My home network traffic looked like a ghost town for a month, then a wild party

About six months ago, I set up a simple network monitor on my router. For weeks, the logs showed almost nothing, just my laptop and phone. Then last Tuesday, the graph spiked with hundreds of new device connections I didn't recognize. Turns out my smart TV had a default setting turned on, making it a hotspot for the whole apartment building. I changed one setting and the traffic went back to normal. Has anyone else had a 'smart' device quietly open up their network like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_harris1mo ago

My old roommate's smart fridge did that exact thing, it was broadcasting a guest network for like six months before we noticed. @adams82 is totally right about checking right out of the box, it's the first thing I do now. I even found the same setting on a wifi plug last week, it's crazy how common this is.

adams822mo ago

Yeah, that's a classic move for those "smart" things. Always go into the network settings and kill any hotspot or guest mode right after you unbox it. My buddy's printer did the same thing, offering free wifi to the whole street. Makes you check every device now.

felix4782mo ago

Offering free wifi to the whole street is exactly why I'm paranoid. I just spent twenty minutes digging through my own router settings because my new coffee maker felt a little too friendly. At this point, I assume every gadget I buy is secretly trying to run a public hotspot. My smart bulb probably wants to share my network with the neighbor's cat.