Today, though, my personal equipment was struggling, too.
I hoped it was merely a glitch that would straighten itself out the next day. Only it didn't. It was the same on Friday, so when I got home from work that afternoon, I ran a scan to see if my computer had malware or a virus.
It scanned clean.
My next step was to download software to scan what devices were on my network. When I ran that, I found a couple of surprises--two devices I didn't recognize. One said Samsung and the only Samsung I own is my refrigerator and I do not have a smart fridge. It appeared as if someone had hacked into my internet and was using my WiFi.
When I had my internet installed after I moved, I was lazy and didn't change the password that came on the AT&T router. I figured why bother? Everyone had their own internet and I was planning to switch to Comcast when my contract was up. (FYI, if you are using the password that came with your router, be it AT&T, Comcast, Charter, or even one you bought in the store, you should change the password. I always have in the past. There are a limited number of passwords they use for these devices and someone who knows what they're doing can hijack your internet. I just figured none of the people around me would know this.)
I shouldn't have been lazy.
After I spotted these rogue devices, I changed the password on my router and updated the devices in my house that were logged in. The two strange items that showed up on my scan? No longer there when I reran the scan.
I don't know why anyone felt the need to use my internet, but my internet speed improved a lot after I changed my password. Lesson learned: Don't be lazy.
