What did my neighbor do to give me internet access through his wifi?

[jd12345]

Ok - my college has a wifi but it is secured with a password. A guy beside my room did something and i am able to get internet connection somehow.
Here is what happens-
I get a wifi connection with the guy's name. I connect to it and then that wifi inturn connects to the college wifi giving me internet. I don't know what he did - all he tells me is that he didnt hack the college wifi password. He did something else - he used some lan port(I don't know what this is) or something
Any idea what he did?

 

[chiro]

Hey jd12345.

A LAN is basically a cable based connection to a network. It sounds like what he did is basically connect a LAN cable to some connection that has a direct link to the university network and you are using that instead.

It's basically those blue cables you see everywhere in a room full of computers and if he is talking about that kind of port, then that's all it is.

 

[oli4]

Maybe he has set up a LAN connection to this ?

 

[r4z0r84]

More then likely, The connection you are seeing is "the guy next door's" Wi-Fi router, his router is directly connected to your colledge's internal network the library computers for example or all classroom computers are connected this way, where as staff laptops connect through the schools protected wifi.

His wifi is unsecured and is sharing the colledge's network connection in turn the internet connection aswell.

So there is no hacking involved its more just sharing a wired connection without adding security to it, The school must have no proxy server to stop this from happening, i would contact your IT Technician and let him know what this guy is doing as I am sure his doing something that is looked down upon due to the colledge wifi having security.

Your train of thought is quite accurate but the connection works as follows
Next door's Wifi -> Schools Network -> Schools Internet.
Rather than
Next door's Wifi -> Schools Wifi -> Schools Network -> Schools Internet.

 

[LudusRex]

It is possible that your neighbor set up a wifi repeater or range extender in his room, which picks up the college wifi signal and extends it to your room. This would explain why you are able to connect to his wifi and then access the college wifi. Using a LAN port could also suggest that he set up a wired connection from his room to yours, allowing you to access the college wifi through his connection. Without more information, it is difficult to determine exactly what he did, but it is important to note that accessing someone else's wifi without their permission is not ethical or legal. It is always best to have your own secure internet connection.