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Network client restrictions?

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8 replies

by pcdogz

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I am trying to create a network that will allow me to hook up computers that will allow them to connect to the internet through the router but not connect to each other. For Example: Lets just say I want to open up a hotspot and allow anyone that connects to the hotspot to be able to connect to the internet but not to any other computer on the same router.

8 replies

by pcdogz

Yes but isn't that on the personal computers side and not the routers side?

by seanferd

one computer in the network cannot set up file and printer sharing over the network.

In other words, you don't have to do anything to get the results you want.

by pcdogz

Ok, one computer on a normal home network can setup file and printer sharing for his or her personal pc. When that happens others on that same network can see the files that the person is sharing. I want to prevent that from happening.

Ok maybe I should rephrase my question. I don't want people to even have the capabilities to be able to share files over the network. Even if they wanted to. Lets just say I set up a hotspot and John Doe and Jane Smith come into range of my hotspot. They connect to that hotspot and are both on their own pc's and have file and printer sharing settings turned on but neither of them can share a document with each other over the network because I don't allow them to. Of course they could just send an email to the other with the doc attached because I allow them to connect to the internet through the hotspot but I do Not allow network file sharing even if they want to.

I know you can disable network file sharing on a persons personal pc but if someone wants to but I don't want them to, how do I make that possible.

I don't even want them to be able to ping other peoples IP's on the hotspot if they wanted to. I mean NO communication between any computers on the ???hotspot??? at all even if they want to.

by oh smeg

Through your Server whatever that is.

Col

by slamlander

Preventing pings or any other raw connection between two hosts sharing the same hotspot is impossible. The reason is that any WiFi station can connect to any other WiFi station when both are running the correct drivers. In fact, the router doesn't even have to be online.

The trivial case is if I were running Windows Server software or even a Linux distro on my laptop, which I am. I can then set up my laptop as a hotspot, independent of your router and then re-route the connection into me through either your router or my own cellphone, attached to said laptop, to the internet. I will have effectively pre-empted your router. This is an inherent property of WiFi. I believe that this is also possible with Bluetooth.

Granted, it take a certain knowledge of WiFi and networking to enable this but, there is no way to prevent it.

by pcdogz

Ok so lets take this from a different perspective. Correct me if I'm wrong since I don't have much background in this.

What about from a WISP point of view. If I were to create a WISP I would assume I would have something like this.....more or less
[Internet DSL/Fiber]-----[Router]-----[AP-bridge]-----[Client-bridge]-----[PC]

Now in my opinion if I have say 10 customers off of the same AP-bridge I wouldn't want them to be able to communicate with each other through my router but to simply just connect to the internet. Right? How does this work with WISPs? Do they have a setup to allow them to simply have a customer connect to the internet and thats it?

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