Ghost in the machine

  • 6 January 2017
  • 28 replies
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Userlevel 6
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Thought I'd buy some time before going outside to tackle six inches of snow in 13 degree weather here in southwest Virginia...
 
So, I literally pulled the plug on my wireless router, plugged my PC directly into the Ethernet output of my cable modem and booted up. Predictably, nothing unusual showed up in my Network list except what belonged there.
 
My router, unplugged for over 1/2 hour had plenty of time to do whatever uplugged routers do. Then I reconnected the entire shootin' match, booted up and looked at my Network list of things--nothing that didn't belong. Hmmm.
 
I checked at least three times and with several refreshes. Nothing. I just checked before posting this. Nothing.
 
Did the ghosts take the weekend off? Stay tuned.
Userlevel 6
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BD-- Thanks for getting this into the techie group.
 
Here's another thread of a couple of years worth of frustrations right up to the present.
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2323152/network-discovery-unknown-devices-found-network.html
 
In some cases a person's own device was the culprit. In others, disappearing stuff from sight was the answer, but obviously not a good solution.
 
Since my PC is connected to Ethernet and not Wi-Fi, I'm gonna try hooking it up directly to my cable modem, bypassing my router that I'll power down. Then, I'll boot up and observe if my network sees anything strange.
Hi rbarrow,
 
A Google search of the device name "DL701Q" comes up with a very cheap tablet sold on Amazon. There are probably thousands of them in any given state. When you say they show up in your network do you mean they are connected to your router/internet or they just appear when you scan for wireless networks/devices? I am only able to see the top pic that you posted and from the looks of it the device is showing up in "This PC/My Computer" or "Network"  page which is odd. When phones and game consoles show up there it usually means they are connected to your network via UPnP. If you don't have devices that use UPnP (game console, cctv system, media server, etc.) I would disable it (UPnP) in your router settings. Personally, I would reset my router as well, new username, new password, but that's up to you. If you have a lot of custom settings, like I do, it could be a real pain. My router has the option to block devices by MAC address. You could possibly go that route, too. (Check in your router settings to see if unknown devices are connected to your network. My settings show all devices connected, either via ethernet cable or WiFi, at any given time, including IP and MAC addresses. I can delete their DHCP lease and ban their IP or MAC address, too) I'd be suspicious if this was my PC. If you have Webroot installed and you are unsure and want the experts in support to check your PC for you then you may also submit a trouble ticket, free of charge with subscription.
 
If you are not familiar with your router settings then I would not mess around in there. You could really mess things up. But there is usually a reset button on them. Resetting the router or even just choosing a new username/password is relatively easy, though. You can usually find detailed directions by Googling the router model make/model. If resetting, be sure you know the default username, password, and IP address to the router before resetting so you can reconnect afterward.
 
Hope this info helps. Let us know what you discover. ;)
 
BD
 

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