Disable all wireless sevices/devices on Win 7

[machinemessiah]

Nice flame war you have going here.
My husband has a Dell pc which seems to have a built in wireless card.
It's not listed separately in the BIOS so I can't disable it there.
Yesterday he started seeing other computers listed in his Network
Status. We've figured out they are our neighboors using the free
wireless access we have on our apt complex.
Our network is wired and we prefer it that way for secuity reasons.
Husband is paranoid that the neighboors can see his pc the way he sees
theirs.
What can I shut down in Windows 7 to block the wireless?
I found 2 autoconfig WLAN services that I've shut down. Are there any
more I need to check?
Disabling the wireless card in the device manager is useless as Windows
simply re-installs it during the next boot.
I'd like NOT to have to install another network card w/o wireless on
this nearly new computer to solve this issure.
Can anyone recommend a good web forum for Windows 7 issues? This
newsgroup seems to have been over run by trolls.
TIA.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Nice flame war you have going here.
Huh?

My husband has a Dell pc which seems to have a built in wireless card.
It's not listed separately in the BIOS so I can't disable it there.
Yesterday he started seeing other computers listed in his Network
Status. We've figured out they are our neighboors using the free
wireless access we have on our apt complex.
Our network is wired and we prefer it that way for secuity reasons.
Husband is paranoid that the neighboors can see his pc the way he sees
theirs.
What can I shut down in Windows 7 to block the wireless?
I found 2 autoconfig WLAN services that I've shut down. Are there any
more I need to check?
Disabling the wireless card in the device manager is useless as Windows
simply re-installs it during the next boot.
I'd like NOT to have to install another network card w/o wireless on
this nearly new computer to solve this issure.
Can anyone recommend a good web forum for Windows 7 issues? This
newsgroup seems to have been over run by trolls.
TIA.

Set up the wireless security in your router. Don't use WEP, use at least
WPA, but WPA2 is better if you have it.

 

[Roy Smith]

Nice flame war you have going here.
My husband has a Dell pc which seems to have a built in wireless card.
It's not listed separately in the BIOS so I can't disable it there.
Yesterday he started seeing other computers listed in his Network
Status. We've figured out they are our neighboors using the free
wireless access we have on our apt complex.
Our network is wired and we prefer it that way for secuity reasons.
Husband is paranoid that the neighboors can see his pc the way he sees
theirs.
What can I shut down in Windows 7 to block the wireless?
I found 2 autoconfig WLAN services that I've shut down. Are there any
more I need to check?
Disabling the wireless card in the device manager is useless as Windows
simply re-installs it during the next boot.
I'd like NOT to have to install another network card w/o wireless on
this nearly new computer to solve this issure.
Can anyone recommend a good web forum for Windows 7 issues? This
newsgroup seems to have been over run by trolls.
TIA.

Is this a laptop or a desktop PC? The reason I ask is that most laptops
have a keyboard combination to turn off the wireless networking card.
If it's a desktop, then there is a possibility of having a program
installed on the pc that manages wireless connections, and to be able to
turn off the card.

If this results in a fruitless search of the PC there is an alternative.
You can use Wireless Auto Switch which when installed automatically
disables any wireless card when it detects a wired connection. You can
get it here:

http://www.wirelessautoswitch.com/

The program is not free, but then it doesn't cost much either. It's
only $4.95 for the Vista version which works on WIn7, and $7.95 for one
that works on XP, Vista or WIn7.

As for the trolls here on this newsgroup, just use a newsreader with a
good Kill filter...


--

Roy Smith
Windows 7 Professional
Thunderbird 3.1.3
Tuesday, September 07, 2010 7:53:56 PM

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Set up the wireless security in your router. Don't use WEP, use at least
WPA, but WPA2 is better if you have it.

I forgot: turn off SSID Broadcast.

 

[Char Jackson]

Nice flame war you have going here.
My husband has a Dell pc which seems to have a built in wireless card.
It's not listed separately in the BIOS so I can't disable it there.
Yesterday he started seeing other computers listed in his Network
Status. We've figured out they are our neighboors using the free
wireless access we have on our apt complex.

I'm not going to ask how you figured that out.

Our network is wired and we prefer it that way for secuity reasons.

Excellent choice.

