# How do I hide my internet activity from my network admin?



## 98uk

Don't be on the network. So long as they have admin access to the routing device, chances are they can monitor your traffic (unless it's VPN perhaps).


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## lowkickqop

So what do I do? I'm not a networking professional.


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## Valor958

To my understanding, there's nothing you can do while actually on the same network. If the admin really wants to know, they can know.
You can try browsing via the 'anonymous' modes in browsers if the admin just scans tracking data, but any active monitoring will not be masked. Same for Tor and basically every other option i believe. If anything, going out of your way to obscure yourself will draw more attention to yourself when it wasn't previously warranted.
So, this a college, home, or work network? That makes a difference really, since each admin for each area will be looking at different things in different ways.
If it's a work admin, don't tempt fate...







I am every time i'm on here (like now), but i get my work done and be a good boy, so they don't really care. Plus, their filter is REALLY good, so... it's hard to get in trouble on 'accident' lol.


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## coachmark2

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *98uk*
> 
> Don't be on the network. So long as they have admin access to the routing device, chances are they can monitor your traffic (unless it's VPN perhaps).











Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> So what do I do? I'm not a networking professional.


There are ways of hiding your traffic once it gets to the internet such as TOR browser, but when you're in their house, you play by their rules. Any network admin with rights to the routing device can view the logs of what traffic has passed through and can see where it originated from. I use it to check when my brother is watching porn in his room.









JK, he doesn't actually do that, but I've seen his web traffic and there's not a thing in the world he can do about it.

It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to hide your traffic from someone who has admin rights to see it


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## 98uk

Don't be on the network. So long as someone else is an admin, with the right tools they can monitor traffic. For files, just turn off all sharing, turn off homegroups etc...

You can use a paid for VPN service... but i'm not sure whether this is effective at local router level.

EDIT: If it's work, the best way is to social engineer them to ignore haha. I always chat to my IT team and when they were over from Germany, we got them a few beers... since then they let the odd application here and there slide


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## TwilightEscape

VPN wont help. Data would be collected before it's ever encrypted and sent to the VPN.

I wouldn't worry about it. Unless you know the guy has a knack for monitoring or snooping he probably isn't going to. Reason why? It's a waste of time for the most part. Collecting things like facebook passwords or viewing someones browsing history is just not worth the effort of pouring through the data.

If you want to encrypt your data to the access point then the access point has to be setup to do so as well, in which case the admin would still have access to it. Plain and simple you either need to connect to another network, or just not care. He has access to where the data is coming through and when it hits the router it's no longer WPA2 encrypted and can be logged, very little to be done about it.


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## sasuke256

VPN encrypted with a 128bit key







i think the admin would be able to "understand" what is in the packets which are travelling in the network even if he can read them


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## Versa

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *coachmark2*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There are ways of hiding your traffic once it gets to the internet such as TOR browser, but when you're in their house, you play by their rules. Any network admin with rights to the routing device can view the logs of what traffic has passed through and can see where it originated from. I use it to check when my brother is watching porn in his room.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> JK, he doesn't actually do that, but I've seen his web traffic and there's not a thing in the world he can do about it.
> It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to hide your traffic from someone who has admin rights to see it


Any decent network admin will find traffic logs, encrypted or not, and block numerous resources such as P2P clients for example. have a 2620 router filtering P2P traffic here, don't want any torrenting in this house for some obvious reasons


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## 98uk

Would it be possible to build a small router from a Linux PC (or just buy a cheap DD-WRT router), then setup encryption on it and bridge it to the router in the LAN? So the data flow would be:
_
Users PC --> Homebrew/DD-WRT Router --> Bridge --> LAN router --> Internet_

Would this encrypt data before it reached the LAN router that the admin has access to?


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## lowkickqop

It's for home use if that makes any difference.


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## 98uk

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> It's for home use if that makes any difference.


Watch your porn on 3G then.


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## lowkickqop

It's really just about liking my own privacy. I don't like the feeling of being monitored no matter what I am doing.


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## Valor958

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> It's for home use if that makes any difference.


If this translates to 'parent is snooping on my browsing habits', Google's anonymous browsing should do fine really. Having disabled file/print sharing is a nice start, and also password protect your OS profile (if you haven't already). If they're really snoopy, do a BIOS password as well and shut down the PC every time you leave.

If you give us more on your specific situation we can tailor our responses more towards your needs. Right now, you're getting generalizations.


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## lowkickqop

It's an apartment building. Free wifi is included. The people that live here I would guess are college graduates.


