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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not let my new neighbour have our Wi-Fi password

226 replies

lozzylizzy · 19/10/2016 12:17

So our new adjoining neighbour came round to introduce himself and then asked if he could 'borrow' our wifi until he had his sorted next week (for work apparently). I was put right on the spot and didn't know what to say so he said that maybe I wanted to discuss it with DH and left. I don't think its a good idea.

DH has been winding me up saying poor man is bored etc but AIBU for thinking a neighbourly favour is taking in a parcel or putting out their bins and not sharing internet access with practically a stranger?

OP posts:
Peanutandphoenix · 20/10/2016 07:32

I did it for my neighbor worst thing I ever did he kept hammering it sitting on it all day/night I could never get on it without it dropping out said he would pay half for it he never did I ended up paying £65 so that they could send someone out to check it there was no problem with the internet the problem was him. He kept telling me he was getting his internet sorted out and I never once saw anyone out fitting it he used it for 2 months before I decided that enough was enough because I had asked him if he was still using it and he just ignored me so I switched the router off before I went out one night straight away he text me to ask me if there was a problem with the internet because it had gone off I faked innocence and said that I didn't know he bombarded me with text messages all night about the internet when I got home he wasn't in so I switched the router back on and with a friends help I changed the name of the router and the password and never said a word to the neighbor when he asked if I had changed it because he couldn't get on it I just kept telling him that it wasn't working and I was waiting for them to come out and look at it but surprise surprise not even a week later he had BT out fitting his internet. If I hadn't put a stop to his piggy backing he would never of got his own internet fitted. Turned out I wasn't the only person he had asked he had asked everyone in the building if he could use their internet. Moral of the story DON't let anyone use your internet you don't know what they are doing and if they do anything illegal it all comes back on you not them because it's your internet and you can't prove it was someone else and not you.

Mittensonastring · 20/10/2016 07:35

How many posters over the years have found out their lovely husbands or boyfriends have a porn obsession and rock up to the relationships board pretty devastated. A lot thats how many.

DH was one of first peeps to use Internet as he was at Cambridge at the time it all came about and he can programme in a few languages I was building websites in the late 1990's. So I suppose we are IT literate.

Do not give your wifi password to anyone ever, plus too many people use the same password for other stuff. Never duplicate a password.

Galdos · 20/10/2016 07:36

For several years an unknown neighbour had unprotected wifi, and my laptops always picked it up and wanted to use it. Occasionally I would. Although not password protected, they had every bleeding filter imaginable set up, so no porn, no news (talk of death etc), no kids' stuff ...

Don't share, but if you must, put up every filter/blocker you can.

LyndaNotLinda · 20/10/2016 07:44

When my broadband went down, I paid for a BT hotspot thing to access the internet so I could work. I certainly didn't ask my neighbours if I could use theirs and I've lived here for years!

I gave my password to my friend's boyfriend once when they were staying and he downloaded films all night long! People are cheeky fuckers

Say no.

CockacidalManiac · 20/10/2016 08:01

I imagine there's a bit of correlation here between those on here saying 'why not?', and those who end up doing sad face for the local rag when 'Microsoft' phone up and take over their PC.

BarbaraofSeville · 20/10/2016 08:51

It probably breaks the terms and conditions of your broadband service to allow it to be used by anyone not in or visiting your household.

If you suffered hacking of your bank accounts etc, and your bank found out that you had given your wifi password to your neighbour, they would probably consider that to be negligent and refuse to return any money stolen.

Babblehag · 20/10/2016 08:59

nooo, had an old neighbour down the road use mine for fb etc, she was on benefits so didn't mind her using it, and she only logged on a couple of times a day. Went on holiday for a week and before I left I unplugged everything except fridge and freezer to save on electric and fire risks. The cheeky cow only text me to ask why my wifi was off and could I put it back on!! I told her I was on holiday so uplugged as I wasn't using it and no I'm not coming back to turn it on.

myownprivateidaho · 20/10/2016 09:03

Meh, personally I'd have said yes to this. He's unlikely to have done anything illegal, if he did there are unlikely to have been any repercussions, and if there were anything he did do would have been connected to his IP address so you wouldn't be liable. You obviously didn't have to do it though.

myownprivateidaho · 20/10/2016 09:07

I also love the fact the people reckon that it's possible for anyone with your wifi password to access your internet banking. Errm if this is true with your banking service I suggest your switch to one with an encrypted server, like, say, I don't know, any UK bank. And it's easy enough to just password protect your files from other computers on the network, you should do that anyway if you use public wifi ever!

