These days, millions of Americans use Wi-Fi in their homes, making it easy to use a device to get online from just about anywhere on their property. However, many may not know the potential risks that having an unsecured network can present to them and their families. As such, brushing up on a few of the most basic steps to ensure a network – and by extension, all the devices that connect to it – is as safe as possible may be a critical step for anyone.
The first and most obvious thing a person should do with his or her home Wi-Fi network is to protect it with a password. And in much the same way security experts advise that people should go out of their way to create long, complicated passwords for email accounts, mobile banking, and the like, the same principle applies to creating login details for a network. Passwords here should be long – at least 10 characters – and include a mix of numbers, letters, and symbols.
Moreover, they should be as random as possible to ensure that even if someone is trying to hack in by guessing the password (an admittedly rare occurrence for most people) they're going to find it next to impossible to do so. That means no family birth dates, pet names, or other common personal touchstones, should be included in the password.
Other steps to take
Along similar lines, those who set up their personal home networks will also want to be careful to change factory-default settings, according to a report from CNET. Most wireless routers are going to come with standard information – such as IP address, in addition to passwords and network names – that should be changed as soon as possible. That's because the more a potential hacker knows about the network (and a lot of it can be guessed based upon details like who made the router or what model it is), the more likely they are to be able to gain access to it. That, in turn, makes it very important to change everything about how the router communicates with the wider world and the devices using it, even if it's just by a little bit.
One last thing
In addition, many companies that make routers routinely update the firmware those devices use, and consumers should regularly check for updates on that front, the report said. Often, routers ship to stores with the most up-to-date firmware available, but by the time a person buys it, that might not be the latest version. Likewise, those who have had their routers for a while may not realize that the firmware for their networks may be years old at that point. Consequently, regularly checking to get the latest version can add yet another layer of security for a home network.
The more people do to check for the latest and best ways to keep all their devices secure from hacking, viruses, malware, and other online threats, the better off they're going to be when it comes to protecting critical data on an ongoing basis.