Neighbour continuously trying to connect to our wifi - an issue?

[AVRC]

So this has been going on months now, a mac address that does not belong to any device that we have in our house has been trying to connect to our wifi. When I check the hub event log sometimes it's is literally every second all day long and sometimes it happens for a few hours and then there is a break and then it starts up again. I changed the SSID name and it stopped happening for a few days but I guess they finally noticed and the hub event log is full again. I assume they are running some sort of program to try and crack the wifi password. 

Will this be impacting the router in any way?
Is there any way to prevent it?

Here is a snapshot

[Keith_Beddoe]

The MAC address does not match any vendor, so its probably a dummy one.

If it is a neighbour, there is not much you can do about it, as you cannot hide your SSID on a home hub, and even if you did, there are plenty of tools that can detect it, with the right type of wireless card.

Just make sure your wifi password is complex, and is not the same as the default one on your home hub, and just ignore it.

[AVRC]

Thanks for the reply.

I changed the Admin password when we got it but left the wifi one, is there any reaosn why the supplied one needs to be changed? I checked it on the how secure is my password site and it said it would take 3 thousand years to crack.

I've turned off 2.4GHz for now as we don't actually need that band and from what I have read the 5GHz has a much shorter travel distance and would prevent all but our next door neighbour being in range.

[Keith_Beddoe]

If the label on the home hub can be easily read, like through a window, then the password can be noted. Also if anyone visits, they could take a quick photo of the label.

Turning off 2.4GHz may prove inconvenient for you, as not all devices support 5GHz.

[AVRC]

I keep the wifi key in a drawer and all of our devices support 5GHz so I think we're ok on those fronts. 🙂

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@AVRC wrote:

I keep the wifi key in a drawer and all of our devices support 5GHz so I think we're ok on those fronts. 🙂

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Its also written on the back of the home hub, and so is the admin password.

[AVRC]

Hadn't noticed that but our hub is wall mounted, no way anything can be read without physically pulling it off the wall. New admin password is not written down anywhere, it's saved in password storage. 

[wisty]

Have you considered using Mac Filtering (Advanced Settings/Wireless/MAC Filtering on my HH6) to deny access to that MAC address. That will prevent access even if the password is cracked.
If the neighbour notices and changes the MAC address they are using so that they can continue to try - I think you might have a legal case under the computer misuse act. The change of MAC address being evidence of a DELIBERATE attempt to access your system. Keep the logs showing access attempts.
If its a family with kids next door, a quiet word with the parents citing the computer misuse act might be enough.

[AVRC]

Looking through the event log just now there's not been one single attempt since I turned off the 2.4GHz band. I think only our adjoined neighbours would now be in range of the 5GHz band so I have a good idea of who it might have been that was trying. I'll keep an eye on the logs and see if anything more happens.

[Andy_N]

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@AVRCwrote:

Looking through the event log just now there's not been one single attempt since I turned off the 2.4GHz band. I think only our adjoined neighbours would now be in range of the 5GHz band so I have a good idea of who it might have been that was trying. I'll keep an eye on the logs and see if anything more happens.

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As a matter of interest. With the old logs, the timings might be relevant of course - do you know who might be home nextdoor or or nearby during those times?