Securely sharing wi-fi access

[Stu]

A neigbouring office has offered to pay me a fee if I allow them wireless Internet access through my router.

I currently have a Netgear DG834GT router which I use in conjunction to SBS 2003 as my LAN. I rarely use the wireless side of it.

My question is, what would be the best way to go about sharing my wireless access point, so that at the same time I can protect my private LAN? I don't want to allow any access whatsoever to this. I would also like to enable some form of throttling so my bandwidth doesn't get used up.

I'm sure I remember reading an article once, which explained in very simple terms how to achieve such a setup. Unfortunately the method now escapes me, although it may have involved using WAN ports on two or more routers.

Does anybody here have such a setup?

 

[angry_geek]

I use WRT54GL's in my office running OpenWRT. You can separate your wireless traffic so that it only sees the internet. This would be the simplest solution. Wireless clients can't see any of my network computers. I have a second wireless network for my and our other businesses that we run in the office.

 

[vontreigo]

I bet it is against you ISP's Terms of Service and therefor unethical.

 

[rusty.nells]

Be aware, you may be held responsible for anything they download/upload. If you try to explain to your ISP that you are sharing, you may also be violating the terms of your contract.

Just a heads up.

 

[angry_geek]

I bet it is against you ISP's Terms of Service and therefor unethical.

That's a matter of debate I've heard argued before. If this were the case, then every coffee shop in the modern world is in violation. My argument is this: I'm paying for a certain amount of bandwidth from the ISP. If I buy 8 meg pipe, then that's what I have to play with. What I do with once I've paid for it is up to me. I personally share my home cable connection with 3 of my neighbors, and the pay a small monthly fee. I do work for the cable company at times. I've talked about my set up in the cable office, and no one seems too bothered by it. I even asked my ISP a few years ago if this was ok. The response was "as long as your bill is paid, we just don't see any problem with it."

 

[angry_geek]

@angry_geek, is that function similar to a VLAN?

Pretty much. I can't remember the term used in the firmware. It's saturday and have no intention of going near the office till monday. I think some of the new D-Links even have this built in for hotspots. Some setups even separate each wireless client into their own vlan.

 

[Jory]

DD-WRT or similar firmwares would allow to to separate your wired/wireless network into vlans, and then you could setup QoS so all the bandwidth is available to them whenever you're not using it.

Even if you don't consider the ethical issues it's still probably not worth it. It can't be much money and every time there is a problem with the internet they're going to call you.

 

[NYJimbo]

As soon as you start offering anyone access at a business level you become their ISP. Every little problem is yours, every timeout, every inability to connect to any site, everything. If they become reliant on you to provide them internet access and suddenly you have to limit them or stop their access they will come after you for breaking the contract. Be very careful how you approach this. Maybe offer them a trial run or prepare some kind of contract that states you are offering this on a month-by-month basis with clauses to get you out. I was a dialup and DSL ISP for many years and people become very angry and rude when your service stops them from doing business.

 

[angry_geek]

Or if there is a problem with their pc. My neighbors used to do that till I told them it would cost $150.00 for an after hours call if they wanted me to come clean out the viruses they had.

 

[angry_geek]

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I would do this in a business situation. NYJimbo is right. Too much liability there. In my experience, when people want something for nothing, or close to nothing, they turn into big spoiled kids. I would maybe tell them they could use your access for free for checking email and such, but, if they need regular business access, you could help them find a good ISP and get them set up with their own WiFi. You may wind up with a good client instead of a PITA.

 

[seedubya]

At the end of the day - how much will they pay you for something that not only will you supply them but you'll have to support it too.

 

[nj_computer_repair]

It crossed my mind but thanks to this post and a recent article I just read, I will not be responsible for someone else's downloads. You save a couple bucks a month sharing the internet bill and then you get sued for what your neighbor downloaded. F - that.

Read this article and you too will put your wireless network on lock down and definitely NOT share your connection with anyone!

Plus you have to support them because essentially they are paying you for their internet. No thanks!

 

[angry_geek]

That's why you block file sharing and torrent apps.

 

[nj_computer_repair]

That's why you block file sharing and torrent apps.

I know, but if your neighbor is paying for the internet and is used to file sharing and torrents then they will expect access to the "full internet". I know there are ways around it but honestly is not worth the aggravation for me at least. Besides, once things go sour with neighbors, the only option you have after that is to move.

 

[angry_geek]

I know, but if your neighbor is paying for the internet and is used to file sharing and torrents then they will expect access to the "full internet". I know there are ways around it but honestly is not worth the aggravation for me at least. Besides, once things go sour with neighbors, the only option you have after that is to move.

I don't have much of an issue with them. They were told up front that they wouldn't be able to do those things, and they were fine with that. Plus, they're only paying $15/month for internet access on a pretty fast pipe. I live in a duplex with one more right behind me. Currently 2 of the neighbors use my access; the 4th unit is empty. Once in a while they want me to fix their pc for them at 9 pm or something, and I have to remind them that this is how I pay my bills and they would need to pay me for my time. This is a professional development, so the high rent keeps out the riff raff pretty well. I only have one neighbor with kids, and they're pretty young. No problems there.

 

[nj_computer_repair]

That's cool. If your running it like an enterprise and keeping it legit, then you are doing the right thing.