A stranger's iTunes is visible on our home wifi network!?

[dotnina]

So, I open up iTunes just now and I see "Kyle [LastName]'s Music" as a music source in iTunes. Fantastic, but:

1. I know no such Kyle
2. I'm on my home wireless network, which has MAC address filtering turned on (though I know, this isn't foolproof). WEP is off (sorrysorrysorry! I can't remember why we decided not to turn this on ... is there ever a valid reason to leave it off?)
3. Here's the weird part ... the wifi router's log doesn't indicate any new client has received an IP lease. I can post the log here if anyone wants to see it, but it's pretty readable, and it looks like all the MAC addresses and computer names belong to us.

So, what does this mean? Is this Kyle guy actually on our network? If so, how did he get on (MAC address spoofing? If so, wouldn't he be leet enough to change his iTunes shared name to something other than his full name)? If he's not on our network, how can I see his iTunes? FWIW, I can't play any of his songs -- I get error -3259, which claims that a firewall someplace is blocking the connection. (The firewall thing is likely -- we have a hardware firewall and also the firewall in the wireless network on.)

So, who wants to try and help me figure out the answer to any of that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fowler.]

Maybe you ended up on his network?

 

[mj_1903]

Yep, it seems you ended up within WiFi range of an Airport Extreme and iTunes joined that network. Chances are you cannot pipe music to it as it would be too far away for decent bandwidth.

 

[slipper]

maybe you just clicked on someones iMix by accident.

 

[abhishekit]

Can you actually go into his library and view his songs?
Because many times, the shared libraries are stuck in iTunes. So suppose you were using your comp. in school and there was a Kyle in your network, it would show you his name even when you come home. But ofcourse you won't be able to actually connect to his library.

 

[Westside guy]

dotnina, I have had the same thing happening to me a few times recently - but I can't say for sure that I'm not just experiencing what abhishekit describes. The thing is, though, I'm familiar with the people whose iTunes libraries usually show up at work; and this one I'm seeing when I get home isn't one of them.

Also, this other library shows up alongside my daughter's; so if it is left over from work, somehow iTunes has partially but not totally updated its list.

I can't browse the songs on that other library though. I am confident no one has hacked our wireless network (our network is closed, MAC filtering, strong 20+ character passphrase WPA). So I'm wonderng if it's some Rendezvous oddity.

The other thing that makes it odd is we live in a semi-rural area - so unless someone is really blasting their wireless signal I shouldn't be seeing it at all (and I don't see any additional wireless networks when I look).

 

[varmit]

Could be the Rendevous. Where you get two macs close enough, and they start sharing stuff likt iPhoto and iTunes libraries. Check your base station and make sure there is only the correct amout of computers connecting.

 

[andiwm2003]

Could be the Rendevous. Where you get two macs close enough, and they start sharing stuff likt iPhoto and iTunes libraries. Check your base station and make sure there is only the correct amout of computers connecting.

how do i do that? i have logging turned on at my airport base station but where is the log file?

 

[brap]

Could be the Rendevous...

Rendezvous works with iChat. Drop 'em a line

 

[Westside guy]

You know, I"m wondering if it's through the cable modem. I know iTunes sharing is limited to subdomains, but maybe if another OS X user is on the same cable section as you...

As far as I know the only ports blocked by my cable modem are the Windows ports (135, 137, 445, etc.)

The iChat idea is a good one - I'll try to remember it next time the user shows up!

 

[dotnina]

Thanks for all the info, everyone!

abishekit -- I couldn't view or play his songs. I had toted my laptop around during the day, but it never had anyone else's iTunes listed. When I saw Kyle's music show up, I went ahead and opened iTunesMonitor. iTunesMonitor tells you whether people can see your playlist or are sharing their playlists. In fact, a client did show up on that list as "supplying shared music." So it seems that Kyle was indeed sharing his music.

varmit -- Thanks for the Rendezvous tip! I hadn't even considered that possibility.

Westsideguy -- It sounds like we have the same thing going on! Can anyone tell us the range for Rendezvous? I'm not in an apartment or condo, and I know for sure that there is no "Kyle [LastName]" across the street or left or right of our house.

brap -- How does Rendezvous work with iChat? Do they just show up, or would I need to know their screen name? For giggles, I changed my shared playlist name to "Hello, Kyle."

Other notes: I was definetely on my own wireless network -- I quintuple-checked. In fact, no other wireless networks were visible to me (just like Westsideguy's situation). It was certainly a shared library and not an iMix.

Any more thoughts?

 

[munkle]

To browse iTunes/iPhoto libraries etc you just need to be in range of Rendezvous, you don't have to be on the same network so that's one worry you can tick off!

Open iChat and check out your Rendezvous Buddy List to see if Kyle is around, might be the start of a beautiful relationship

Edit: Or you could just turn off sharing under iTunes preferences!

 

[0s and 1s]

I'm Kyle....quit looking through my music! I'm proud of my library filled with Hanson and Hilary Duff, thank you very much!

 

[StarbucksSam]

It sounds to me like an evil government coverup as Kyle is part of the Witness Protection Program and just testified in the Scott Peterson trial. He is now living under the name of Andrew Horsham in Shwanapaolo, Idaho with his wife Ida.

 

[GeeYouEye]

4 wireless networks intersect in my room at home, plus mine. And I can only find the owner of one of them, no one else in my neighborhood has wireless.

 

[varmit]

how do i do that? i have logging turned on at my airport base station but where is the log file?

There is no log file, you basically look at the DCHP subscriptions that have been given out by you base station. If there is one that is not your computer, then someone is on your network.

 

[AliensAreFuzzy]

I'm going to second the idea of the cable modem crossover. I personally have had something similar happen to me when I didn't even have a wireless network.
I found out that my neighbor had his iTunes open and it was his music I was seeing