Getting Rid Of Piggybacking Users in Network

[tia travels]

Is there some way to program my Norton's antivirus or my firewall or computer to NOT ALLOW any new unauthorized USERS in my Network?

I always seem to have some sort of credit card (like fraud) or computer incidents happen when I stay in Buffalo. It's weird.

Last night I was searching my computer for some photos I needed for something. I noticed under my NETWORK....a new name of someone under my network in addition to my own. Had this person used a name similar to mine but only adding the #2 after it, I might have just thought it was my own...which produced a secondary temporary one. But instead, they named their computer(or network) RICKSTER. I don't know if I'm referring to it correctly as a computer or network, but hopefully you understand what I'm talking about.

I tried deleting it...and was unable.
I tried opening it (as it had a PLUS sign next to the name), but it wouldn't expand.

When I signed off of the hotel's WIFI, it disappeared.

So I just wish I had seen it earlier that evening. I probably was online for about 40 minutes before I noticed it. After my attempts to get rid of it, I just turned off my computer the rest of the night.

In the morning, I signed on again...and looked at Windows Explorer while I signed onto the net and didn't see it so I thought perhaps whomever it was the night before had left. I proceeded to do about 10min. of work again, and then looked a 2nd time and doggone it...RICKSTER was there again.

I signed out and went down the road to use another WIFI. Rickster hasn't shown up since.
So it was just at that hotel.

How can I block this from happening again?
Is it possible my firewall blocked whomever it was from causing havoc?
How come highlighting it and trying to hit DELETE doesn't work?

[Anonymous01]

Rickster isn't "piggybacking". He's used the hotel's unsecure "free" wifi to clone your connection and hack your computer. (Your computer thinks RICKSTER is another peer computer in a LAN or WAN.)


Quick fixes:


1. As soon as you sign off AND DISCONNECT from EVERY WIFI CONNECTION, open Network and Internet Settings.
> WiFi
> Manage known networks
> "Forget" every WiFi connection your computer has stored.
Do this everytime you leave a hotel or any "free" internet connection.



2. Do not connect on ANY UNSECURE WIFI (all free WIFI are unsecure) before you get a good VPN program, which means paying about $100+ a year. I've been using Protonmail for about a year, and it allows me to choose what countries I route through, or randomizes the connection.


3. The next time you connect to hotel wifi, as soon as you clear the login page (usually Room Number and Last Name), BOOT UP YOUR VPN AND CONDUCT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO DO ON THE WEB THROUGH THE VPN CONNECTION. (If you hover your cursor over the signal icon on your taskbar, it should pop up, "Connected to unknown network. No internet connection."


A Proton VPN app is available for Android and Apple smartphones as well. Same thing goes - if you're going to use unsecure wifi in your coffee shop, boot up your VPN connection before logging into email, this site, etc.


When time permits, make sure Norton 360 is updated (they send out 4 - 6 updates EVERY DAY), then DISCONNECT FROM THE INTERNET, open Norton, and click on Settings:
> Firewall: tweek your settings to maximum protection
> Browser and Intrusion protection: ditto.
Finally, assign a password to Norton 360 settings, so nobody can hack in and change the settings on you.


BTW: Don't leave your wifi connect / find available networks ON if you're not actually connecting to a new network. (This applies to both your laptop and your cell phone.) If you leave "Discover New Networks" (sometimes the wording changes) ON all of the time, every wifi router your devices come within range of will log your devices' IMEI numbers EVEN IF YOU DO NOT CONNECT TO THAT wifi router. If LE ever seizes your laptop and or cell phone, all they have to do is look at your wifi log files and they will paint a map of everywhere you've been, to the minute.


If you are on ANY Social Media platforms, disable all location tracking on all of them, and only log on from a secure VPN connection.


If you have an Android hobby phone, understand that even if you turn off Location Services" in Control Panel, the Android Phone will still "ping" off every cell tower and wifi connection in range. It just won't track you by your phone's GPS signal.



