5 Steps to Secure your Home Wireless Network

Table of Content

• Keep your router’s software up to date
• Turn off network name broadcasting
• Understanding home wireless network security
• ix. Set up a Separate Network for All your IoT devices
• Top Takeaways from the 2022 Verizon Data Breach Report & How to Reduce Your Risks
• Changing the Password
• Place your router in the middle of your home
• Turning Off Wi-Fi Protected Setup

Set up your laptop or other machine to routinely connect to this SSID. If vital precautions aren’t taken, working from domestic while utilizing a WLAN may want to end result in the theft of confidential information and hacker or virus intrusion. Due to the reality that WLANs transmit facts over radio waves, it is viable for anybody close by to acquire the transmission and get entry to your computer.

Older routers will generally use weaker forms of encryption. The steps above represent a tremendous chunk of what makes a secure home wireless network. A few additional things strengthen your network even more. Setting up MAC address filtering involves a bit of work but isn’t too bad.

Keep your router’s software up to date

Because the majority of IoT devices have inadequate security and are easily hacked. As a result, the infection will propagate throughout the network’s devices. Names that are provocative or funny are perfectly acceptable. Just avoid using a name that can be used to identify you, such as your own name or the manufacturer’s brand and model. Do you know of any other methods to secure a wireless network? Following are the main steps towards securing your home wireless network.

So, how do you change the name of your default home network? You’ll need to log into the router to adjust default settings like the network name using the admin password. The firewall essentially controls all incoming and outgoing traffic on the network. Therefore, with this enabled, you can ensure that malicious third-party devices can’t access your network or launch a router attack. Ensure that all of your devices have adequate antivirus software installed, and make sure to never connect to unsecured networks outside of the home.

Turn off network name broadcasting

Lastly, do not hide your SSID as hackers are usually interested in hidden WiFis. Doing so will take you to your router's Settings page, which is where you'll make all of the changes needed to secure your wireless home network. As with any technology, routers lose their value after a few years, especially in the security department.

A Faraday Cage is an enclosure designed to block electromagnetic fields, like those used by a cell phone or your Wi-Fi router. I eventually found out that the older home I lived in included chicken wire in its list of construction materials. Once upon a time, I lived in sunny Southern California in a house that became known as “where cellular signals go to die.” The area I lived in had decent cellular service. However, once you stepped a few feet into my home, your bars would drop to zero. If you use WPS to add devices to your network, use the WPS button if at all possible.

Understanding home wireless network security

This assigns a unique IP to each MAC address, ensuring that the device connects to the same IP every time. Media Access Control or MAC addresses of the white-labeled devices are manually assigned through the router’s web interface. You can offer admin access to only two devices, for example, your desktop PC and your smartphone.

Allow option will permit the clients specified by any enabled entries in the list to access the WAP. A VPN can be set up to run on your Wi-Fi router. If a firewall setting is available, it’s likely in the advanced settings of your router’s console. If you can’t find the firewall settings, visit the support section of the router manufacturer’s website for more information.

You will then need to configure the wireless router from scratch, including updating to the latest firmware, network settings and security configuration. If the router is already in use, you should already know the username and password to the admin console. If you haven’t already changed the credentials from the defaults the router came with, it is important that you do so now. Always changing default passwords is one of the most important steps you can take to secure your home wireless network.Make sure the admin user’s password is strong. 25 or more characters with upper case, lower case, numbers and symbols included in the password. Secondly, many Wi-Fi routers have a built-in feature called Wireless Protect Setup or WPS.

All routers have an existing firewall but there is a high chance that it might be turned off. Therefore, navigate through the console settings and look for the firewall option. If you cannot find it, call customer support, and follow their instructions. You can visit the manufacturer’s website as well. Search through the knowledge base to get directions on the firewall settings. Learning how to secure your home’s WiFi is an essential step to ensure your data is safe from cybercriminals.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. If your router signs your computer out of your network at this point, connect to your network with the new password before proceeding. In order to go to your router's page, you'll have to enter your router's numbered address into a browser's URL bar.

You should have changed some or all of this information. In most cases, it’s prudent to put tape over the back or conceal the information somehow. If logistics allow, place the router in the middle of your home. This placement distributes network access more evenly and could put the network out of hackers’ reach.

You can turn on this feature in your router’s WiFi settings, which you can access with your IP address and router login credentials. When you enable encryption for your WiFi network, it encrypts any data sent between your wireless channel and your device. Most wireless routers come pre-set with a default password.

The key is to replace weak default passwords and network names as soon as possible. Ensure that your computer and other devices connected to the network are as secure as possible. It you know how, it cannot hurt to occasionally run an Nmap discovery scan on the primary subnet of your wireless network. A google search will provide information on how to do this if you want to learn a new skill. This will provide an additional accounting of any connected devices, with additional information regarding open ports, running services, and operating systems. Periodically cross reference your asset list with the connected devices lists in your router’s admin console.

Place your router in the middle of your home

Once you’ve set a new network password, change it regularly. Default router IP addresses are easy for hackers to find. For an extra measure of protection, change your router’s address.