Computer wifi question: When I click on the wifi icon in the task bar it shows my belkin router at the top ... but then there are all these other connections showing. If I open one of...

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

When I click on the wifi icon in the task bar it shows my belkin router at the top ... but then there are all these
other connections showing. If I open one of them it has a check mark in "connect auto".

I set only my top belkin connection to "connect auto", but the others reset themselves.

Sometimes one will actually close and a new one will pop up.

Appreciate any one shedding some light for me on what's going on with this.

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

[quote=dannac] there are all these other connections showing. If I open one of them it has a check mark in "connect auto".

My 'guess' is, even if you click on one of those other connections it will 'ask for' a password (assuming your neighbors are as smart as you). So you don't have to worry "auto connecting" if you accidentally try to connect to one of your neighbors.

Sam

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

Thanks for the reply Sam but I do not understand.

If I click on one of the other connects it only shows "Connect auto" with a checkmark in the box.
I can uncheck it but it resets itself once I open it again.

What are they ... other computers using my wifi ?

chevman Loc: Matthews, North Carolina

dannac wrote:

Thanks for the reply Sam but I do not understand.

If I click on one of the other connects it only shows "Connect auto" with a checkmark in the box.
I can uncheck it but it resets itself once I open it again.

What are they ... other computers using my wifi ?

No. You have to put in a password. I assume yours is the Belken, and I see that it says secure. That is good. But on your guest connection there is a little shield with an "!" In it that means it is not secure and your neighbor can use it or even worse someone can park outside your residence and use it. I suggest that you either eliminate it or put in a password to secure it. Then when you have guests you can put in the password for them and it will remain untill you change the password in the router. I noticed the one on the bottom of the list says "Hidden Network" it obviously is not hidden otherwise you could not see it. There is a way to hide your network so that it does not broadcast the network name. But you cannot see either if you should get a new device and want to connect, until you go in to the router settings and unhide it.
___________________________
Jerry in NC

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

What you are seeing are the WiFis of your neighbors.
The reason you can't uncheck the 'connect auto' is that you don't have access/authority for those WiFis.

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

chevman wrote:

No. You have to put in a password. I assume yours ... (show quote)

Thank you chevman, I will take care of that guest connection.

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

rwilson1942 wrote:

What you are seeing are the WiFis of your neighbors.
The reason you can't uncheck the 'connect auto' is that you don't have access/authority for those WiFis.

Understand a lil better now ... thank you !

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rwilson1942 wrote:

What you are seeing are the WiFis of your neighbors.
The reason you can't uncheck the 'connect auto' is that you don't have access/authority for those WiFis.

The word "secure" means that you need a password to get into those routers.
(I looked at the wifi on my phone one day while being a passenger driving from work. You should see all of them that pop up then go away when you get out of range!)

dannac Loc: 60 miles SW of New Orleans

Longshadow wrote:

The word "secure" means that you need a password to get into those routers.
(I looked at the wifi on my phone one day while being a passenger driving from work. You should see all of them that pop up then go away when you get out of range!)

JRFINN Loc: Plymouth, MA

Those are neighbors and most likely secured by encrypted passwords. Nothing to worry about.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

dannac wrote:

When I click on the wifi icon in the task bar it shows my belkin router at the top ... but then there are all these
other connections showing. If I open one of them it has a check mark in "connect auto".

I set only my top belkin connection to "connect auto", but the others reset themselves.

Sometimes one will actually close and a new one will pop up.

Appreciate any one shedding some light for me on what's going on with this.

Your question has been answered and suggestions made, but to add...I would shut off the 'guest' all together or password it, if the guest option is off and someone in your household needs to use your wi-fi, you could give him/her your password then change it when they leave...or I suggest learning and using MAC address security if you have a lot of traffic & devices wanting to use your wifi. You did remember to change the factory default password of the router right? knowing it's a Belkin router, the default password is easy to guess...It's not a bad idea to change the network name either so it's not Belkinxxx, The other wifi's you see as mentioned are locals in your area, yours too can be seen by others unless you turn off broadcasting.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

dannac wrote:

When I click on the wifi icon in the task bar it shows my belkin router at the top ... but then there are all these
other connections showing. If I open one of them it has a check mark in "connect auto".

I set only my top belkin connection to "connect auto", but the others reset themselves.

Sometimes one will actually close and a new one will pop up.

Appreciate any one shedding some light for me on what's going on with this.

Neighbors and nearby businesses. You can get a cell phone app to show the strength of Wi-Fi signals. Interesting.

dpfoto Loc: Cape Coral, FL

I had an old Belkin that was no longer in use. So, just for fun, I set it up with a very strong password, and named it "FBI Surveillance Unit 536". I've had a couple of comments from neighbors who have no idea it's mine. ;)

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

Kind of on the same subject, Yesterday I noticed that our phones and my nook see an additional connection that our computer do not, It's a higherspeed connection to my own router? are our computers too old? can I fix? Thanks in advance, Bob.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

dannac wrote:

When I click on the wifi icon in the task bar it shows my belkin router at the top ... but then there are all these
other connections showing. If I open one of them it has a check mark in "connect auto".

I set only my top belkin connection to "connect auto", but the others reset themselves.

Sometimes one will actually close and a new one will pop up.

Appreciate any one shedding some light for me on what's going on with this.

It will depend on if the others are secured or not. I saw one that says "Open" which means that it is non-secured. I have passwords (secured) on all of my Wi-Fi routers but the one that is in the center of the house. It doesn't have enough range to allow for theft of signal. NOTE: you probably want to secure your Wi-Fi router with a good password because, if someone (yes this is unlikely but it does happen) sits in their car with a smart phone or a laptop they can connect to porn sites, terrorist sites etc. and it will appear to the government (and your network provider) that someone in YOUR house was doing it. As I said, its unlikely but it just takes once.