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January 22, 2024
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6 Secrets To Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Network!


6 Secrets To Secure Your Home Wi Fi Network

Wi-Fi (Wireless Networking) is something everyone uses nowadays to access the internet on their mobile, computer, tablet, laptop, or other devices. It will let LANs (Local Area Networks) operate without any wiring and cables. You can connect your device with the Wi-Fi within some distance of the router and access the internet. As much as it starts gaining traction in the technology landscape, it leads to new security issues for the users. We have tried bringing some secrets to secure your home Wi-Fi network in this article.

Wired Signals vs Wireless Signals:

Even though Wi-Fi is very convenient, it is not as secure as traditional wired networks. With the help of advanced devices, anyone can access the internet via your broadband connection easily. This kind of process is mainly known as piggybacking and it is not suitable for specific below-mentioned reasons:

  • Your internet speed will decrease since you are sharing your internet connection with multiple devices.

  • Your internet bill will increase since more data will be used when multiple users are connected with the same internet connection.

  • There is also a lot of chance of security issues. Someone may hack your device and access all your files without your knowledge via your Wi-Fi.

Accessing the Router’s Settings:

In case your router does not have any apps to configure the settings option, you can access the settings with the help of the web browser. You can make use of the IP address of the router.

  • Open the command prompt on the windows system, and then you have to type ipconfig. Here, the IP address listed as the default gateway is the ID address of your router.

  • If you are using the Mac device, you have to go to the system preferences> network. Then you have to click on the advancer seen on the bottom right corner of the device, later in the top of your next window. You can check out the TCP/IP option, make click on it, and then find out the router’s IP address.

  • In case you are using an iPhone, then go to the settings option> Wi-Fi and then click the “i” icon which is found next to the network you have connected to. There your IP address of the router will be listed.

The output result of an ipconfig command on a Windows PC

Tips To Secure Your Wi-Fi:

You can quickly secure your Wi-Fi, and it will help you prevent your files from hackers and then prevent others from accessing your internet. There are certain procedures that you can use to secure your Wi-Fi connection very quickly.

Know the right process to access the settings of your wireless router effectively. You can do this correctly by typing “192.168.0.1” into your browser, and after that, you have to enter your username and password for your router. You can check your router’s user manual or the back of your router for the username and password.

Tip 1: Create a Strong and Unique Password:

Our first and foremost tip to secure your home Wi-Fi network is creating a strong password on your router. After logging into the router, the primary thing you have to do is change the default password to your unique password.

Tip 2: Enable Network Encryption:

There is an enormous number of encryption techniques available for the wireless settings, including WPA Personal – WPA, Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2- WPA2, Wi-Fi Protected Access version 3- WPA3 , and WEP. WPA3 is the most secure one that is compatible with the manufactured hardware post the year 2006. Don’t forget to use a combination of numbers, special characters, and letters in your password. Encryption helps to secure your home Wi-Fi network significantly.

Tip 3: Filter the Mac Addresses:

If you have a Wi-Fi-enabled cell phone or laptop, all the wireless devices should have a unique MAC address. You can add the MAC address of your device to the settings of the wireless router. Only your authorized devices will be able to connect to your Wi-Fi.The MAC addresses are considered to be hardcoded into the networking tool. Hence one Address will permit only one device on that particular network. Here there is a fact you have to understand that it is possible to spoof the MAC address. Now you don’t need to panic, because the hacker or attacker must initially know your computer’s MAC address connected to the Wi-Fi.To enable the MAC address filtering, you have to create a complete list of your devices to connect with your Wi-Fi. You have to find its MAC address and then add it to the MAC address filtering in the router’s administrative settings. By opening the command prompt, you are able to find your MAC address for your PC, and then you have to type ipconfig /al. This will mainly show the MAC address next to the physical address name. Under the network settings, you can explore the MAC Addresses of all your hardware devices easily. Sometimes it may vary; hence you must go for an in-depth search.

Tip 4: Reducing the Wireless Signal Range:

Reducing the signal range is the best procedure, which everyone must follow to effectively secure their wireless network. In general, your high signal range is one of the significant reasons many users access your internet connection. It will also simplify the work of the hacker to connect with your Wi-Fi. To get rid of this issue, you must reduce your wireless signal range. Using the different wireless channels or changing the router mode to 802.11g instead of 802.11b or 802.11n should do the trick.

Tip 5: Upgrade the Router’s Firmware:

Occasionally you have to check the manufacturer’s site to ensure that your router runs the upgraded firmware. Here, you can check out the existing version of your router’s firmware by effectively using the router’s dashboard.

Tip 6: Make Use of Guest Network:

In case your router has the broadcasting option which is known as a guest network, then you can make use of it. The guest network is nothing but giving access to your close ones for your Wi-Fi connection, without allowing them to access the whole network. Hence this is the added advantage for you to keep your network very much secure and safe.The router you are using must have the option to hide your SSID. The network name will not appear when any devices are scanning for Wi-Fi. You can add your preferred devices via the guest network.

Connecting Through The Secured Wi-Fi:

In conclusion, the MAC Address filtering along with the WPA2 or WAP3 (AES) encryption is mainly considered to be the most effective tip to secure your home Wi-Fi network from attackers. If you followed all the tips mentioned above correctly, no one can access your internet without your knowledge.

What Is the Most Secure WiFi Router?

To give a clear answer, there is no such router exists. All that you need to verify these security functions are available on the product and configure them as per your need to make it more secure. Your router should have VPN, WAP3, Mac Address Filter, URL & Content Filter, Parent Control, DDoS Protection, Scheduled Tasks,

Which Is the Most Secure Configuration for a Home WI-Fi Network?

Although there are several security features made available on the routers. When it comes to the most secure among them, then our selection is WAP3 with Mac Address Filtering enabled on the router makes it more secure. MAC address filter enables the restrictions to external clients and WAP3 enhances security by adding authentication. To know more about it, go here: 6 Secrets to secure your home Wi-Fi network!

Is WiFi Secure?

Be specific about which Wi-Fi you are referring to. If you are referring to public Wi-Fi, it is not secure as hackers would get access to your device as both of you to share the same network on public Wi-Fi. fi you are pointing out about home Wi-Fi, it’s up to you how you manage it. There are several security functions available on your router, make sure you enable them and make your network more secure. To know more about it, go here: 6 Secrets to secure your home Wi-Fi network!

Let us know how this article helps you find information about securing a Wi-Fi network. Drop your comments here below and keep supporting us. This would give encouragement for us to bring more such articles. Thank you!

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Arun KL

Arun KL is a cybersecurity professional with 15+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, cloud security, vulnerability management, Penetration Testing, security operations, and incident response. He is adept at designing and implementing robust security solutions to safeguard systems and data. Arun holds multiple industry certifications including CCNA, CCNA Security, RHCE, CEH, and AWS Security.

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