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## yanks8981

It really depends on the kind of network you are sitting on. If it is a large corporation, the bad news is most places have monitor tools in the background that you are not going to be able to bypass. They see all traffic as it leaves the building. The good news is, as long as you arent doing anything illegal or against company policy, you likely blend in with the 100s of others doing the same thing and no one cares. If you work in a smaller company where maybe IT is less advanced and they are just happy that "everything works", they probably arent monitoring what yo uare doing, or anyone else, unless they outsource that part to an IT company.

All in all, don't worry about it. If you aren't doing anything illegal, theres a good chance your network admin doesnt care what you are doing, because you arent the only one doing it. If its like the situation above where the guy monitors his brothers activity, I guess you just deal with it.


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## yanks8981

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> It's an apartment building. Free wifi is included. The people that live here I would guess are college graduates.


So my long post has nothing to do with what you are talking about









Overall, I cant think of any easy or inexpensive way to get around this.


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## lowkickqop

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Valor958*
> 
> If this translates to 'parent is snooping on my browsing habits', Google's anonymous browsing should do fine really. Having disabled file/print sharing is a nice start, and also password protect your OS profile (if you haven't already). If they're really snoopy, do a BIOS password as well and shut down the PC every time you leave.
> If you give us more on your specific situation we can tailor our responses more towards your needs. Right now, you're getting generalizations.


How specific do you want me to be?


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## Valor958

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> It's an apartment building. Free wifi is included. The people that live here I would guess are college graduates.


I would check your lease for terms regarding the included wifi. Since it is internet for personal use, their tracking of it should be limited at best. I still feel 'anonymous' browsing would work just fine for most applications, but since you aren't a P2P guy, you shouldn't have to worry about attracting much attention anyways. Likely, they don't even actively monitor it since that would require an in house IT staff, which they aren't going to want to spend money on. I've lived at several places with free wifi either included or at their clubhouses, and none had staff to monitor it. If there was an issue with software/ hardware, they'd call or have you call the ISP they get stuff from.
I wouldn't worry about it man.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> It's an apartment building. Free wifi is included. The people that live here I would guess are college graduates.


You have to just deal with it.... Admin is god. They have permissions to do anything for good reason.... they are responsible for management.


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## lowkickqop

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Valor958*
> 
> I would check your lease for terms regarding the included wifi. Since it is internet for personal use, their tracking of it should be limited at best. I still feel 'anonymous' browsing would work just fine for most applications, but since you aren't a P2P guy, you shouldn't have to worry about attracting much attention anyways. Likely, they don't even actively monitor it since that would require an in house IT staff, which they aren't going to want to spend money on. I've lived at several places with free wifi either included or at their clubhouses, and none had staff to monitor it. If there was an issue with software/ hardware, they'd call or have you call the ISP they get stuff from.
> I wouldn't worry about it man.


I guess. I just don't like the feeling like I am being monitored. I'm not used to it. I would like a way to hide my activity. I suppose when I browse I will do it anon unless there is any other way.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *DuckieHo*
> 
> You have to just deal with it.... Admin is god. They have permissions to do anything for good reason.... they are responsible for management.


Hmmmmmm. Makes sense.


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## beers

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> It's an apartment building. Free wifi is included. The people that live here I would guess are college graduates.


This is a complete departure from your original question/comment, or at least what was implied. Just pipe everything through an SSH tunnel on TCP 443.


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## Valor958

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> I guess. I just don't like the feeling like I am being monitored. I'm not used to it. I would like a way to hide my activity. I suppose when I browse I will do it anon unless there is any other way.
> Hmmmmmm. Makes sense.


In your situation, they should be actually willfully limiting themselves as far as monitoring your activity. Since they are landlords, your personal activity is considered just as private as your personal space. If it is not detailed in lease terms or anything anywhere, they shouldn't be taking any peeks at what you're doing. Chances are, nothing they have is actually theirs, and it's not their network. They just paid the local ISP to set up networking for them.
I'd say there's an 85%+ chance of there being nothing our of the ordinary to worry about. You can always go ask your landlord/prop mgmt people outright. It may be an odd question for them, but they should be obliged to answer it. Alienating your income source isn't a good idea lol, i'd bet they're forthcoming.


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## Valor958

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *beers*
> 
> This is a complete departure from your original question/comment, or at least what was implied. Just pipe everything through an SSH tunnel on TCP 443.


I'd say that's unnecessary, since likely the only people actually monitoring him is the ISP, like everyone else. In which case no amount of masking/routing, etc will help if you're targeted. Since he says he's a good boy, there's no reason to assume he's being monitored, he just doesn't like feeling like he is.
So, this whole thing has turned practically into a non-issue, he just wanted some reassurance.

/thread


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## beers

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Valor958*
> 
> So, this whole thing has turned practically into a non-issue, he just wanted some reassurance.


