Strange devices on router

[Liz81]

Hey,

So I have a couple of devices showing up on my router that are unfamiliar. One of them appears to look like it's from amazon and the other one is from audiocast. My wifi is protected by password (a really good and long one, I think). Could it be because I use amazon? I don't even use audiocast though I'm not sure what that is.

I thought maybe someone from amazon was hacking into my wifi but my wifi is again, protected and it's wireless and I have the remote access turned off. So how would someone hack into my wifi without remote access and it's just been me and one other person using all the devices listed on my router in the house.

Thanks.

 

[Bree]

So I have a couple of devices showing up on my router that are unfamiliar. One of them appears to look like it's from amazon and the other one is from audiocast.

I presume you mean unrecognised devices appear in Explorer under Network. It's annoying, but not a security problem. Your neighbor's devices like an Amazon Echo announce themselves to the world and may be listed, but they are NOT connected to your network or have any access. You can confirm this by looking at their Properties. Note that they have no IP address assigned, without one they cannot access anything on your network (nor can you access them).



More on this here: Network Device: Amazon KFAUWI

 

[Liz81]

Nope, I meant I actually logged into my router to see what devices are connected and they do have their IP addresses and mac addresses. The addresses are all similar though. Something starting with like 192.168.1 or something like that but the end at the string of numbers is different.

 

[Bree]

That is more worrying. You router's table should show whether the devices are currently connected, or just a record of a connection in the past. If they are no longer connected, could it be a device that a visitor may have connected with your or the other person's permission? The Amazon KFAUWI device in my post, for example, appears to be an Amazon Fire tablet: Amazon KFAUWI

Depending on the make of router, you should be able to disconnect any device you don't recognise, or even block its mac address from connecting again. Check your router's manual.

 

[Barman58]

This is something that gets reported quite often, the problem is caused due to the router manufacturers all using the same (or at least a very narrow pool of IP addresses). The ip range 192.168.nnn.nnn is one of the special local address ranges that are only used on a local network, any information sent by these addresses directly to the internet will be trashed by the first web junction it reaches.

The issue is that these days you often see many networks in adjacent homes in an area and they all have routers that have one of the standard 192.168.nnn.nnn ranges, A lot of manufacturers will just use the first range in the set 192.168.1.1 to 192.168..1.255 and the neighbours router will choose the same default, so the both sets of devices will appear in both routers.

They should be safe as there are several layers of security, the name of the router and the passphrase you need to log into the router to connect to the net are the main ones

The simplest way to prevent the confusion is to change the range that your router uses EG, (check the user manual for the router for how to set the range), set it to 192.168.100.nnn and after a few days the phantom devices should disappear, (it takes a few hours online for the device to refresh it's IP address so is not usually instant)

You may wish to change your SSID (router name you see), and the passphrase you use to log into the router, (this is the one every wireless device uses to connect). A further security measure is to change the admin password used to set-up the router - Again the manual will have the information you need

 

[Liz81]

Ok thanks, guys. Another question is whether to upgrade the firmware. Turns out an update is available but I've been reading on the netgear forum that if your router is doing fine and protecting your computer, then leave it alone. I've read from some people that upgrading just made things worse and some couldn't get back online. So should I just leave it alone if I'm still protected? If I do upgrade, will I have to reenter the password for all the devices?

 

[Barman58]

The suggestions you are getting from the Netgear forums make a lot of sense, my advice is to check the release notes that netgear are expected to issue with each firmware update. The Release Notes should be a list of issues that the update corrects or removes the cause, (reverts to prior to when the issue was discovered),.

If you feel that you have an issue described and feel that correcting this will benefit your use of the hardware, then you should install the update - If there is nothing listed in the update that you feel will improve your use of the hardware then you should follow the old rule - If it ain't broke don't fix it.

As for needing to re enter passwords this will depend on the nature of the New Firmware, You may need to re-enter the current information into the router or other settings if it is a completely new firmware. If it is a basic update then there should be no need to re-enter anything. You should not need to re enter any information in the devices as long as you keep the information the same (if you need to re-enter anything)

 

[joshua.haslam]

Hey. I realise this is an old thread, but it's still the top hit on Google for "audiocast device network" (at least for me). I had the same question as you, and I've since figured out the answer, so posting this here in case it helps others.

It turns out "audiocast" is an LG soundbar with Apple Airplay and Google Cast capabilities. I don't know what "amazon" is, but it's likely an Amazon Alexa/Echo/Fire device. Before you take drastic action, it is worth remembering that these may well be legitimate WiFi-connected devices that you just hadn't considered.