Husband is paranoid that the neighboors can see his pc the way he sees
theirs.
What can I shut down in Windows 7 to block the wireless?

Disable the wireless card or it's ability to make or accept
connections. You can disable it in Device Manager, or you can disable
its ability to make or accept connections in Control Panel, Network
Connections.

I found 2 autoconfig WLAN services that I've shut down. Are there any
more I need to check?

Not sure what you found or where you found it.

Disabling the wireless card in the device manager is useless as Windows
simply re-installs it during the next boot.

It sounds like you're selecting the Uninstall option rather than the
Disable option. With Disable, nothing gets uninstalled and therefore
there's nothing to reinstall.

I'd like NOT to have to install another network card w/o wireless on
this nearly new computer to solve this issure.

That wouldn't work anyway. You'd simply have another network card in
addition to the one you have now.

Can anyone recommend a good web forum for Windows 7 issues? This
newsgroup seems to have been over run by trolls.

Ignore them.

 

[Char Jackson]

I forgot: turn off SSID Broadcast.

Pssst They use a wired network, not wireless. They want to
disable wireless capabilities, rather than make them secure.

As for turning off SSID, please don't do that. It doesn't increase
security, (anyone who wants to see your SSID can still easily see it),
and it only makes it more likely that someone else will think the
channels is clear and end up causing interference.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Pssst They use a wired network, not wireless. They want to
disable wireless capabilities, rather than make them secure.

I guess they (or I?) confused me. I thought that they must be connected
by wireless in order to see the other routers, and like me, was using
wired connections internally.

As for turning off SSID, please don't do that. It doesn't increase
security, (anyone who wants to see your SSID can still easily see it),
and it only makes it more likely that someone else will think the
channels is clear and end up causing interference.

Not *my* neighbors

I see no signs of interference, and I don't want to make it easier for
the uninformed. The others I can't control anyway.

I do occasionally see networks with no SSID, or at least no name, IIRC.
I'll have to look but I just ran out of time - got a 10 o'clock coming
up right now....

 

[Char Jackson]

I guess they (or I?) confused me. I thought that they must be connected
by wireless in order to see the other routers, and like me, was using
wired connections internally.

It's equally likely that they confused me, as well. I read it as they
had clicked the button to do a wireless survey, saw some AP's nearby,
and freaked out. No reason to freak, of course, but people do what
they do.

Back in about 1985, my wife's uncle had a personal computer to which
he very loudly said he would never attach a dial-up modem. When I
asked why, he said he didn't want people dialing up his computer in
the middle of the night and snooping through his stuff. There's just
so much wrong with that, but people believe what they believe.

Not *my* neighbors

I see no signs of interference, and I don't want to make it easier for
the uninformed. The others I can't control anyway.

I do occasionally see networks with no SSID, or at least no name, IIRC.
I'll have to look but I just ran out of time - got a 10 o'clock coming
up right now....

SSID hiding, like MAC filtering, is one of those things that sounded
good for a minute when you first hear about it, until you realize that
both offer nearly zero additional protection. (Nearly zero? I should
just say zero.)

I hope your 10 o'clock went well. I picture you as a Dentist.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

It's equally likely that they confused me, as well. I read it as they
had clicked the button to do a wireless survey, saw some AP's nearby,
and freaked out. No reason to freak, of course, but people do what
they do.

Back in about 1985, my wife's uncle had a personal computer to which
he very loudly said he would never attach a dial-up modem. When I
asked why, he said he didn't want people dialing up his computer in
the middle of the night and snooping through his stuff. There's just
so much wrong with that, but people believe what they believe.

Man, I really got a belly laugh from that one!

SSID hiding, like MAC filtering, is one of those things that sounded
good for a minute when you first hear about it, until you realize that
both offer nearly zero additional protection. (Nearly zero? I should
just say zero.)

I had a piece of equipment recently that wouldn't let me connect to my
router without a broadcast SSID. Oh, I remember - it was my cellphone. I
found a workaround online that requires setting up two connections, or
something similar, but (a) it was confusing, and (b) I don't use the
router at home for the cell anyway, I was just experimenting. So, I
bagged it.

BTW, I don't really disagree with you, but this is a quiet neighborhood
without many wardrivers (that 'fact' is pure guesswork on my part), so I
take these small steps.

