Suspect neighbor has hacked into network–physically thru cable line in basement
and can view pages I recently viewed. I can hear him thru walls as he comments
on pages- visited -yahoo etc.
How can I keep him out?
Running XP professional with sp2? ???
Have you physically gone down to the basement and looked to see if there is a computer attached? Have you actually seen him go down and bring a computer if not one down there? Laptop? If not, guessing is only guessing and means no more than fart in a tornado and accusations can not be made without absolute proof.
Proof being the main word, do you have anything else to suggest this is happening? I can typically hear my neighbor sign into Yahoo from across the street or when he has hotmail messages. Perhaps this may be what’s going on? Just another view is all, he may be hearing you through the walls and it he may be saying “there he goes logging into Yahoo messenger again” or something of that order.
If in fact he is hacking you then, you should alert your isp provider and authorities as this is very illegal and not take matters into your own hands.
Hope this helps,
Paul
Can you please answer the following questions:
physically thru cable line in basement
He has physically spliced into your internet cable feed?
Or has he established a physical connection to your LAN that connects to your internet connection?
and can view pages I recently viewed
So he can see the browser cache on your PC?
I can hear him thru walls as he comments
Can you get thicker walls? LOL Only kidding.
We need more info before we can answer.
If he has physically tapped your LAN, I don’t care what country you live in, this is illegal. Having said that, you must have PROOF.
Cheers,
Ewen 
Do you have a wireless LAN?
What steps have you taken to ensure the security of your LAN?
Ewen
I have wireless capability thru my laptop–so I have disabled that connection.
Other connection thru another card is still active
(direct connection to cable modem-- card in laptop).
Viewed my active connections thru Network Nieghborhood
-Right clicked on my active cable connection (clicked on properties) and unchecked
sharing and another box–left ip/tcp checked.
Disabled 95% of unnecessary services in XP Professional.
Using Firefox which has been set to discard
cookies and everthing and the cache.
*I have Installed Comodo. And setup up so I can connect thru specific ports ONLY.
Also certain programs like firefox and realplayer connect thru certain ports.
*A Boot password has been set.
The (suspected hacker visits often) a close friend of the Lanlord has a laptop in the basement
setup and running. Once this guy pulled me aside and asked if my network was up–
it was. His laptop showed the name of my new network (It was a using WAP or WEP
the weakest security. That’s why the router was on sale! I was told that today
most folks use WPA or WPA2. The old router could not support that proper security.)
*He also Performs minor repairs in the house and spends LOTS of time in the basement.
Installed new shower, and replaced some electrical switches
–built a few bookcases in basement.
*Unsure if he has physically cut into the cable feed in the basement.
It would be easy for him to do so. No one aside from Comcast would be the wiser
(Comcast must have some security setup for such breeches).
My Cable modem is upstairs unattended when I leave. No physically connections there.
*Looking for a pc lock for desktop.
Those cable locks for laptops not feasible.
desks tables and chairs and easily be lifted and cable removed.
Have seen software online which disables features like access
to disk drive…
Even though you may be using a hard wired connection on your laptop your router/wireless access point may still be broadcasting and/or allowing access. This may be why you saw your network on his laptop. I think a wireless router is far more complicated to set up and troubleshoot than most comsumers realize. My personal experience is mainly with Linksys, but the setup program that comes with them and runs in windows is far far less than adequate to address security issues. Fine tuning and disabling most default settings (which seem to be wide open to unwanted use) usually requires logging in to the routers settings with a web browser, which most people don’t even seem to know exists. I would suggest setting your router up in such a manner, and 1) at the minimum changing the default password, 2) disabling an administrative connection through WIFI, 3) making sure the most secure encryption mode compatible with your wireless card is chosen, 4) choose a good AND long passphrase for any WIFI connections (for instance one using letters AND numbers [for examples and info see www.diceware.com]) and 5) set up MAC address filtering to only allow your NICs to connect. I may have left out some things as I wrote this off of the top of my head. I highly doubt the person you suspect has a hard wired connection. For one, I would assume your ISP would notice an unauthorized MAC address connection since only your cable/dsl modem should be authorized, and also your router would not allow any access to your network through coax cable , but only through ethernet cable connected to a port EXCEPT for WIFI. These are my own observations and I do not claim to be an expert, although I have 15 years of IT experience for several IT oriented employers. In my opinion though I would troubleshoot and lock down the WIFI aspect of you router and see if that solves the problem before assuming anything. This whole scenario is why is dislike the “convenient” newer routers with WIFI built in, I use a hardwire only router with a WIFI access point as a separate appliance which I only power on when I need to use it, but the market trend seems to be toward all in one products which does make things simpler and less expensive but also in alot of cases much less secure. For starters I would suggest powering off your router and/or cable modem when you are not home or not using them. You can also check the logs in your router to see who else is connecting and for what they are doing.
Thanks for your help cwhamsun!!
You recommended the very same brand as did
another tech I spoke to yesterday. (:CLP) :Beer
He also said a router with the firewall
hardware vs software WILL solve ALL my problems. Furthermore he said that
Linksys is backed by Cisco the no#1 leader in the Industry. :BNC
On another happy note I changed my Comodo settings so only requests from my ip ,
a specific port, and Outgoing only will be recieved. I rec a interesting log note shortly
after I logged on early this morning: "Outbound policy violation access denied
ICMP=Router Solicitation"
Three High Praises for Comodo!! :BNC (:AGL)
PS I will not use another router unless it is a Linksys :Beer