Recently I had the opportunity to connect myself to the Internet in a new apartment. In order to secure my access point, I decided to remember the methods of “connecting on my own” to someone else’s home Internet from the era of my student years and the golden age of Hacker magazine, and figure out whether any of them still work.
Below you will learn about the five most common ways to use your neighbor’s Internet for free, which were widely used in Russia just a few years ago. Are they relevant now? Now you'll find out.
All information below is provided for informational purposes only. Use for personal gain and other malicious purposes is not encouraged and remains at the peril and risk of those using it.
Everything written below is relevant mainly for capitals. In smaller cities, everything can be much simpler technically, but here are five ways to connect to your neighbor’s Internet:
Selecting a Wi-Fi password
The most obvious and banal method that exploits human laziness and carelessness. Despite the futile admonitions of security experts, thousands, perhaps millions, of people continue to set their first and last names, dates of birth and dog names as passwords for access points.
You can just guess that your neighbor Vasya with the Vasyan access point, who celebrated his 30th birthday on December 3, 2022 and greatly disturbed your sleep, will have a password of 03121990. Or you can use a special selection program that will sort through all the common “dictionary” options and combinations figures for a very foreseeable time.
Moreover, formally this does not even violate anything. Of course, if you just use the Internet for peaceful purposes.
Efficiency of the method : the technical literacy of the population is steadily growing, so the likelihood of encountering a password like qwerty is extremely low. But nevertheless, there is always a certain chance.
Precautions : Use strong passwords.
How to make unlimited Internet on a smartphone?
It should be noted that in recent years, all leading operators have tariffs with an included package of mobile Internet traffic volume, which is very convenient and profitable. MTS, Megafon, Rostelecom, Beeline and Tele 2 also have separate tariffs for using them on a phone, modem or laptop with a fixed monthly cost and unlimited mobile Internet. Find out about the procedure for obtaining a SIM card and connecting to such a tariff from your specific mobile operator. There are office pavilions at every turn, so it won’t be difficult to go up to the counter and find out all the details.
WPS code selection
Another brute force method in the gray area. WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) technology is designed to simplify device access to a Wi-Fi access point without entering a password.
This is achieved either by entering an eight-digit access PIN code, or by pressing a special button on the router.
The option with a PIN code is quite vulnerable - after all, it can also be guessed. The main thing is to find out whether the subscriber’s access point supports WPS using a PIN code, but special programs have long been invented for this.
Method effectiveness : becoming more and more useless - many routers block the WPS PIN function after several unsuccessful connection attempts.
Precautions : Update your router firmware regularly. If possible, avoid using WPS technology.
Which Internet to connect to your mobile phone
Let's consider the mobile Internet service from the most famous Russian operators - Beeline, Tele2, MTS, Megafon and Yota.
Comparison of operator tariffs
If you want cheaper internet, choose Tele2 or Yota - operators offer budget tariffs with limited traffic. From Tele2, for example, you can buy 1 GB of internet for only 120 rubles/month. or 3 GB for 200 rub./month. If you take larger tariffs from this operator, you will pay an average of 40 rubles for 1 GB. The larger the volume, the greater the discount. Plus, for many tariffs there is a bonus: unlimited Internet at night.
Tele2 has both separate Internet tariffs and combined ones - with minutes and SMS
Tele2 also offers mixed tariffs. One of them is with unlimited Internet + 500 minutes, unlimited calls to internal numbers and 50 SMS. The tariff costs 600 rubles/month.
The remaining three operators (MTS, Megafon, Beeline) have higher prices. Beeline has the cheapest tariff from the “Everything” line (only mixed tariffs with minutes, SMS and Internet are available) will cost you 500 rubles/month.
The minimum number of gigabytes in the “Everything” line is 10 GB
Megafon has three separate Internet tariffs (S, M, L). The smallest one with 5 GB will cost 400 rubles/month. For the same price, Tele2 can connect 15 GB. The cost of the most inexpensive mixed tariff from Megafon is 650 rubles/month. (tariff “Turn on! Choose”).
Megafon's mobile Internet tariffs have the names of clothing sizes
What about MTS? This operator offers a more or less favorable budget tariff with minutes and SMS for 550 rubles/month. You will receive 15 GB of traffic and 400 minutes and SMS. The tariff is called “My Smart”. If you pay extra 15 rubles. and purchase the “Tariffishche” package, you will receive unlimited Internet and 500 minutes and SMS per month.
The optimal tariff for MTS is “My Smart”
Additionally, you can purchase traffic packages from MTS for the main tariff: minimum 3 GB for 190 rubles.
Additionally, you can buy 3, 5 or 10 GB of traffic from MTS
Please note that the cost of tariffs and the availability of certain tariffs may vary in different regions. Therefore, before checking out the rates on the website, be sure to indicate your location.
Comparison of coverage area and communication quality
Of course, when choosing an operator, you need to rely on the quality of its communication (as shown by reviews on independent sites) and its coverage area. You need to be in an area with a stable signal for the Internet on your phone to work at good speed.