Turn off all Background Services on both your cell phone and your laptop. Double-check what services you do need; any ones you don't, block them in Norton 360 Firewall.



If your cell phone or laptop has biometric locking / unlocking, USE IT! there's at least one court decision out there that says LE cannot compel an accused to unlock their mobile device with a retinal print, facial scan, or thumbprint. I posted in detail on this on switter.at.


If this problem persists, you probably have spy/hackware embedded into you laptop. Migrate all necessary contact info, notes etc. to a secure, provider friendly encrypted cloud service (Protonmail recommended; GMail, Yahoo, AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum, etc. NOT RECOMMENDED). Reset your laptop to factory settings and donate it for a tax writeoff to a charity. Buy a new laptop and have someone like me set it up and educate you on how to minimize your exposure on the web. (My services start at $250.00 an hour and go up from there. To set up a new laptop takes me about 4 - 5 hours and a SECURE high speed broadband connection.)



And finally, if you really want to know how much you are being monitored, bookmark eff.org and sign up for their updates.



Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, PM me here, but please understand that I am not on ECCIE all that often - my main sites are switter.at and tryst.link.


Good luck!


Anon.

[Mokoa]

Thank you Anonymous01. Very informative.

I do not trust anyone's WiFi but my own. When I am away from my home network I use my own private mobile WiFi hot spot with its own Internet connection. Along with that, I use a VPN as Anonymous01 suggested.

Be vigilant with updates, especially ones dealing with security.

[tia travels]

Originally Posted by Anonymous01

Rickster isn't "piggybacking". He's used the hotel's unsecure "free" wifi to clone your connection and hack your computer. (Your computer thinks RICKSTER is another peer computer in a LAN or WAN.)....

I knew he wasn't hitching a ride (aka piggybacking)...I just didn't know the terminology to use to explain it. I knew he was probably on there to wreak havoc. But you knew what I meant....which is great. I knew there'd be a brilliant mind on eccie to help me (and others) with this similar issue.

I just wonder if my Zone Alarm Pro and my Norton's firewalls kept him a little at bay. But I'm sure professional hackers can bypass firewalls easily.

Anyway....thank you SO much! I'll get to work on your suggestions asap, as well as checking out the sites you mentioned and keeping you in mind. You've been a superb help!

[Anonymous01]

Awww... I'm not brilliant. I just know what it feels like to be prosecuted by the Federal government for exercising my personal sexual preferences (no children or animals involved, just a self-righteous Federal Prosecutor out to make a name for himself). Since then, and particularly in light of FOSTA / SESTA, I take my privacy VERY seriously.



Also, don't have more than one firewall / virus checker enabled. They sometimes cancel each other out. I've disabled Windows Defender (despite the warnings that the End of Days would result) and blocked it entirely inside Norton 360 firewall. Norton 360 firewall has saved my butt more times than I can count.


I prefer to use Mozilla Firefox as a browser and have downloaded 4 additional (free) privacy plug-ins recommended by eff.org. You can tweak Firefox to block all trackers, but some will still get through. My control panel tells me that the additional 4 plug-ins I've added stopped 7 trackers on this page alone that Firefox did not catch. Avoid Google Chrome (or anything Google based) like the plague; I've blocked both versions of Internet Explorer (64 bit and x36) and Microsoft Edge with Norton 360 firewall. Use DuckDuckGo as your default search engine. Also, if you use Firefox, set "private browsing" as a default and "delete all cookies, history and clear the cache when Firefox closes" as a default. Private browsing means that if you have multiple tabs or windows open in Firefox they can't read the cookies and history from the other open windows or tabs.


Keep calm and carry on!

[Anonymous01]

Mokoa -


+1 on the private personal hotspot + VPN connection.

[tia travels]

Okay, I understand a VPN allows users to send and receive data while remaining anonymous and secure online. Meaning, you can surf privately from peering eyes...

...But a VPN doesn't keep someone from getting into your computer, no? Only a firewall would do that, correct? Or is there something else? I mean, if someone is in your network, they can still search around your computer, right?

