Cyber security is as essential today as a lock on your front door. After all, there is nothing safer than your family and if you take a look around you will realize that we, as families, use an ever-increasing number of enabled devices to do even the simplest of everyday tasks. Therefore, security is paramount.
After all, you don’t want some hacker destroying your family's peace of mind.
The only measure most people use to protect their home network is to set up a password and prevent neighbors and other people from taking control of your data. But we have to be more serious about security and do more than just setting a simple password. A serious risk is that of an online hacker exploiting your poor Wi-fi security measures and “listen” in-to your traffic in order to retrieve sensitive information or take advantage of your network to launch malicious attacks
Use the steps below to enhance the security of your home wireless network:
Change the name of your default home network
If you want to better secure your home network, the first thing you should do is to change the name of your Wi-Fi network, also known as the SSID (Service Set Identifier).
Changing your Wi-Fi’s default name makes it harder for malicious attackers to know what type of router you have. If a cybercriminal knows the manufacturer name of your router, they will know what vulnerabilities that model has and then try to exploit them.
We strongly advise not to call your home network something like “Arun’s Wi-Fi”. You don’t want them to know at first glance which wireless network is yours when there are probably three or four other neighboring Wi-Fis.
Make sure you set a strong and unique password to secure your wireless network
You probably know that every wireless router comes pre-set with a default username and password, which is needed in the first place to install and connect your router. The worst part: it’s easy for hackers to guess it, especially if they know the manufacturer.
So, make sure you change them both immediately.
A good wireless password should be at least 20 characters long and include numbers, letters, and various symbols.
Activate Network Encryption
Wireless networks come with multiple encryption languages, such as WEP, WPA or WPA2.
To better understand this terminology, WPA2 stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 and is both a security protocol and a current industry standard (WPA2 networks are almost everywhere) and encrypts traffic on Wi-Fi networks. It also replaces the older and less secure WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and is an upgrade of the original WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) technology. Since 2006, all Wi-Fi certified products should use WPA2 security.
WPA2 AES is also an industry standard security system, so all wireless networks are compatible with it.
The good news is that WPA3 is already here and will replace WPA2. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently announced its next-generation wireless network security standard which aims to solve a common security issue: open Wi-Fi networks. More than that, it comes with huge security enhancements and includes a suite of features to simplify Wi-fi security configuration for users and service providers.
Turn off the wireless home 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 are away.
Here are a few advantages of this
Security reasons – Turning off your network devices, it minimizes the chances of becoming a target for hackers.
Surge protection – When you power off your network device, you also lower the possibility of being damaged by electric power surges
Disable Remote Access
Most routers allow you to access their interface only from a connected device. However, some of them allow access even from remote systems.
Once you turned off the remote access, malicious actors won’t be able to access your router’s privacy settings from a device not connected to your wireless network.
To make this change, access the web interface and search for “Remote access” or “Remote Administration“.
Always keep your router’s software up-to-date
The software is an essential part of your wireless network security. The wireless router’s firmware, like any other software, contains flaws which can become major vulnerabilities and be ruthlessly exploited by hackers.
Unfortunately, many wireless routers don’t come with the option to auto-update their software, so you have to go through the hassle of doing this manually.
And even for those Wi-Fi networks that can auto-update, it still requires you to switch on this setting. But, you must realise the importance of software patching and how neglecting this can leave the door open for cybercriminals to exploit various vulnerabilities.
Get a Cloud Based Service to secure your network
Lastly, you can get a Network Security Service or a Wifi Management Service from the cloud and install it on your home server to ensure better management and security. These services like Zen CC, not only protect your devices and data, they are also scalable and up to date to take on the vagaries of an increasingly connected world.