Wifi privacy questions

[chrismani]

I have some doubts, I hope someone will answer

I connect to a neighbors wireless ADSL modem to get connected during night.

I was just thinking,

Do I need to change my DNS if I am using a similar untrusted wifi?

When I connect to his wireless modem, my DNS is shown as the 192.168.1.1

Doesn't his modem record the websites i visit via DNS?

[Escalader]

Is your neighbour aware you are piggybacking?

If your router is unprotected like his you are also exposed to anybody within range piggybacking on yours.

It looks like neither of you KNOW what you are doing.

In this country, it is breaking a federal law to do this even if you don't know the law.

If you try to do this to mine, I can track your ip address back to you and bring charges if so desired.

[traxx75]

-{ Quote: "I connect to a neighbors wireless ADSL modem to get connected during night." }-Keep in mind that this can get you in trouble if you are caught. Remember that your laptop/PC can give away some identifying information that can be used to incriminate you later on (eg. a police investigation because someone else used that router to do something illegal).

-{ Quote: "Do I need to change my DNS if I am using a similar untrusted wifi?

When I connect to his wireless modem, my DNS is shown as the 192.168.1.1

Doesn't his modem record the websites i visit via DNS?" }-Most home-use modem/router units do not record DNS lookups (or any traffic, really) as they do not have the capacity to do so. The problem is, it is an unsecured wifi point that anyone could be sitting on. Anyone else with the motivation could monitor DNS (or any network traffic from your machine) and potentially alter the traffic for malicious purposes. I would make use of a VPN to help avoid this kind of thing.

Of course, perhaps your neighbour has left an open wifi network on purpose to see who uses it and what they use it for ;)

[caspian]

-{ Quote: "

If you try to do this to mine, I can track your ip address back to you and bring charges if so desired." }-

If he was connecting to your internet connection would he not have your IP address?

[chrismani]

Who told you I am stealing?

Actually I am using his wifi only to download movies and clips and he has agreed to allow me to use because his speed is much faster than mine......by the agreement is not on a paper or something.....and since he don't use his internet in the night, I can use it on full speed, he said.

Here the ISP provide a dynamic ip to every user and I checked my ip when i connected to his connection

I just logged into 192.168.1.1 and checked his IP. It seems both of our IP is same ???

Coming back to my main question:

Does changing my DNS help me atleast by a point?

Once an ISP techician came to my house and he some how got a list of all the websites I have visited from the cmd program by typing something even though I made sure I used Ccleaner to erase my history.

How was he able to get my history?

Is there any DNS caching feature in most modems?

[caspian]

-{ Quote: "
Once an ISP techician came to my house and he some how got a list of all the websites I have visited from the cmd program by typing something even though I made sure I used Ccleaner to erase my history.

How was he able to get my history?

Is there any DNS caching feature in most modems?" }-

I wonder if r-wipe would get rid of those records?.

But I am almost 100% certain that using Returnil and/or Sanboxie (with Eraser) prevents any browsing history from being saved. But I have no idea how to test this. . However, images from the websites do stay on the hard drive while using Returnil or Sandboxie.. I confirmed that with Recuva. But when I surfed with portable Firefox on either a USB stick or from a TrueCrypt folder on my desktop, Recuva's deep scan was unable to recover one single image. So right now I have my browsers in a TrueCrypt folder on my desktop. I wish I knew how to check to see if anything ise saved.

I have only tested with images so far because I don't really know how to test for anything else yet. Well, I have pulled stuff up before but I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at. So it does me no good at this point.

But anyway, I use Xerobank. I also have used Cryptohippie. I will renew that sub too when I get a chance. Right now those are the only two VPN services that I trust. If you care about your privacy and/or anonymity, you MUST get a VPN.

[chrismani]

In order to use a Wifi, we need to connect to that access point first, then only once it is connected we can use the VPN right?

So, what is the point in using a VPN?

I have Comodo VPN

[caspian]

-{ Quote: "In order to use a Wifi, we need to connect to that access point first, then only once it is connected we can use the VPN right?

