I have a cord that goes from the modern router into my PC.

Basically I'm hard wired to the Internet. Now the new device we got last Saturday has both 2.4ghz and 5ghz.

I noticed on my TV and on my phone I can use 5g. Can I use 5g if I'm hard wired? It's definitely not using the right now because it keeps cutting out. But it's perfectly fine on the phone.

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DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

In addition to below, if you have a Ethernet cable to your TV, use that as well for the same reason as below.

Technically you can used both, yet avoid the wireless when ever possible.

Do you really need to use wireless on your cellphone? 🤷🏻‍♂️

There are technical advantages, yet there are as well security risks. I know your cellphone wants wireless connection for updates. Ignore it!

Do cellphone updates directly through your cellphone's provider. Not through your router. Even if they are the same provider.

Keep it separate if at all possible.

Security cameras, Alexa and other WiFi enabled devices are a different ball game. If you don't have anything else that uses WiFi, you simply don't need WiFi.

I kind of wish they would get away from WiFi and have Ethernet cables as a separate wall plug like a power outlet. No spreading the WiFi signals to the street level for hackers or even law enforcement surveillance teams.

Yes you're being monitored through WiFi. Sounds paranoid, but it's the ugly truth.

twiigss · M

@DeWayfarer it's difficult to do only wired connections when you have just the one device and many people living in one house. I think we have something like 21 connections, most of them wireless.

Other problem, living in a rural area means you have no cell service, so kinda need that accessibility, being connected to Wi-Fi allows us Internet and being able to make calls and texts.

Your ISP is always monitoring you, regardless if it's a wired or wireless connection though.

Thanks for the help 🙂

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@twiigss if you only lived in a city in a apartment. You could see the monitoring yourself.

Not just by the obvious FBI tag. Yet by the constantly disappearing other WiFi connections signal strengths. A strong signal just doesn't appear and then disappear only to reappear at the same strength. Repeatedly. Those are hackers.

twiigss · M

@DeWayfarer Yeah, because of where I live, houses are very spread apart from one another, so we don't pick up other Wi-Fi signals because of that. The only time I've seen Wi-Fi signals appear and disappear, is when I was the passenger in a moving vehicle, and because there are places where homes are right along the road, you pick up that signal, but then it drops and another signal appears, but that's because you're going by another house that has Wi-Fi.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@twiigss but not with the same tag name. 🤷🏻‍♂️

twiigss · M

@DeWayfarer Well depends. I've passed houses where it was, Jake's Home 733, Comcast, LindaWilson, John's Cool 0909, Comcast, some people, even businesses will have just a plain old Comcast tag, but I've passed houses where I saw at least 3 or 4 Comcast tags.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@twiigss Reverse the view for your place! Your traveling so would hackers rove!

twiigss · M

@DeWayfarer They would literally have to come inside of our house though. We aren't on the main road. Plus I think some of these people have Wi-Fi extenders, which we don't have either.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@twiigss my point it's a problem in cities. The stationary signals are not the problem. It's the roving strong signals that are the problem. No hacker is going to use a week signal. Yet they rove looking for targets.

BTW FBI signal is usually somewhere at the top of the list. Same applies to hackers.

twiigss · M

@DeWayfarer Oh I've seen neighborhoods where the houses are almost on top of each other, so I do understand what you are saying.

I saw some documentary or a story about using hotspots. A reporter was in a library doing one of those "News 10 investigates" and had a hotspot turned on and people were connected to his hotspot. In the story the problem is when people started buying stuff online, he was able to see all of their information. It was one of those things like, okay here's the warning, don't just randomly connect to a signal that you see, because it might not be totally legit etc.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@twiigss same principle yes!