I hope your 10 o'clock went well. I picture you as a Dentist.

Actually, we watch the 10 O'clock news pretty religiously. It forces us
to turn off the computers before 10, so there's at least one good side
to the habit

I was thinking more 'psychiatrist', but the idea of 'dentist' is also
something I can sink my teeth into.

 

[Char Jackson]

Actually, we watch the 10 O'clock news pretty religiously. It forces us
to turn off the computers before 10, so there's at least one good side
to the habit

I was thinking more 'psychiatrist', but the idea of 'dentist' is also
something I can sink my teeth into.

Oops, I only took a quick glance at the timestamp and read it as AM,
not PM. That's why I put you in the (dental) office rather than your
home.

 

[Bob I]

Call Dell tech support and ask.

 

[machinemessiah]

I'm not going to ask how you figured that out.

Snip
lol By talking to neighboors and co-workers.
Seems you can actually browse the contents of some people's entire hard
drives around here. One neighboor actually demonstated this for me.

snip

Disable the wireless card or it's ability to make or accept
connections. You can disable it in Device Manager, or you can disable
its ability to make or accept connections in Control Panel, Network
Connections.

Snip
Snip
Thanks for that. We'd missed the "adapator settings" on the left.
Windows was turning the wireless back on every time my husband ran the
network trouble shooter.
snip

Not sure what you found or where you found it.

snip
Right click/COMPUTER select MANAGE browse through Services list EXTENDED
DESCRIPTION. I stopped everything that obviously stated it was for
wireless. I just want to be sure there aren't any I missed.
snip

It sounds like you're selecting the Uninstall option rather than the
Disable option. With Disable, nothing gets uninstalled and therefore
there's nothing to reinstall.

snip
Yeah, he was uninstalling it.
I told him unless he could remove it from the motherboard or shut it off
in the bios chipset features, that was pointless.
snip

That wouldn't work anyway. You'd simply have another network card in
addition to the one you have now.

snip
Sure it would.
I'd shut the whole thing down in the BIOS under advanced chipset
features. Then I'd just install install another card (w/o wireless) in a
pci slot. I build my own pcs and have replaced many of the onboard
components (audio, networkcards) on my own machines many times.
I've got 2 dead floppy drives and 1 dead hard drive that Windows can't
play with because I've disabled them in the BIOS setting.
My first choice was to shut it off in the CMOS/BIOs but the wireless
isn't a separate component.
snip

Ignore them.
snip
Yeah, my kill file got a pretty good work out when I pulled in all the

headers for this group.
Thanks very much.

 

[machinemessiah]

On 9/7/2010 6:49 PM, machinemessiah wrote: snip

Is this a laptop or a desktop PC? The reason I ask is that most laptops
have a keyboard combination to turn off the wireless networking card.
If it's a desktop, then there is a possibility of having a program
installed on the pc that manages wireless connections, and to be able to
turn off the card.

It's a desktop pc. Dell Studio XPS 8100.

If this results in a fruitless search of the PC there is an alternative.
You can use Wireless Auto Switch which when installed automatically
disables any wireless card when it detects a wired connection. You can
get it here:

http://www.wirelessautoswitch.com/

Thank you. Will take a look at that.

The program is not free, but then it doesn't cost much either. It's
only $4.95 for the Vista version which works on WIn7, and $7.95 for one
that works on XP, Vista or WIn7. snip
As for the trolls here on this newsgroup, just use a newsreader with a
good Kill filter...

My newsreader calls it "The Bozo Bin". It's gotten a good work out.
Thanks very much.

 

[machinemessiah]

I forgot: turn off SSID Broadcast.

Thanks for the reply.
Trouble is, I have no idea what you're on about because I've never used
a wireless connection in my life.
All I'd be willing to do on wireless is read the news via google. Maybe
look at expensive cars on ebay.
Thanks.

 

[johnbee]

Thanks for the reply.
Trouble is, I have no idea what you're on about because I've never used
a wireless connection in my life.
All I'd be willing to do on wireless is read the news via google. Maybe
look at expensive cars on ebay.
Thanks.

