How To Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Network

Wireless devices on your home networks could include everything from computers and phones to IP cameras, voice assistants, smart TVs, and connected appliances. Taking a few simple steps to secure your home Wi-Fi network will help protect your devices from being hacked — and your data from being stolen.

How Does My Wireless Network at Home Work?

Your Wi-Fi network is the wireless internet connection in your home. A wireless router is typically used to send a signal over the air. You can connect to the internet using that signal. However, unless your network is password protected, any device within range can pick up the signal and connect to your internet connection.

How Can I Secure My Home Wi-Fi Network?

·         Change Your Home Network's Default Name And Password

Changing the default name of your home internet connection is the simplest way to secure it. This is also known as the SSID (Service Set Identifier), and you can change it by doing the following:

1.       Launch the Windows Command Prompt.

2.       Enter "ipconfig" into the search box.

3.       Find your IP address

4.       Enter your IP address into the address bar of your browser.

5.       Enter your router's login information.

6.       Go to the Wi-Fi settings page.

7.       Change the SSID and password 

·         Limit Your Wireless Network Access

This may seem obvious, but avoid giving strangers access to your home network. The more people who have access to your wireless network credentials, the more likely your data will fall into the hands of the wrong people.

While performing repairs, a contractor, for example, does not need access to your home Wi-Fi network. While there are exceptions to this rule, such as allowing someone from your internet provider's company to connect to your home network, avoid allowing unknown devices to connect to your home network unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

·         Encrypt Your Network

Encryption scrambles the data sent over your network. This makes it more difficult for others to see what you're doing or obtain your personal information. Encrypting your network is as simple as updating your router settings to WPA3 Personal or WPA2 Personal. WPA3 is the more recent and best encryption available, but both will scramble your data.

·         Turn On Your Router Firewall

The majority of wireless routers come with excellent hardware-based firewall options. A good firewall helps to prevent unauthorized traffic from entering or leaving your wireless network.

Router firewalls are frequently not enabled by default, so you must enable yours. To do so, enter your IP address into your router's settings and enable the option. The firewall toggle may be located in your router's advanced settings.

Note that using your router's firewall may cause your internet speeds to slow.

·         Turn Off Remote Access

Most routers include a remote access feature that allows you to connect to your Wi-Fi network from any location that has an internet connection.

This is a convenient way to manage your wireless network from another location, but it may cause network security issues. If you haven't changed the default router credentials, anyone with access to your wireless password and, as a result, your network will be at risk.

·         Turn Off Your Wi-Fi Network When You Leave Home

It may be inconvenient to turn off your Wi-Fi network every time you walk out the door, but it is critical to disable your home wireless network if you are going to be gone for an extended period of time. This ensures that your network is completely secure.

Conclusion

Learning how to secure your home Wi-Fi is an important step toward keeping your data safe from cybercriminals. Given how many of our devices connect to our network, it's critical that you take every precaution possible to thwart bad actors.