The three giants of Russian cellular communications (MTS, Beeline and Megafon) cover the largest territory of the country, so they are suitable for almost any region, including small settlements. Tele2 and Yota have a much smaller coverage area - these operators are suitable for residents of large cities, including the capital.
Beeline's coverage map is wider than Tele2's
As for the quality of communication: on Otzovik, MTS mobile communications have the highest rating (rating 3 out of the total number of reviews). Next come Yota, Tele2, Megafon and Beeline.
According to estimates on Otzovik, the mobile operator MTS wins
Hacking a router (access point)
This method is no longer “gray”, but frankly “black”. It is based on obtaining a password by intercepting data and exploiting vulnerabilities in Wi-Fi protocols and their implementations on specific routers.
Professionals work with their own utilities, but there are many standard programs for “hacking Wi-Fi.” True, their effectiveness is a controversial issue.
The effectiveness of the method : it all depends on the professionalism of the attacker and the security of specific protocols. It is unlikely that anyone will break their home router with military software, so standard precautions are usually sufficient. But you shouldn’t relax either.
Precautions : Update your router firmware regularly. If possible, hide the network name and enter it manually on your gadgets.
Applications with global Wi-Fi password databases
One of the ways to hack a closed network is to search and substitute the required password using applications with global password databases for connecting to Wi-Fi networks. All you need to do is download the application, enter your region (geolocation) and the name of the wifi access point for which you want to receive the password. Next, the application will search its database and provide the current password. The most popular applications with wifi passwords:
- WiFi You;
- Wi-fi map;
- Wi-Fi Passwords;
- Swift WiFi;
- Router Scan.
The password search process itself can take from a few seconds to several minutes, but the time spent waiting is rewarded with access to the network.
Phishing
Another frankly criminal method is based on the fact that the victim’s computer connects to a fake access point created by the attacker.
And the person enters the password independently, on a page very similar to the admin panel of the router. Which 99% of users have never seen. Be careful!
The effectiveness of the method : everything depends solely on attentiveness. It happens that even the most careful people lose their vigilance and enter the password in the wrong place. Although the likelihood of encountering this in normal home conditions is extremely low.
Precautions : carefully look at which pages in the browser ask you to enter the password for the router. Hide the network name.
Intercepting and hacking your neighbor's Wi-Fi password
You can also gain access to someone else’s network by intercepting and hacking it. To do this, the following steps are performed: the “AirSlax” program is installed on the gadget, after which it is installed on a flash drive with the downloaded archive and the “bootinst.bat” file is launched - this way you will always have a “magic wand” at hand for quick selection. When the file is launched, press the combination “Alt + F1”, a menu is displayed in which “AiroScript” is selected. From the list of networks that appears, select the one needed for hacking (if the one you need is not there, press “1+ Enter”. Next in the list of commands, select the automatic mode, after which automatic interception of traffic and decryption of WEP passwords, as well as interception of the handshake of WPA networks, begins.
Cable insertion
A method that originated in the online freedom of the early 2000s, and in many ways has remained there. Its essence is that the cable going to the subscriber is branched into two using a special device - a network switch, or switch.
It costs from 500 rubles and works, if you don’t go too deep into the theory, transparently for the provider and the subscriber’s router.
For branching, you need the switch itself, power for it, some network cable, 4 RJ-45 connectors, a special tool - a crimper, shown in the photo above - and the ability to crimp a cable.
The wire coming to the subscriber from the provider is cut, after which both ends are crimped with connectors and inserted into the switch ports. A cable leading to the attacker is inserted into the third port. If the provider does not require authentication, an attacker can also install a router (or connect a computer immediately) and use the subscriber’s Internet.
Efficiency of the method : recently it has been ineffective, except in completely remote places - authentication is already required to connect almost everywhere, it’s just that most often it is invisible to the end user, because configured at the router level by a provider specialist.
And with the development of fiber-optic communication lines that extend directly to the apartment, a banal crimper will no longer be enough.
Precautions : check the cable shield, try to choose providers with connection authentication or “fiber to the door”.
Methods for connecting Android to the Internet
The easiest and most affordable way to connect the Internet to a mobile phone is the so-called one, which is provided by absolutely all mobile operators. In all modern tariffs of MTS, Beeline, Megafon, Tele 2, Rostelecom or any other provider, it is already tied to the number by default. But it’s worth considering that for accessing the Internet from a smartphone, the subscriber is charged an additional fee - each operator has its own fee.
Mobile Internet (3G/4G)
To activate mobile Internet you will have to do a few simple steps on your phone. On a standard “naked” Android, you need to go to the “Settings - Additional settings - Mobile networks” section and activate the “Mobile data” mode.
I am currently using a Xiaomi smartphone, which runs on the proprietary MIUI shell. However, the described method to turn on the Internet is suitable for any Android phone - Samsung, Huawei, Honor, etc. You need to go to “Settings” and open the “SIM cards and mobile networks” section, where you activate the “Mobile Internet” toggle switch.
