In today’s era, we can’t imagine our life without a Wi-Fi network as we all are dependent on the requirement of technology in our daily lives. Technological dependence emphasizes several devices that are connected to the Internet. The numerous numbers of devices that we use require an internet connection. Almost all devices like TVs, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets have internet connectivity to Wi-Fi installed. Wi-Fi security settings should be enabled to avoid risk through hackers.
Users must be aware of Wi-Fi network security features and how to make it secure. If the network is hacked, then there is a possibility of losing important data. People are unaware of the risk that this Wi-Fi network can cause if it is not properly protected. Hackers gaining access to the network will let in viruses and malware attacks.
The default name for the Wi-Fi network should be changed to make the home Wi-Fi network secure, and the password should be altered to something unique. Difficult passwords make it impossible for hackers to gain access to the Wi-Fi network. The username and password should be unique, not obvious like the name of the person or birthdates. It’s important to make passwords strong enough with the combination of uppercase and lowercase, which should include alphabets and numbers.
VPN is the tunneling process that allows individuals to connect private networks over public networks. The public networks are mostly unsecured and unencrypted and therefore VPN comes into the picture, where data is encrypted when communicated over the public channel. This ensures that no one can collect your data while you are connecting to a network.
Also, when working, a VPN will amend your IP, making it difficult for hackers to identify your whereabouts.
The data traveling on the network can be subjected to hacking attempts. To ensure the safety of network data, encryption can be used. This process would scramble the data on the network, which will ensure that no one can read or decrypt the data.
In the case of a local WI-FI network setup at home, the WPA2 mechanism can be used for encryption. The only issue with WPA2 is that it may not be compatible with old devices, and therefore such devices must be upgraded.
The WI-FI routers have inbuilt WPA2 encryption and can be validated by checking the network settings or by visiting the Administrator portal.
Most people have a habit of keeping their home network or router on 24/7. It can be a good habit to keep it off when you are not at home. Using this simple strategy, will not only stop the hackers from trying to attack your network but will also keep the equipment healthy.
When internet providers set up your home network, they may set up a default network name. This WI-FI router name, otherwise known as Service set identifier, is usually a generic name initially and may contain particulars about your router. Generally, most of the network setups at single localities are carried out by a single provider and therefore there can be a good chance that the same name may be allocated if the default name is used. This may lead to security issues and may be severe if such identical networks are unencrypted.
To handle such scenarios, a feature of SSID hiding can be used. By using this feature, you can hide your WI-FI network from the surrounding area. Also, changing the name of the network will reduce the chance of hacking events, as attackers might not know the type of setup you are using.
Hackers are working day and night to adopt new processes and procedures to break into your network. It may be possible that router firmware may have some potential vulnerabilities, which can be found by hackers and can be exploited. To avoid such attempts, it is always better to keep your router’s firmware updated frequently. Most of the routers do not have auto-update functionality, therefore ensure that software is manually updated.
The router location in the home should be somewhere in the center of the premises, to have better security access for their device. A router near the window or door increases the chances of the signal availability to an outsider with malicious intentions for hacking the information. The centralized location of the home will reduce the possibility of anybody gaining access to your network.
The Wi-Fi network that is installed in the home has built-in firewall protection, which protects Wi-Fi connections. This firewall protection is to be turned on to add additional security against malware attacks. The firewall helps in protecting your Wi-Fi network and restricts any unauthorized attempts access to your network. The same firewall protection can also be disabled, but the user must ensure it is turned on.
These firewalls need to be activated by the user, they are not turned on by themselves. The user can enable these settings from its Wi-Fi administrator panel. Updated frequently. Most of the routers do not have auto-update functionality, therefore ensure that software is manually updated.
Remote administration allows anybody close to the home to use your Wi-Fi and can also change its Wi-Fi configuration. If Remote access is not required by the owner, it would be better that such an option of remote administration is turned off. Remote administration can be disabled by the user from the Wi-Fi router settings. This is one of the ways to protect a Wi-Fi network from hackers.
Users must learn Wi-Fi security ways to secure their Wi-Fi networks. The above security steps need to be followed by you in a mandatory way to avoid hacking your connection by outsiders. These are the simple ways to protect your router, just by changing a few Wi-Fi security settings to ensure the safe operation of a network. Just placing a router in the center of your home can also protect your connection from unwanted access. So everyone should follow these essential settings to secure their connection.