Windows 10: How do I stop Windows picking up housemates devices in "Networks"?

Hi all,

I have an infuriating problem that I can never find a definitive answer to, but it must surely be solvable?

I live in a shared house and I don't like Windows showing other devices in "Networks" - mainly things it picks up such as other people's Smart TVs or Amazon Firesticks - I try removing these either from Settings or Devices and Printers Control Panel, but they just come back. How do I stop them from re-appearing?

It's similar in Android how when I'm on YouTube it insists on giving me a notification to try and connect to one of the guys Chromecast and Smart TV, but I can't get rid of that either!

Thanks for any advice

:)

 

Network master browser lost to a linux device, how to disable it ?

My NAS box lost it's position as the Master Server browser on our network. The device that picked up this role, is Linux based. How do I achieve the following Windows instructions as per this page, but in Linux?

Norton Internet Security™ - Web Security & Protection for Your PC

And if it cannot be done in Linux, how do I hard force a device to pick up the browser role? The NAS box is also Linux.



And any suggestions for how to avoid this happening in the future, or a quick fix if there is one?

 

What is this network device?


I woke my desktop PC from sleep this morning, clicked on Network and immediately spotted a Phone in the device list that doesn't belong to anyone here (a Blu brand phone which is unusual enough that I would know about it).

I clicked on the device and was able to view the MAC address, but nothing else useful. A couple minutes later it disappeared from the network list.

Then a few minutes later I went and looked at another PC on the same home network and saw the same phone in its Network list. It also disappeared a couple minutes after I clicked open 'Network'.

Scanned both PCs with various anti-malware programs including Malwarebytes - they look clean.

Any suggestions on what I was seeing, and if it's malicious how to deal with it?


UPDATE: It popped back up again. I checked my router's connection list and don't see it there. For now I blocked the MAC address in my router but would still like to know where this is coming from.

 

Network devices listed under Unknown in Device Manager


I have a Dell Inspiron M731R laptop upgraded from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 Home 64-Bit that suddenly quit connecting to the home network. Was using wireless, so switched to an Ethernet cable, but still no luck. I just discovered that ALL of the network-related devices are now listed under an "Unknown" tab in the Device Manager. A check of properties of each item in that folder says they are all working properly, but that obviously isn't the case. I tried uninstalling each of the 4 items, but when they are recognized again they still show up under the Unknown tab. Any suggestions would be welcome.