You generally should not give your main Wi-Fi password to a neighbor due to significant security risks like malware, data theft, and potential legal liability for their activities, but you can safely share access by setting up a separate guest Wi-Fi network, which keeps their devices isolated from your personal network and data.
With your password, a cybercriminal could access your WiFi network, launch a malware infection and potentially infect other Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to your network.
Sharing your Wi-Fi passwords could lead to potential misuse and data compromise. If a person with malicious intent gains access to your network, it becomes easy for them to access all the information on your network.
If a hacker gets access to your Wi-Fi password, they can connect to your network. This could lead to other devices connected to the network being vulnerable to attacks, and hackers may also be able to steal sensitive info or install malware by intercepting, redirecting, or altering your network traffic.
There is nothing inherently wrong with letting other people use your wifi as long as you do it safely (they're on a guest network, can't access your internal network and other devices, can't eat up your entire bandwidth etc), and with a proper agreement the neighbours could be fully liable for their own internet usage.
Common signs of unauthorized WiFi usage
Unfamiliar devices on your network: Unknown devices are a clear sign of unauthorized access. Regularly check the list of connected devices in your router's admin panel. Increased data usage: A sudden spike in data usage may indicate that someone else is using your WiFi.
How To Secure My Home Wi-Fi Network
Change your Wi-Fi network password
The next thing you should do is change your admin password (and SSID). Changing your network admin password will mean that a hacker won't be able to use your old credentials to log in again, and it will stop them from eavesdropping or changing your router settings.
The easiest way to check who is using your WiFi is by using a network scanning tool like Fing. Fing is the #1 network scanner that quickly identifies all devices connected to your WiFi, whether you're using a mobile device or a desktop.
Checking the connections on your router settings is the easiest way to tell if someone with malicious intent has connected to your router. If you notice any names you don't recognize, remove those connections, as they may be hackers who are spying on you.
Every time you share your WiFi password in an insecure way, you risk giving bad actors access to your network and enabling them to compromise any connected devices. Hackers can either attack the connection between your router and your WiFi provider, or your router itself.
Signs your router or internet might be hacked
Sharing sensitive information such as your address, phone number, family members' names, car information, passwords, work history, credit status, social security numbers, birth date, school names, passport information, driver's license numbers, insurance policy numbers, loan numbers, credit/ debit card numbers, PIN ...
By sharing your WiFi password, not only are you allowing other people to access the internet from your connection, but their devices are now connected to yours and can interact with each other and share, for example, malware or ransomware.
If you're curious whether a neighbor can mess with your Wi-Fi, the answer is yes. But only if you have an easy-to-guess password or no password at all. So, the best way to protect your Wi-Fi is to have a strong password to secure your internet connection.
If your neighbors have a Wi-Fi router on the same channel within range of your router or Wi-Fi gateway, it can cause interference. If there are nearby routers using the same Wi-Fi channel, you can avoid interference by changing your Wi-Fi channel.
Some signs that you may be experiencing interference are:
There are a few ways to tell if your WiFi network has more devices connected than it can handle: Your internet connection is slow. This is the most obvious sign that your network is overloaded. If you are experiencing slow internet speeds, it is likely that you have too many devices connected to your network.
Changing the password is a good way to do this, however, most routers have access control or a Wi-Fi management feature that allows you to block users by blocking their MAC address.
Here are a few indications you've been hacked:
Using Your Wireless Router
Yes, you can kick people off WiFi by changing the network password. This action disconnects all devices. Other methods include blocking the IP addresses or MAC addresses of the devices you want to remove. Filtering addresses lets you manage who stays connected without breaking the network setup.