Rogue access point or honey pot?

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Hi, I wondered if you guys could offer us some guidance. We have a router/access point provided by the broadband provider and one (only) wifi extender. The SSID is, say, VMxxxxx and the wifi extender's is VMxxxxx_EXT, both use the same password. We've just noticed another SSID has appeared in range as VMxxxxx_EXT_EXT, which when I try to connect to it does not use the same password. It persists even when I unplug the wifi extender. The signal strength (number of bars) seems to vary wherever you are in the house but it is full strength at the front of the house, which is where the router/AP is. I've raised a call with the provider, Virgin Media, but they were next to useless. Does anyone have any theories and/or any economic method to locate this access point please?
Thank you very much.
 

chscag

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Welcome to our forums.

It's not uncommon for several or many WiFi access points to appear under the WiFi option on your Mac. Just make sure your SSID is the first one and is protected by WPA2 encryption, and ignore the others. I routinely see anywhere from 5 to 10 other access points when I open my WiFi menu but I always connect to my own and it is protected. As long as you keep your SSID protected with WPA2 encryption and a strong password, there's nothing to worry about. The WiFi extender really has nothing to do with it.
 

Raz0rEdge

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Most recent routers generate access points for both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ranges since having 2.4 GHz devices on the 5 GHz network causes the entire network to slow down. This way, you can isolate the devices on their own networks. Default SSID's might include the words "24 Ghz and 5 GHz" somewhere in there..

Another quick test you can run is to unplug the router and the extender which should invalidate all access points and if that is indeed the case and plugging JUST the router brings back the VMxxx and VMxxx_EXT_EXT SSID's, then it is indeed your router.
 
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Is the xxxx part the same on all of them? And did Virgin Media set this up? If they did, maybe they set it up at a neighbor's house as well and you're seeing that access point? Unplug everything as Ashwin says and see if you still see the 2nd EXT access point.
 
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If you are concerned, change your Wi-Fi SSID name and create a new one. Change password and reconnect all devices.
 

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