If you open help, and type disconnect network or some such, you will get
instructions on how to disconnect from a network(inc. wireless ones). That
will mean you can't see any neighbours' PCs. It is actually quite likely
that they won't be able to see you as well.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

Oops, I only took a quick glance at the timestamp and read it as AM,
not PM. That's why I put you in the (dental) office rather than your
home.

That explains everything.

No, I mean nothing.

I guess you should set up your timestamp in 24 hour mode (or is it
mine?).

I was thinking about my sense of humor last night. I realize that it
tends towards the abstract or surrealistic, or so I think. E.g, among
the comics I read are Bizarro and Zippy the Pinhead...

Not that I always understand them, or even Peanuts, for that matter

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

Nice flame war you have going here.
My husband has a Dell pc which seems to have a built in wireless card.
It's not listed separately in the BIOS so I can't disable it there.
Yesterday he started seeing other computers listed in his Network
Status. We've figured out they are our neighboors using the free
wireless access we have on our apt complex.
Our network is wired and we prefer it that way for secuity reasons.
Husband is paranoid that the neighboors can see his pc the way he sees
theirs.
What can I shut down in Windows 7 to block the wireless?
I found 2 autoconfig WLAN services that I've shut down. Are there any
more I need to check?
Disabling the wireless card in the device manager is useless as Windows
simply re-installs it during the next boot.
I'd like NOT to have to install another network card w/o wireless on
this nearly new computer to solve this issure.
Can anyone recommend a good web forum for Windows 7 issues? This
newsgroup seems to have been over run by trolls.
TIA.

What I suspect is happening is that your neighbors are accessing your
apartment complex's wireless connection by connecting directly to the
wireless connection of the router, not your PC. You would need to be
running software not supplied by Windows 7 in order for them to be
accessing your PC from it's wireless connection while your PC was
configured to use your wired connection. (Hint, unplug your wired
connection and verify your internet feed dies.)

By disabling your PC's wireless ability nothing should change with
regards to your ability to access your neighbor's hard drives, nor
theirs to access yours, if they currently can.

The ability to connect between you and them will still be active as long
as you are physically connected to the same router in your apartment
complex, be it a wired or wireless connection. Especially if the
apartment's router is setup to provide the same IP address range to the
wired and wireless users.

One thing you can try as a means of trying to verify things a little is
to go to your "Network and Sharing Center" in your PC's control panel
and click on the "See full map" in the upper right corner after the
computer has running for 10 or 15 minutes. The time is to allow your
computer to "discover" what is out there at the time. I find the best
time to try this is around 6 to 8 PM as more PC's are powered on during
that time frame as people have returned home from work.

With luck all you will see a diagram with something like your computer,
a router or gateway, and the internet world. If any other computers
show up then there is still a problem. As long as your computer can map
other PC's using your same gateway or switch, they can most likely see
yours.

Unless you need to use it between two of your own computers you should
turn off any file sharing in your computer's control panel.

The other thing I usually do is to make sure my PC's "Workgroup" or
"Domain" are not using the default names. Change which ever one your
computer is using to something different. I know it's not much but
every little bit helps when it comes to confusing the nosy people.

Ultimately you may need to invest the time into installing and training
a third party firewall program to block the neighbors and any others in
your complex that are accessing the buildings router. There are some
good freeware ones available as well as the paid versions.

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

On 9/9/2010 11:48 PM, GlowingBlueMist wrote:

With luck all you will see a diagram with something like your computer,
a router or gateway, and the internet world. If any other computers show
up then there is still a problem. As long as your computer can map other
PC's using your same gateway or switch, they can most likely see yours.

If you see something like "The following discovered device(s) can not be
placed in the map. Click here to see all other devices." then go ahead
and click on it. You may see more of your "neighbor's" PC's show up at
that time but hopefully not.

Unless you need to use it between two of your own computers you should
turn off any file sharing in your computer's control panel.

The other thing I usually do is to make sure my PC's "Workgroup" or
"Domain" are not using the default names. Change which ever one your
computer is using to something different. I know it's not much but every
little bit helps when it comes to confusing the nosy people.

What I meant to say to change the Workgroup or System 7's Homegroup.
Setting up a Homegroup along with it's password will still allow your
computer to share with your other computer's, if you have any, while
still excluding others from accessing them.