hi guys -

we live full time in an area where there are several families that vacation.

i have just installed a time capsule and initially set it up so that you needed a password to get on the network.

if i wanted to let my temporary neighbors and their guests use the network

1. is it possible for them to see what is on my computer and vice versa?

2. we have been retired for several years and have not kept up with a lot of the technology and i think that there are ways that bosses can "spy and/or keep track of" what sites the employees visit?

3. or is each computer totally anomyous and the time capsule machine is not capable of tracking my work and others that use the network?

thanks,

gil

1. is it possible for them to see what is on my computer and vice versa?

IF you make sure your firewall is working then I would say your pretty safe from prying eyes

2. we have been retired for several years and have not kept up with a lot of the technology and i think that there are ways that bosses can "spy and/or keep track of" what sites the employees visit?

Yes,t that is done three ways . One: by software they put on their company's computers to track usage. Two: by monitoring what is flowing through the router. This is pretty high end stuff reserved normally for large corporations. Three: packet sniffing of wireless signals. If you see a car or van stopped near by with enough antennas to work for the CIA, knock on the door and ask if you can help by calling the police
People doing this are looking to steal transaction info. It is rare but it does happen normally in a large city with lots of open or unsecured wireless routers.
3. or is each computer totally anomyous and the time capsule machine is not capable of tracking my work and others that use the network?
The Time Capsule cannot track anything but who is on and for how long if your interested.
Would I worry if I let some cottage renter share services ? Nope do it all the time at the beach. Would I password secure ? Yup, keep it alive for those who you know or at least know who has the username and password.
Don

If you're the least bit concerned about the trustworthiness of your visitors, or about malicious intruders, why not use two separate wireless networks? You can lock down your private network with settings as restrictive as you desire, and generously provide a separate, less secure, network for your neighbors. If you are unsure how to implement this, just ask.

hello don and mike

first off - thanks for replying about my concerns.

secondly - i would be interested in knowing more about having a 2nd network.

thanks again,

gil

The simplest way to run two wireless networks on the same internet connection is to plug one wireless router into the other. I think we have some folks here that are already doing this. I recommend that you connect the shared router directly to the DSL or cable modem, then plug the private router into the shared router. Do this with Ethernet, not through the wireless connection.

At a minimum:

- Ensure the two wireless networks are on channels that are separated by at least 5 numbers to prevent interference from frequency overlap
- Configure each wireless network with appropriate security
- Ensure that the capability to administer each router through the WAN interface is disabled
- Disable incoming access on the private router

You can lock down the private router with strong encryption, strong passwords, and MAC filtering. With some routers, you should be able to create two IP subnets that will not pass traffic to each other, though this may be overkill.

I'm sure there's more. Every router has a unique feature set. This should at least give you one idea for the basic layout.