What is a Wireless or Wi-Fi Network?
A wireless or Wi-Fi network means connecting an Internet access point, such as a cable from your Internet Service Provider, to a (wireless) router in order to allow multiple devices to connect to the network very quickly without Ethernet cable.
In many cases, once a Wi-Fi router has been installed, we find a place in our home for it and forget about it. Our devices are connected via the Wi-fi network, that’s all that matters, right?
Probably many of you don’t realize, but the Wi-Fi Internet router is one of the most important devices in our home. It is the gateway to our Internet access.
Most people use to protect their home Wi-Fi the network is to set up a password and prevent neighbors and other people from taking control of your internet or data. But we have to be more serious about security and do more than just setting a simple password for Wi-Fi.
A serious risk is that an online criminal might exploit your poor Wi-fi security(Password) measures and “listen” to your traffic in order to retrieve sensitive information or take advantage of your Wi-Fi network to launch malicious attacks such as Man-in-the-Middle attacks, network sniffing or data theft.
Steps to Secure your WiFi from Threats and Hacks
Step 1. Change the Name of your Default WiFi Network
If you want to better secure your home Wi-Fi network, the first thing you should do is to change the default name of your Wi-Fi network, also known as the SSID (Service Set Identifier).
We strongly advise you not to call your home Wi-Fi network something like “Nikhil Wi-Fi”. You don’t want them to know at first Name which wireless network is yours when there are probably three or four other neighboring Wi-Fis.
Step 2. Make sure you set a Strong and Unique Password to Secure your WiFi Network
So, make sure you change Your Wi-Fi Name and Password both immediately.
A good wireless password should be at least 9 characters long and include numbers, letters, and various symbols as you like.
Step 3. Increase your WiFi Security by Activating Network Encryption
Wi-Fi networks come with multiple encryption languages, such as WEP, WPA, or WPA2.
To better understand this WPA2 stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 and is both a security protocol and a current standard in the industry (WPA2 networks are almost everywhere in the world ) and encrypts traffic on Wi-Fi networks.
It also replaces the older and less secure WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and is an upgrade version of the original WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) technology. Since 2006, all Wi-Fi certified products should use WPA2 security right now.
Step 4. Turn off the WiFi network when you’re Not at Home
By doing this, you are closing any windows of opportunity malicious hackers might attempt to get access to it while you away from your home.
Step 5. Where is the Router Located in your Home?
You probably haven’t thought about this in the first, but where is your Wi-Fi place in your home can also have an impact on your security and it is very important.
For this reason, we recommend not to place your wireless router close to a or door or window since there’s nothing to block the signal going outside from your home.
Step 6. Use a strong WiFi Network Administrator Password to Increase Wi-Fi Security
All Wi-fi routers come with default credentials such as “admin” and “password” which are such an easy for hackers to break Down into Wi-Fi.
Step 7. Change your default IP address on the WiFi router.
Changing the default IP address to a less common one is another thing you should consider doing to better secure your Wi-Fi network and make it more difficult for hackers to track it down.
Note: After you’ve changed the IP address, you will need to type the new IP address into the web browser.
Step 8. Turn off the DHCP Functionality on the Router
This means that you should enter into your device and assign it an IP address that is suitable to your Wi-Fi router.
Step 9. Disable Remote Access
Once you turned off the remote access of your Wi-Fi network, malicious users won’t be able to access your Wi-Fi router’s privacy settings from a device not connected to your Wi-Fi network.
Step 10. Always keep your Router’s Software up-to-date
Unfortunately, many Wi-Fi routers don’t come with the option to auto-update their software, so you have to go through the hassle of doing this manually for yourself.
Step 11. A firewall can help secure your Wi-fi network
A hardware firewall does pretty much the same thing as a software one, but its biggest advantage is to adds one extra layer of security, and its importance is very helpful for Wi-Fi.
Final thoughts
Securing the home Wi-Fi network should be a top priority for each of us interested in keeping the data safe and secure. These steps can be really very useful even for the non-tech-savvy person to apply.