By the way, there is also a traffic setting - if you know that the free Internet limit is limited, then by entering the value of the volume provided to you according to the terms of the tariff, the phone will track its overuse and report about it using notifications.
In order to disable mobile Internet, accordingly, you need to turn off the “Mobile data” mode.
Setting up via USB cable
It always amazes me how newbies come up with very sophisticated ways. For example, they ask the question of how to connect the Internet to a phone via a USB modem via cable. Friends, the modem is designed for use with a smartphone or wifi router. There are models of 4G modems that themselves can distribute the Internet via a wireless signal, like a router. But it is impossible to connect a modem to a smartphone using a classic USB cable so that the Internet can work on it!
Via Ethernet network cable
Another science fiction question! It is also not possible to connect your phone to the Internet using a standard cable that is brought into the apartment from the provider. You need to purchase a WiFi router, configure it to distribute a wireless signal and connect from your smartphone.
Via Bluetooth
Finally, the last option for connecting the Internet to your phone is via Bluetooth. To do this, you need to connect your smartphone to a computer or laptop that has Internet access. The method is a little specific, since you will need additional software, a lot of settings and super-user rights (root access) on your mobile phone. It’s still easier to connect your smartphone to the Internet using one of the above methods via WiFi or through the mobile network of MTS, Megafon, Tele 2, Beeline, Rostelecom, etc.
Fraud (phishing) to obtain a wifi password
This technique consists of luring a password out of a neighbor using cunning.
To do this, you need to download the WiFiFisher application - it will help connect your neighbor to another network, which will give you the desired access code. Everything goes through several stages: the program prepares your computer for the forgery, then you select the wi-fi network for which you want to receive the password. Next, the program creates exactly the same access point with the same name as the network selected for attack, and “jammes” the selected Wi-Fi network for attack. The owner of the selected network loses the Internet, he tries to connect again - this time to the phishing access point you created (confuses it with his own), enters the login and password, which fall into your hands. That's it, the operation is completed. To avoid falling for such tricks, be careful when entering passwords.
Android applications for connecting to Wi-Fi without knowing the password
We have selected several of the best and most reliable Android applications for connecting to your neighbor’s Wi-Fi, here they are:
- WPS Connect is an application that automatically generates passwords for wifi networks; it will take the password in a couple of minutes.
- WiFi You - a repository of millions of passwords from wi-fi networks around the world;
- WiFinspect is an application for experienced users that allows you to conduct a detailed analysis of someone else's network;
- WIFI WPS WPA TESTER - will remove the password from an insufficiently protected Wi-Fi access point using identified vulnerabilities.
What are the options
For any action there is always a reaction. The situation is the same with access to Wi-Fi. The more complex the levels of protection become, the more sophisticated ways are found to circumvent it. The same is true with Wi-Fi. The most effective methods of protection are creating a password and data encryption protocols.
With encryption protocols, things are much more complicated - everything that has been encrypted can be decrypted, the only question is how much time and resources it will take. However, the topic of data decryption is a bit complex and requires some basic skills besides everything else. Therefore, we will put it aside, but let’s talk about passwords in a little more detail.
Simple and effortless
The easiest option to take advantage of free Wi-Fi is to go to some large shopping center or cafe, where, to attract customers, they give out free Wi-Fi, which you can connect to without any password and enjoy for your own pleasure.
Another option that does not require much effort from you is to connect to your neighbor’s Wi-Fi if, out of the kindness of his heart or simply out of naivety, he has not set a password. To do this, go to Start - Control Panel - Network and Internet - Network Connection Center - Connect to a network. A list of available networks will appear in front of you, and if among them you find at least one marked with an exclamation mark, you can celebrate - this will be your “good” neighbor. You can connect to it at any time, and you can take advantage of it.
Passwords are different
If, nevertheless, your neighbors turned out to be greedy and vigilant, then hope is not completely lost either. First, you can try to guess the password manually. According to statistics, the most common passwords are 1111, 1234, qwerty, and so on. Perhaps, with a little patience and free time, luck will smile on you, but here we will not give any guarantees that you will be able to connect - it all depends on your luck and the ingenuity of your neighbors. The chances of success, frankly speaking, are very slim.
Another way to log into your neighbor’s Wi-Fi without knowing the password is to use programs for guessing passwords: Aircrack-ng 0.9.3 win and CommView for Wi-Fi. They have an intuitive interface that makes them easy to understand.
And they work according to the following principle: the program contains a password database and starts selecting from the most popular and in descending order. This procedure can take from several hours if you have a fairly fast and modern computer, to several weeks if this is not the case. Do you have the patience to find the desired password...
Worth it or not
We looked at methods on how to connect to Wi-Fi without knowing the password. They can help you, but there is no 100% guarantee. And if you also take into account that using someone else’s Wi-Fi is illegal and can be punishable both by the neighbor himself and by law, then it will probably be easier to contact your Internet provider and connect your own wireless Internet.