Agreed, but that is also specifically what he is asking for.
The probability of this being some crappy consumer grade router in a closet is high.

He could be a potential victim of ARP redirect given certain situations or neighbors, but the ratio of people that actually do that kind of stuff is pretty low.


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## XAslanX

If you truly want to not have anyone seeing your traffic, I suggest picking up netzero. It's only $10 a month and you'll have the net all to yourself http://www.netzero.net/


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## Stealth Pyros

All you can do is get off the network. Tether from your phone, get your own direct connection, etc.


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## lowkickqop

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *beers*
> 
> This is a complete departure from your original question/comment, or at least what was implied. Just pipe everything through an SSH tunnel on TCP 443.


I don't know what that means but it sounds good. How do I do it?


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## freakb18c1

Depending on the networks Firewall, I would just RDP into my machine at home.


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## lowkickqop

Also I don't know the PW for the router. So I doubt I can do that beers. I already tried to get the PW a while ago.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *XAslanX*
> 
> If you truly want to not have anyone seeing your traffic, I suggest picking up netzero. It's only $10 a month and you'll have the net all to yourself http://www.netzero.net/


If he has a smartphone, he could also just tether.... but performance will uneven and latency in the 100-1000ms range.


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## lowkickqop

I have to find out the belkin router pw some how. This explains the rest. http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=345311


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## beers

You've gone from 'desiring privacy' to actively trying to obtain credentials for devices you don't own, which happens to be a crime. The post outlined in DD-WRT is to tunnel from the router itself. You would want a tunnel between your PC and an SSH endpoint.

Just use an HTTPS proxy like hidemyass, it will be the easiest solution for you and require the least amount of effort. HTTPS addresses are SSL encrypted between you and the endpoint, and shouldn't be readable by any local onlookers that you seem to be terrified of.


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## All3n

Google how to do a factroy reset on that model of router and make a new password.

Now you are admin.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> Google how to do a factroy reset on that model of router and make a new password.
> Now you are admin.


Requires physical access...


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## All3n

True, I was mostly kidding anyways.

If a VPN will work then that is what I would suggest.


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## lowkickqop

are there any free vpn's?


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## ramicio

They are using some Belkin router and you're worried about them monitoring your traffic? Sounds paranoid. People thought you were talking about some kind of enterprise-level hardware here.


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## PhilWrir

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ramicio*
> 
> They are using some Belkin router and you're worried about them monitoring your traffic? Sounds paranoid. People thought you were talking about some kind of enterprise-level hardware here.


From the wording I never got that impression.
I got the impression he doesnt want his parents watching or something like that.


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## mikehunt

apartment wide wireless
if you're worried about being monitored you need to worry about your neighbors too. Anyone on it that has the password could be running a sniffer if they really wanted to
if you're really worried pony up the money for your own internet connection.


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## lowkickqop

My computer started randomly crashing since I moved. I'm not making any assumptions. It crashes at odd times. I'm not a total cheapskate. $60 for a year isnt bad at all if it keeps me so people cant connect to my PC. I have no idea what a VPN is or does so I will call their customer service.


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## All3n

Google VPN, Free VPN etc, might be just the thing for you. You can even pay for it if you want, I think HIdemyass eyc was already mentioned in this thread.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> My computer started randomly crashing since I moved. I'm not making any assumptions. It crashes at odd times. I'm not a total cheapskate. $60 for a year isnt bad at all if it keeps me so people cant connect to my PC. I have no idea what a VPN is or does so I will call their customer service.


Your Internet connection will not cause a computer to randomly crash. You most likely have a loose plug or component due to the physical move.

Read up on VPNs before wanting a VPN.....


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## Crim427

Become a network admin. It worked for me


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## brian1115

Won't your network admin see you opened this thread







lol


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## Dyson Poindexter

Use VoIP to call a dial-up number and pipe the sound into a VM running a software modem, and configure another VM to connect to the first with a virtual null modem.


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## lowkickqop

Out of pure curiosity what is the best free tethering app?


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## benben84

If you are using a shared wifi does it really matter to cover up your tracks? I mean, lets say your neighbor turned the connection into pirate trafficking and the ISP sends your landlords a letter. This prompts them to actually check activity and you are the only one trying to hide your tracks, that definitely would raise red flags and you would probably be the one they suspect first until they gathered MAC addresses. Your ISP knows what you are doing anyways and so does big brother so it's useless to try and hide your private browsing unless you are doing illegal things.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lowkickqop*
> 
> Out of pure curiosity what is the best free tethering app?


Tethering is tethering.

What phone do you have? Tethering is part of stock Android.


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