Are you sure your home WiFi network is secure?
In 2022, cyber scams related to data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.35 million. Cyber scams are connected to the internet, and the internet cannot work without WiFi.
Tried and Tested Methods to Secure Your Home WiFi Network
A WiFi network is paramount in today's world, where everything is connected and digitized. Almost every home uses a WiFi network, and countless devices are connected.
More than half of your life is connected to your WiFi network, from your laptops to your mobiles, from your security camera to your streaming devices.
But what if someone manages to hack your WiFi connection? How much harm can it bring to you? They'll have access to your private data, passwords, information, and whatnot. You don't want this to happen, do you?
You need to secure your WiFi network to keep your digital world going down the drain. There are multiple ways of doing it; some of the most important ones are discussed here.
Let's talk about some practical ways to secure your home WiFi network.
1. Turn Off the Broadcasting
Normally, your wireless name is broadcasted among the public whenever they try to find a WiFi connection near your place. You must turn off this feature to protect your WiFi network from intruders.
When you turn off this option, you can keep your network connection hidden from potential hackers who plan on using your WiFi connection to steal your data.
This feature also comes in handy for people who run cafes, libraries, hotels, or other public-related workshops.
Remember, your home WiFi network is private; you can keep it secure by disabling the network name broadcasting to the public.
How to turn off your wireless broadcasting
To turn off Wi-Fi broadcasting on your router:
● Log in to your router's settings using a web browser.
● Find the SSID broadcast option in the WiFi settings.
● Disable or uncheck the SSID broadcast option.
● Save the changes and restart your router.
Your Wi-Fi network will no longer be visible to other devices.
2. Use a Reliable VPN
VPNs are designed to keep your virtual world safe and secure. They have a way of encrypting your IP address, which helps protect your network against potential threats or other sorts of cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
When you use a VPN to secure your WiFi network, your connection gains a twofold safety, and the chance of being attacked by a cybersecurity threat becomes relatively low.
Not just with your home WiFi, a VPN can also help you if you want to bypass hotel WiFi throttling.
You can use reliable VPNs to help you provide the utmost security against viruses, malware, and even hackers.
3. Strong WiFi Password
Another important step that you can take to secure your WiFi network is to keep a strong password. One of the foremost things that hackers do to intrude on your network connection is through a WiFi password.
If you use regular and easy-to-guess passwords like date of birth or names of your loved ones, the hackers can quickly get inside your home WiFi system. That's why you must ensure you refrain from using basic techniques while setting up a WiFi password.
To make it strong, use uppercase and lowercase letters along with numbers and signs in combination. You can even use various software that can help you generate a strong password and keep your Home WiFi network secure.
One more thing that you should take care of regarding the password setting is that you should keep changing it every six months.
Updating a password periodically is necessary if you want to avoid the attackers taking hold of your WiFi network.
Other Methods
Apart from these three basic steps, other methods can also be pivotal in securing your WiFi connection.
● You can place your router in a central location and also turn on the firewall.
● You can also occasionally update your router and verify the connected devices regularly.
● While forwarding ports, consider reliable options such as port forward Ubiquiti Unifi for enhanced efficiency.
● Try every possible precautionary measure that helps secure your WiFi network, even in the tiniest possible way.
Why Should You Secure Your WiFi Network?
Many reasons make the security of a WiFi network a necessity, and you cannot take them for granted.
Piggybacking
If you take the security of your WiFi network lightly, any random person within the range of 150-300 ft will be able to access your WiFi connection without any issue.
They can use it for whatever they want, and you won't be able to stop them. Your files can be stolen, and your web traffic will risk monitoring and capturing.
Wireless Sniffing
If you do not keep your WiFi secure, you're putting your personal information and data at risk. Nothing will be safe enough, from everyday transactions to private conversations.
There are a lot of malicious actors out there that can use sniffing tools to steal your credit card numbers and passwords since your WiFi is out in the clear.
That's why encrypting your connection is super important.
Slow Internet Speed
Another reason for securing your WiFi network is to keep your internet speed intact. The more the users, the lesser the speed will be.
You want to avoid putting a hold on your important meetings, tasks, and even gaming sessions.
To keep this from happening, you need to ensure that only some have access to your WiFi connection; for this matter, securing your WiFi connection is the only solution.
Still not doing anything to be safe on WiFi?
Securing your Home WiFi network protects you from unauthorized access and potential cyber threats. When left unsecured, it becomes an open invitation to hackers, who can infiltrate your network, steal sensitive information, or launch attacks on other connected devices.
Strong encryption, unique passwords, and regular security updates are essential to safeguard your WiFi network. Consider using the above steps to make your home WiFi sound and secure.