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Can someone help me (in words if one syllable)

(170 Posts)
BlueBelle Sun 18-Dec-22 14:45:28

I have new neighbours moving in this week I know the family and they are decent people but I m in a bit of a pickle the lady has just come to ask me as they can’t get their wifi put on until after Christmas and have children could they I use my password for a couple of weeks and they d willingly pay me to do that I d feel terrible to say no but will it make any difference to my plan (which is wifi only with a landline but as long as I don’t use the landline for outgoing calls I pay no extra)
Hope this makes sense
On the whole I can get by technically but not very clever about all the out of normal stuff

nadateturbe Tue 20-Dec-22 14:40:04

Bluebelle just because others would do it doesn't make it right, or right for you.
If the neighbours don't understand or respect your decision it's their problem
Do not feel guilty.

Marydoll Tue 20-Dec-22 14:28:53

BB , please do not allow peoply to make you feel guilty.
I was a school IT co-ordinator, responsible for all internet security and passwords. I had an additional role within the LA, serving on working parties, trying to keep staff and pupils safe online and piloting various internet safety programs and apps.
I speake from experience, you did the right thing.
Those advising you to do it, obviouly have no idea of the consequences, if it goes pear shaped.

BlueBelle Tue 20-Dec-22 14:20:13

If some of you guilt tripping me into feeling I m a bad neighbour had read back you would see it’s all been done and dusted If that makes me a bad neighbour well so be it, I would help anyone, anytime but I wasn’t comfortable with doing that and the majority of posters reassured me it wasn’t a good idea
Thank you for the majority of you supporting me

cakehunter Tue 20-Dec-22 14:19:21

We agreed to our 'nice' new neighbours using our password and I regretted it later. nothing untoward happened that we know of, but it opened the flood gates to many requests eg when they built an extension they asked in all seriousness could they put a new drain/soakaway in our garden! Thank goodness we refused as we sold the house and that would have been an issue. Smile and say no, they'll get over it and know you've got strong boundaries.

ElaineRI55 Tue 20-Dec-22 14:14:39

No not know

ElaineRI55 Tue 20-Dec-22 14:14:13

It is possible to set up a temporary guest account which doesn't give them access to your files etc. Probably still best to say know unless you're confident about doing that. I maybe wouldn't say your provider said it isn't possible in case they'd realise that's probably not true. Shouldn't spoil your relationship with them as they should be able to use their phones and probably realise it was maybe an unfair request. All the best.

knspol Tue 20-Dec-22 14:10:42

Another one here who does not understand this technical stuff and although I would not want to upset new neighbours I do think they had a cheek to ask and after reading the replies on here it would be a definite 'no' from me. I think Marydoll's advice is the best solution - you rang your provider and they said don't.

MerylStreep Tue 20-Dec-22 14:08:38

Marydoll

I'm shocked at how naive some posters are regarding internet security.

Couldn’t agree more. No wonder we hear of people being scammed.

grannygranby Tue 20-Dec-22 14:00:36

Definitely say yes.

Blondie49 Tue 20-Dec-22 13:59:57

I would just say you contacted your provider to ask and they advised no re security and say they suggested that they use their phones to hot spot

Sardinia2020 Tue 20-Dec-22 13:46:59

I’d let them do it

Grannygrumps1 Tue 20-Dec-22 13:35:13

If you have brick walls then they won’t get a good enough signal anyway.
If they have ‘smart phones’ which most people have nowadays…. They can ‘Tether’ off of their own phones and use their own data.

Marydoll Tue 20-Dec-22 13:30:55

I'm shocked at how naive some posters are regarding internet security.

pen50 Tue 20-Dec-22 13:30:25

We've just moved and are using a 5g home broadband router from Three. £24 a month with no contract, works perfectly straight out of the box.

Grannie314 Tue 20-Dec-22 13:24:03

It is illegal to do that. It is Theft of Services. I agree that they can use their phone data. I think it's rude to even ask you. Beware.

SueDoku Tue 20-Dec-22 13:16:15

No. Just no. They are almost certainly lovely people - but if they aren't, anything that they download will appear on your WiFi record - and you don't have a chance of proving that it wasn't you that downloaded it..! Please don't take this chance. Your online security is very, very important..!

tickingbird Tue 20-Dec-22 13:16:10

Just to add I don’t know why others think it means they have access to all the sites you visit. It doesn’t but sounds like you’ve made your mind up anyway. I wouldn’t mind at all and I’m not a Mumsnetter grin

OldRose Tue 20-Dec-22 13:13:50

I suspect if you asked your provider, it would be a definite "No! " I'm no expert, but frankly I'd be worried about comprising my account /Internet, if anything went wrong 🤔 The whole point about passwords is - they're secret to you!

tickingbird Tue 20-Dec-22 13:12:13

I did it for new neighbours once until they sorted out their own wi fi. Personally I don’t think it’s a big deal but obviously others do. Sorry I can’t advise more than that.

Bluedaisy Tue 20-Dec-22 13:09:31

I did this for new neighbours earlier this year and to be honest although nothing went wrong fortunately, I was stressed about it the whole time as I’m not very ‘techy’ and was a bit worried that they could possibly see my private stuff, so I would not do it again for anyone in the future, them included.
We fell out a couple of months ago over a shared bush so do not speak now but my Wi-Fi went down last month for a week which was inconvenient but I have got a dongle that I bought a few years ago and thought I would top that up when suddenly up popped an ad on my phone
from BT allowing me to buy some Wi-Fi which is what I did and although it was more expensive than my normal Sky contract for the week it allowed me access to the internet etc and I didn’t have to rely on anyone else. If I were you I would suggest they buy some Wi-Fi from BT to tide them over.

MadeInYorkshire Tue 20-Dec-22 13:05:08

I was in the same boat in January after moving house. We had no signal on our phones (an absolute dead zone here!) so couldn't do that either! Completely uncontactable for 3 weeks, it was a nightmare, as obviously when moving you also have a lot to do online!

I am waiting to go onto fast fibre broadband sometime in the spring, so when my daughter moved out and took the broadband contract with her I was a bit stick ....

I am now using a monthly rolling contract with NOW Broadband - the only one I think that's available. It's not GREAT as I occasionally get a little buffering when streaming, but it is perfectly adequate for a few months until I go with Gigaclear.

www.nowtv.com/broadband#ib-section-section-3

Scroll down to the 'no contract option'

On the other hand, when I moved into my last house, I used my neighbour's broadband and you can't access anything of theirs, just change password when they are sorted ...

bear1 Tue 20-Dec-22 13:02:02

i have had this situation in the past and foolishly gave the passcode to some one i knew they then told me they had sorted out their own (but they hadnt ) and as i was on a data allowence which went over due to them constantly using it i was charged extra and never saw payment from them, my advice is no never share your passcode regardless of who it is

sukie Tue 20-Dec-22 13:01:24

I'm not good at telling people "no" and it seems that takers pick up on that quickly. I'd begin with these neighbors by having boundaries, something I'm learning to do in old age. Saying you're just not comfortable with it is explanation enough.

oldeman Tue 20-Dec-22 12:48:16

I don't think there is any need for discussion. DON'T DO IT! They may be good neighbours and everything might be fine but if it goes wrong you have to deal with the consequences.

Dartmoorgal Tue 20-Dec-22 12:45:55

Absolutely no. You don’t know these people and even if you did, you have no idea what they may be acccessing. Let’s say worst case scenario- child porn…
The idea put forward by another post is brilliant- tell them you’ll just check with your WiFi provider, then come back to them saying they’ve said no - it would compromise your contract etc. Frankly, I’m surprised they have asked.