So, what is the point in using a VPN?

I have Comodo VPN" }-

Your connection is an encrypted tunnel from your computer on through the wireless router. That prevents anyone from snooping. I think you mentioned that you were concerned about the owner of the wireless router being able to see what you are doing, right? This prevents that from happening. He will not be able to see your data or the websites that you visit, assuming that your DNS is handled by the VPN provider.

Click on "Test My DNS". I usually have to refresh my browser after that to get the reading.

https://www.dns-oarc.net/oarc/services/dnsentropy

[Escalader]

-{ Quote: "If he was connecting to your internet connection would he not have your IP address?" }-

Yes he would if he could connect, but he can't connect due to the secure router.

[Searching_ _ _]

-{ Quote: "I have some doubts, I hope someone will answer

I connect to a neighbors wireless ADSL modem to get connected during night.

I was just thinking,

Do I need to change my DNS if I am using a similar untrusted wifi?

When I connect to his wireless modem, my DNS is shown as the 192.168.1.1

Doesn't his modem record the websites i visit via DNS?" }-
DNS is a computer other than yours that specifically converts names (www.google.com) to numbers (72.14.204.113)
192.168.1.1 is the router address, all 192.168.x.x addresses are reserved for internal networks IPv4.
Everything behind the router (Local Area Network), including the router, will have a reserved address. (until IPv6 becomes standard)

His router is querying his ISP's DNS server, which is not 192.168.1.1.

If you want to change the DNS and not use the one that the router uses:
Network Connections>Rightclick Adapter that you connect with>Properties>Highlight IPv4 then click Properties>Select "Use the following DNS server addresses"
You can try Primary 8.8.8.8, Secondary 8.8.8.4
Instead of your computer querying his router to query their DNS, you will now be asking directly cutting out the middle man. (Don't ask me why I dislike man in the middle, makes me want to smack him on his sniffer. ;D )

-{ Quote: "Once an ISP techician came to my house and he some how got a list of all the websites I have visited from the cmd program by typing something even though I made sure I used Ccleaner to erase my history.

How was he able to get my history?" }-
Index.dat maybe?
Like others mentioned, a reboot to restore program can prevent most of that data mining.
Blue Zannetti has a very good article on light virtualization stickied in the Virtualization section.

Many ISP's monitor customer traffic, even if no one is sniffing the network from a local perspective, the ISP is from a WAN perspective.

[katio]

-{ Quote: "
Do I need to change my DNS if I am using a similar untrusted wifi?
" }-
Good question.
If you use the DNS "192.168.1.1" you need to trust that the router isn't using a rogue DNS server. Theoretically it could be directing you to phishing sites for example. Using you own DNS by entering an IP on your PC somwhat improves your security but only to some extent. On an untrusted wifi there are still tons of other ways to redirect, sniff or otherwise attack you.
For anything sensitive use "https" and make sure the signatures are valid. That will protect you against pretty much all attacks, including a hijacked DNS.

[chrismani]

Thanks everyone

I installed https everywhere addon, changed DNS and avoid visiting log in site without https

I hope this will do fine

I reactivated my Comodo VPN

[Lyx]

-{ Quote: "In order to use a Wifi, we need to connect to that access point first, then only once it is connected we can use the VPN right?

So, what is the point in using a VPN?

I have Comodo VPN" }-


As Caspian said, when usng a vpn, all your outgoing trafic is encrypted in your pc, then is trasnmitted to the wifi, which transmits it to the vpn server, which decrypts it and send it to the internet. For incoming trafic, it's just the opposite. So, someone sitting on on the wifi access point can only see encrypted datas between your pc and your vpn server.Except of course if the sitting guy is able to perform some man in the middle attack, in order to decrypt your vpn traffic (possible with pptp, much harder vith ipsec or openvpn I think).

Concerning anonymity in case you connect to s your neighbour's wifi (with or without a vpn) I don't exactly know what IP the guy sitting on the wifi access point is able to see from you. I think he only can see a local IP, which is irrelevant to identify you. Buthe surely can see your PC mac address.