Home network hack in?

[mpcook]

I have a home network via DSL through my local phone company. The Cincinnati Bell Westell DSL modem feeds my Netgear 3700 wireless router. Of course, I have many Thinkpads connected to the router, mostly wirelessly, on both bands. I have one family member who has a work laptop, a fairly new Dell. Is it possible for the employer to connect to my network and into the Dell laptop (and hence into my other laptops) if the Dell is not connected to a work vpn? It is just connected to the wireless network in my home, like the Thinkpads, and can access the internet, surf the web etc. If so, is there a way to stop them from getting access to the network? I have whatever firewall settings on the router turned on I am sure, but no special settings, pretty much default settings. TIA for any advice.

[dr_st]

No one can give you a 100% accurate answer.

It depends on whatever software is installed on the work laptop. Certainly it's possible to install rootkits that will allow access the the machine from anywhere, as long as it's connected to the internet. Once the machine is access, anything on the network that you share can be accessed as well.

Whether or not they bothered - who can know? 99% chance they didn't, but there is always that 1%, isn't there?

[mpcook]

The company has cameras installed in all locations, so they are into keeping an eye in things. This is why I wonder about my home network. I suppose if I had a tool to search for a rootkit or something similar, that might tell me something.

[ajkula66]

Why not create a VPN tunnel for Dell?

[mpcook]

I understand how a vpn connection secures from a work computer at home, to a work server at the office but how would a vpn be set up for the Dell to keep it from accessing my other laptops on the home network? If it keeps the Dell connection secure, does that also keep the Dell from accessing the other laptops? Any recommendations on a service/software to do this?

[Temetka]

This thread is.....wow.

So before we get into network employer spy conspiracy theories, let's just take a step back and ask a very simple question:

What reason would the employer have to look at your home network, let alone install rootkits on computers that don't belong to them?

Just a thought.

[mpcook]

This thread is.....wow.

So before we get into network employer spy conspiracy theories, let's just take a step back and ask a very simple question:

What reason would the employer have to look at your home network, let alone install rootkits on computers that don't belong to them?

Just a thought.

This is a good question. First, I thought the comment above about rootkits referred to a rootkit on the company computer, not my personal laptops.

I don't expect that the employer is looking at my home network. The only reason I can think of that a company IT person would "spy" would be to steal personal information, not of course as a representative of the company, but for their personal gain. I really don't want outsiders on my network. Having worked in the past for a company that had a highly questionable IT person, I have no doubt that there could be people out there doing this kind of thing if they could.

OTOH, I have a work laptop I use at home quite a bit, I have no doubt that no one from my employer is poking around in my network, based on my knowledge of the company, the owners and employees who are all top flight.

[ajkula66]

If it keeps the Dell connection secure, does that also keep the Dell from accessing the other laptops? Any recommendations on a service/software to do this?

Mike,

It's been almost a decade since I've last played with this type of stuff and while my foggy memory tells me that there is a way of "isolating" the Dell, I'm afraid that I can't point you in the right direction...apologies.

Good luck.

[loyukfai]

You may segregate your internal network into 2, one specifically for the "Dell" and the other one for your personal use. Try looking up "VLAN" and "wireless guest network".

Cheers.

[mpcook]

You may segregate your internal network into 2, one specifically for the "Dell" and the other one for your personal use. Try looking up "VLAN" and "wireless guest network".

Cheers.

Yes, this is a very good idea. I can set up a guest network on my router which doesn't allow access to the other network resources/connections. Thanks for the suggestion.

[loyukfai]

Hope it works for you. Not every router out there supports it, and a quick Google shows that the implementation of this feature on the WNDR3700 maybe problematic...

Cheers.

[Temetka]

This thread is.....wow.

So before we get into network employer spy conspiracy theories, let's just take a step back and ask a very simple question:

What reason would the employer have to look at your home network, let alone install rootkits on computers that don't belong to them?

Just a thought.

This is a good question. First, I thought the comment above about rootkits referred to a rootkit on the company computer, not my personal laptops.

I don't expect that the employer is looking at my home network. The only reason I can think of that a company IT person would "spy" would be to steal personal information, not of course as a representative of the company, but for their personal gain. I really don't want outsiders on my network. Having worked in the past for a company that had a highly questionable IT person, I have no doubt that there could be people out there doing this kind of thing if they could.

OTOH, I have a work laptop I use at home quite a bit, I have no doubt that no one from my employer is poking around in my network, based on my knowledge of the company, the owners and employees who are all top flight.

Ok, that I can understand. Being in IT myself I have run across a few shady IT people. That being said most of them while shady with software licensing or "borrowing" of hardware, have enough scruples to not hack into private people's homes let alone across state lines. Even mentioning the words "federal indictment" seems to sober them up a bit when they start talking stupid.

Ah, the shady IT guy. Keeping me in business for years. No you can't by Windows 7 Pro OEM for $5 with a copy of Office thrown in and I wonder why HP cannot find the serial # for your craigslist laptop. Gotta love 'em.

[mpcook]

Ok, that I can understand. Being in IT myself I have run across a few shady IT people. That being said most of them while shady with software licensing or "borrowing" of hardware, have enough scruples to not hack into private people's homes let alone across state lines. Even mentioning the words "federal indictment" seems to sober them up a bit when they start talking stupid.

Ah, the shady IT guy. Keeping me in business for years. No you can't by Windows 7 Pro OEM for $5 with a copy of Office thrown in and I wonder why HP cannot find the serial # for your craigslist laptop. Gotta love 'em.

Well I was an IT director once for 6 months for a 100 person company and I didn't have time to mess around, I was just trying to explain "DOS" and "floppy disk" to people (this was 1994) and keep a bunch of micro channel IBM PC's going while running cable for the Novell network.

[ajkula66]

Well I was an IT director once for 6 months for a 100 person company and I didn't have time to mess around, I was just trying to explain "DOS" and "floppy disk" to people (this was 1994) and keep a bunch of micro channel IBM PC's going while running cable for the Novell network.

Mike,

You do understand that all the younglings around here (not Temetka who is not that young) will have to make multiple visits to their favourite search engines to get a clue of what you were talking about in your second sentence...

[mpcook]

When Windows 2 came out, I was so excited to install it on an 8088 IBM PC 5150, although it couldn't really do anything. And yes, I remember the secretary who had an IBM Model 80 called me when she couldn't figure out how to get the cd into the computer. All three are now antiquated, Model 80's, cd's, and secretaries, haven't seen any of these in quite awhile.

[Saucey]

Well I was an IT director once for 6 months for a 100 person company and I didn't have time to mess around, I was just trying to explain "DOS" and "floppy disk" to people (this was 1994) and keep a bunch of micro channel IBM PC's going while running cable for the Novell network.

Mike,

You do understand that all the younglings around here (not Temetka who is not that young) will have to make multiple visits to their favourite search engines to get a clue of what you were talking about in your second sentence...

Looks like I got some computer history to brush up on this weekend.