[Mokoa]

Originally Posted by Anonymous01

Mokoa -


+1 on the private personal hotspot + VPN connection.

Quite the compliment coming from you.

Thank you.

[Anonymous01]

Originally Posted by Mokoa

Quite the compliment coming from you.

Thank you.

Always respectful of those who take extra measures to protect their privacy.... never want to relive the day when my wife (at the time) answered the door and said,



"Honey, there are some Federal agents at the door saying they have a warrant for you?"

[Anonymous01]

Originally Posted by tia travels

Okay, I understand a VPN allows users to send and receive data while remaining anonymous and secure online. Meaning, you can surf privately from peering eyes...

...But a VPN doesn't keep someone from getting into your computer, no? Only a firewall would do that, correct? Or is there something else? I mean, if someone is in your network, they can still search around your computer, right?

Send and receive data anonymously, NO. Most VPN companies keep logfiles, US based VPN companies are required to keep ALL logfiles for a minimum of one (rolling) calendar year or the can't register their domain - the FCC will block it. (I have verified this with multiple VPN providers.)

Latin / Central America based VPNs are as holey as some of my socks (not my condoms - I never re-use those) because they run on telecom systems covertly set up by the Agency during the first wave of Columbian Cocaine Cowboys during the 80's (remember the movie, Scarface?). The Agency knew that the Cartels would use the "locally based" telecomms for their drug trafficking communications.

The best way to think of a VPN is a network connection INSIDE a previous network connection (the geek term is literally "tunneling"). That VPN secondary connection is secure to the degree that:

- The VPN servers have very good firewalls (Proton VPN automatically kills the connection if it senses a hack)

- The VPN uses a very high level of encryption (Proton VPN allows you to choose the type of encryption method AND the bit rate up to 2048 bits.)

- Your VPN "hygiene" - you have a very long, randomly generated password, and you terminate your connection as soon as you are done with "business"

- The privacy laws that rule in the country that the VPN is based out of. Proton is based out of Switzerland, they have the toughest privacy laws on the planet. If a US based agency made a formal request for Swiss based server logfiles, their reply would be, "We don't have any logfiles; they are prohibited by Swiss law. Go pound sand with your warrant. It is not recognized in Switzerland."

Latin America has very easy to understand privacy laws. You pay enough money, you get everybody else's privacy. Easy to understand, no?

BUT YOU ARE CORRECT. If someone has hacked your computer, they can "spoof" or trick any VPN into thinking it was you logging on - by copying your IMEI, IPN, and PASSWORD(S).

First thing - CHANGE ALL YOUR PASSWORDS ON ALL OF YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNTS. Make them random and difficult to guess.

If that fails, and you continue to see "Rickster" on your peer-to-peer connection, you are screwed. I would get a new computer AND telecom company immediately. Find someone who's friendly who will build a custom laptop to fit your needs, and more importantly, educate you on to how to use the security features and what to do if your firewall detects a breach. DITTO WITH YOUR CELL PHONE!

Equally important is reducing your internet "presence" or "footprint" which is counter to building your "brand". Example: Many providers are putting an "All My Links" page on their web page, linking all of the hobby related review sites, Twitter, Switter, etc. on one page - not knowing who wrote the All My Links app, what trackers are built into that app (they all have them, that's how the app developers make money). Providers say, "All My Links / GMail / Google Voice / Google calendar / Facebook / Twitter / are so convenient." And the largest source of revenue for all of the social media platforms is what they call "contracted managed services" to the NSA - the NSA gets every piece of traffic on every Google based platform BEFORE the intended recipient gets it. Most provider's web pages will not load on my laptop because I have blocked Google Analytics and Google Metrics trackers, and they are built into every web page written in the US!

So shrink your online footprint! Try to use end-to end encryption with whomever you wish to communicate with! (I personally will not meet with anyone that tries to communicate with me via GMail, Yahoo, AT&T Mail, Verizon Mail, etc...)

Hope this helps, and thanks for your patience!

Anon out!