PickAChew · 20/10/2016 09:22

Idaho, see up thread. You're misunderstanding how IP addresses work. As far as accessing the internet is concerned, they are router, not device, specific.

PickAChew · 20/10/2016 09:26

As an illustration of that, one of my kids, using our desktop computer, discovered that anyone could edit Wikipedia articles and duly got us IP blocked from the edit function. As it was IP specific, I got the warning messages on my laptop. It wouldn't make any difference if that had been done on the other side of a brick wall.

noeffingidea · 20/10/2016 09:33

myownprivateidaho* 'unlikely' to do anything illegal. So there is a possibility, yes?
So you would be happy to enable illegal activity then?

CheesyWeez · 20/10/2016 09:44

Venusinscorpio is right. You can show him how to log on to any of the wifi accesses you have to pay for like any person who has just moved. You will be able to see these from your house so give him the names. Please go round and womansplain it to him. Grin If he is really waiting for someone to come to connect his boradband then he might well already have free access as a PP said.
Or he can use his mobile data, set his phone to HOTSPOT for his other devices.

BadToTheBone · 20/10/2016 09:47

If he calls his mobile network, they'll be able to help, they'll give him a short term device for using mobile internet for his other devices. It'll cost but it's not expensive.

RhiWrites · 20/10/2016 10:02

A lot of people on this thread seem really ignorant about how the internet works. Someone else on your LAN can't view your private browsing data or your passwords.

Also, learn how to change your passwords people!

Teddy1970 · 20/10/2016 10:19

Did he just introduce himself so he could ask for internet? Would he have bothered to be quite so "friendly" if he didn't need an internet connection? Probably not. No way would I allow this OP and if you don't feel comfortable doing it then you shouldn't either.

cozietoesie · 20/10/2016 10:23

I agree, Teddy.

jdoe8 · 20/10/2016 10:30

Love how many people think that giving someone a wifi password will let them access to your bank account and emails. Yet many seem to have a DH that is a "security expert"... Grin

Tiny tiny risk that anything illegal would be done, if you think your neighbour is up to illegal things you have bigger things to worry about then them using wifi for a few days.

noeffingidea · 20/10/2016 10:45

jdoe is it nice in your little fluffy- wuffy bunny world?
I'm not worried. I do like to know that if my next door neighbour is doing something questionable/illegal on the internet that I haven't paid for them to do it. Let alone having the old bill knock on my door. And spare me your shit about passwords/filters. You do know that hackers can break into them. To them it's childsplay.

QuinionsRainbow · 20/10/2016 12:21

Someone else on your LAN can't view your private browsing data or your passwords.

Well, for a start, someone else on your LAN can see precisely which machines, laptops, tablets, phones, printers etc. etc. are connected at any one time. Unless you have all of these locked down with appropriate privacy settings, they can then see all files and folders inside these. They can also instal malicious software, key-loggers etc., all without you being aware. I'm not saying that a connecteed neighbour will do any of these things, but who can be sure that they won't!

Nanny0gg · 20/10/2016 13:06

Why would you let a complete stranger access your wifi just because they happened to move in next door?

You might as well remove the password protection and be done with it.

And people think it's only the old that get fleeced online...

KaosReigns · 20/10/2016 13:11

AppData, hidden folders, stored passwords and the ability to add their own files. The word doc I left on my neighbours desktop could just as easily have been malware.

Don't access unsecure networks either. We didn't have a password (lazy flatmates) we/I just warned people off, if douche flatmate had caught her it would have been worse. Never met her by the way, know gender/name etc because she let me in to her computer when she accessed our wi-fi.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, a lot of you are far too confident about your wrong information.

PerryHatter · 20/10/2016 13:13

You should have just told him you're still on dial up.

KaosReigns · 20/10/2016 13:15

Not a "hacker" by the way. Only have basic LAN/network knowledge aquired over years of gaming, someone who knows about coding could do far worse.

Floey · 20/10/2016 17:32

You could be responsible for anything he downloads. Has he no heard of a mobile dongle? Really cheap, PAYG, no problem