we have a wireless interent here at the pizza shop, how can I tell if people are using our wireless (like other business close? also is there away to put a pass word on our wireless?
It seems so slow lately
thanks
Ron
You can check this out…
http://www.publicip.com/
if the wifi is only for your use (rather than customer use) then you should have a password set via the modem/router (I assuming its the same as your wifi unit). Also you should lock down which computers can access this allowing access for only certain MAC codes. This is basic security and your installation manual should cover this easily.
Most routers will show whose’s accessing the system at any one time. If your shop is empty and your showing more users than you should have then someone nearby is logged on. Using passwords and MAC code identification will stop this easily.
If you are offering this for customers then you probably need a little more software. Not something I’ve dealt with much.
Both posts above offer good advice. If you WANT people to be able to use the wireless, than you would not want to lock down to the MAC address level, but setup a WPA password, and give out the customers to people if they ask.
Royster’s post is probably a better option, but over what most operators do.
To answer your other question though, look for something in your router called the DHCP Client Table. You should be able to see what computers are connected from that.
depending on your router you should be able to limit the bandwith that those other clients use and leave your business computers with the remaining bandwidth.
You should also be able to limit access by time of day to specific computers but this has limited application in your situation. As others have mentioned having a password you hand out woudl help you control who’s using it at a basic level. One coffee shop in my town has a system that prints the password on the reciept. I’m not for sure how that works but its integrated into their POS.
I would also recommend that if this is the same network as your business computers that you look into getting a separte connection all together for your business needs and for your customers enjoyment. Someone with malicious intent and some freely available tools could gain access to your business systems if they are on the same open network.
PM2007
My router actually has a setting for my computers and then a “guest” access that I can put a separate password on.
Solves a lot of security issues easily.
On the slow issue, try resetting your routers and modems. Just unplug them for 30 secs or so.
I have a lynksys, I found something that says DHCP but no table or anthing that tells me much, but then again I am not sure what I am looking for
Go to the far right on the bar and click “Status”. On the sub-menu below that click "“Local Network”. Then you’ll see a button that says “DHCP Clients Table”.
That will tell you all of the computers that your router has assigned an IP address to.
That won’t tell you for sure if somebody is on your network. If you left the default configuration, your router is configured to be in the 192.168.1.x range. Someone can easily manually configure their computer to pull and IP address and it won’t show up on the DHCP table.
Is this the same router that is connecting your POS network? If so, you have a dangerous configuration set up.