls, etc.), do you feel ill when you're in those areas as well? From what I've read, all of the studies so far have found that there is no evidence that WiFi causes people to feel ill more than a nocebo effect (opposite of a placebo) so I'm curious what your experiences are.
     
  10. flutterby

    flutterby Active Member

    you know, i didn't really notice anything with my old, slow wifi but when i had someone come in to install an upgraded, faster version, i was nauseous pretty much an hour after they guy left. went back 'on the wire' and the feeling went away.... and really, just because they cannot yet find any 'evidence' doesn't mean there isn't any. My nausea is all the evidence i need.
     
  11. Kisai

    Kisai New Member

    From past experience, it depends on the people you live with. If the people you live with have little regard for the law, then they will likely be a high risk to your internet service account.

    For the most part the ISP's in Canada take a passive approach to terms of service violations, and you'll only lose the account after being warned enough times.

    To share your internet safely, don't use WiFi. I know this is likely not a realistic option except for the person closest to the physical cable or xDSL modem. Only one WiFi password can be set (modem/routers sometimes have "two", one is a guest password that is not connected to your other machines local network) and everyone who is paying into the cost of the internet service, should have this password. If you don't trust them to not share it with neighbors, make sure that the modem or router lets you whitelist only specific MAC addresses. This doesn't stop someone from spoofing an address, but it prevents unauthorized devices from using the network again if they have the password, after you kick them. Useful if a roommate gives the password to all their friends.

    The password should be WPA2, and the devices should all be a minimum of 802.11g. If a modem is allowed to have 802.11b clients connect, it will likely downgrade to WPA or WEP, as devices that support only 802.11b were made before WPA was standardized. Any device made after 2008 should be ok with this.

    If you have game consoles like a 3DS, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, you will want to make sure that each person has their own login for these devices (particularly the PS3/PS4 and XBOX360/One) and if you use Netflix, make sure it's bound to only your account on the device.

    Again, if you don't trust the roommates, make sure that the devices can't see each other on the network by turning off features like home sharing, file sharing, etc. If you want to be absolutely certain that your roommates can't mess with your stuff, you can setup VLAN's that each roommate's devices are put on. There is a performance tradeoff to doing this.

    But ideally you should be able to trust your roommates. If you can't trust them, and they will not hold themselves responsible for any wrong-doing, then don't share your internet at all. Have each person subscribe to their own ISP. It is completely possible to run two phone lines or any number of cable modems to a physical address provided the wiring is there.

    With my first set of roommates, there was no such thing as wireless, so we ran ethernet cables between the living room and the bedrooms. If the modem had to be reset, everyone could physically reach it.

    The second and third set of roommates the modem was in one of the bedrooms, so an occasional intrusion or knock on the door was had when the modem abruptly stops working. I'd suggest not having the modem in a bedroom unless it's physically half way between the two farthest connections. In the case of the last place I rented, it was 3 floors, and the WiFi signal wasn't strong enough to go through two floors, so we still wound up running ethernet cables to everyone's machines.

    Next most important thing:
    Who pays for it and who has access to it. Make sure there's no delinquent accounts servicing your address already. Call Shaw and Telus and ask "IF you can get service", not to install service right away. Once verified the address is clear for internet-only service, ask your roommates what's the maximum they want to pay. A 25Mbit plan should be enough unless your roommates like to stream or watch streaming video. Each HD channel (TelusTV) consumes about 10-12Mbits. Netflix and Youtube can vary, but "UltraHD" Netflix is 7GB/hr (about 15Mbit.) If your roommates are not into streaming, or MMORPG's then you can probably get away with much lower bandwidth requirements. If a roommate is into playing games online, then they will want lower latency, which is what you get on xDSL. If everyone wants to watch netflix at the same time, you will need a more expensive plan.

    Whatever you do, make sure that everyone can pay the bill in case someone abruptly moves out. The quickest way to do this is to use ePost, and set a forwarding rule so the bill is sent to each roommates email's. Everyone should see exactly what they are paying for and the usage.

    It IS possible to have each roommate pay 1/4 to 1/2 the bill if they have the billing information, but you may end up chasing someone around if they miss a payment. Don't set it to auto-debit or auto recurring payments. Make sure that everyone pays their part of the bill, otherwise suspend the service. Don't let anyone freeload.

    It's really easy for one roommate to harm another by monopolizing the upstream bandwidth. So you may want to configure QoS (Quality of Service) settings on the modem so that each machine can't use more than 1/2 to 1/3rd of the upstream bandwidth. There are torrent-based downloading programs that automatically suck down 100% of available bandwidth, and this is your only defense against such programs.
     

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