Another WiFi network always interferes with mine. Virus????
I live in a typical suburban neighborhood across the street from an elementary school. I have my network configured to run G-only with WPA2-PSK security using both TKIP & AES.
The odd thing is, frequently, I cannot connect to my network. So, I fire up KISMac and discover that another WiFi network is on the same channel as mine, and my MacBook Pro is VERY sensitive to interference (it seems). So, I switch the channel, and reconnect, everything is fine for awhile. Eventually, however, I start having trouble connecting again. When I scan in KISMac, again I discover that this other network has actually changed to be on the same channel as mine, again. In fact, it's often operating on 2-3 channels at the same time and it's always operating on the same channels as other networks in my range are operating on. It's never on its own network.
So, I'm thinking that what's going on here is that somebody or something is up to something nefarious. What do you guys think?
The network is identifying itself as Trapeze Networks and the SSID is 332ehtalO and it shows as a WEP network. I wouldn't find this odd other than that it's very suspicious that it always eventually "follows" me to whatever channel I configure my router for.
If it is for sure a virus or something, what's the best way to locate it so that I can let my neighbor know that they either have a virus or their kid is trying to hack neighborhood networks.
Have you looked at some of the n or mimo wap's? They don't let you specify a single channel anymore in setup, by default, they frequency/channel hop to try and get a better signal... From someone looking it will show whatever channel it happens to be on at that split second... it will change in a few seconds...
I ended up getting a n router, and let it do it's change thing, so I can connect to my own, and let it change on it's own...
[I live in a typical suburban neighborhood across the street from an elementary school.]
[The network is identifying itself as Trapeze Networks and the SSID is 332ehtalO and it shows as a WEP network.]
Trapeze eqpt is not what your average home user buys. Have you tried asking the school if it is their network you are seeing? It is possible they are running several AP's on different channels and using the same SSID.
I think that sometime today I'll try doing some wardriving to see if I can figure out where it's coming from.
The main odd thing is just that it seems that this network is always using the same channels as others in my neighborhood - it's never on its own channel. If it were a frequency hopper looking for a clear channel, I'd expect to almost always be on separate channels (that said, I expect that there will be networks out of its range that are in mine, that would be on the same channels).
I did some looking at Trapeze, and saw that it's not typical residential stuff (though you never know, I have a cisco router and I'm a home user, albeit a bit of a geeky one).
I think that I'm going to do a bit of wardriving around my neigborhood - especially to go to the school and see if it's stronger there. If that's it, I am not sure what to do. Maybe I can call them and ask them to turn the power down a bit (since the school is a good 500+ feet from me, and I'm still getting a really good signal here, as strong as any of my neighbors).
I actually have a LinkSys N router - I can't remember the model number but it's one of the really expensive ones. It doesn't automatically channel hop though. I actually had less problems when I configured it to run N only, but my Windows laptop doesn't support N and I had some problems with my MacBook too when running N. I chalk it up to the fact that the spec isn't final yet and if you're not using the same brand for all devices on N, there are going to be some issues.
Disclosure - I work for Trapeze. If everything else in the neighborhood is a residence, it's very likely that the school is running the Trapeze network - we sell heavily into the education market.
Having another AP (or many others) sharing your channel shouldn't not cause disconnects in and of itself. Worst case should be reduced bandwidth since you're all sharing the same channel. The Trapeze gear does perform automatic channel selection by default, which can cause individual APs to switch between channels 1,6, or 11.
When you say "everything is fine for a while", how long is that? Minutes, hours, days?
As a quick test, try setting your AP to one of the "bad" overlapping channels (like 3 or 9) and see if one of the Trapeze APs "follows" you there. If it does, and if you start getting disconnected after it follows you, I suspect I know what's happening. A security feature could be misconfigured in the schools network, and I can PM you what to tell the school IT guy to do to resolve it.
Wow! Never guessed somebody from Trapeze would be lurking the forums. Awesome!
Something tells me you're on the money. I've tried all sorts of channels (what I do is run KISMac to find a channel that shows as empty, then set my network to that). I've tried using all sorts of channels, and I know I've tried 3 and 9 as well. Normally, when I switch channels, I can run problem-free for a good 15 minutes to an hour. Then after that, I'll start getting disconnects. If I pop open KISMac, I'll always find that that SSID has now switched to my channel.
So, I bet it's the issue you're noting. Please do PM me the info and I'll try to figure out how to get in touch with their IT guy.
Another WiFi network always interferes with mine. Virus???? 
Awesome!
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