A home network is a group of devices (computers, gaming systems, printers, smartphones, tablets, and wearables) that connect to the Internet and each other. The home network can connect in two ways: a wired network is used to connect printers and scanners, or a wireless network connects devices like tablets and mobile devices wirelessly.
A secure home network is an essential aspect of Internet security. Cybercriminals can exploit vulnerable networks to carry out a range of cybercrimes, such as installing malware, data theft, identity theft, and creating botnets. In this guide, we’ll cover the basic steps you need to take to protect your home network and help you and your family use the Internet safely.
Use a strong password for your router
Wireless routers are usually preconfigured with default passwords. Cybercriminals can guess them, especially if they know the manufacturer of your router. Therefore, change your password as soon as possible to strengthen the security of your home router. To do this, log into the router’s management interface via your browser. The address should be the router’s default IP address, listed on the label below or in the setup guide.
A strong password contains at least 12 characters (ideally a little more) and a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. For a secure home network, change your password regularly, for example, twice a year.
Use a wifi Jammer to disable the network
Not every moment you need the wireless network, especially when you are not at home, like when you are working outside or having vacation travel, etc. Using a wifi jammer to disable the entire network is necessary. Wifi jammer can prevent your devices from connecting to your router. That way, they will lose internet access, and no one can hack into your network.
Blocking wifi signal is easy with a wifi jammer. With the one-click feature, your wifi signal will be gone in one-click. When you activate the jammer, it will emit lots of interference signals to disrupt the data transimisson between the devices and router so they can’t communicated with each other any more.
Strengthen your wifi encryption
Encryption is an important aspect of any protected wifi environment. Most wireless routers have an encryption feature, most often disabled by default. Enable your home router’s encryption setting to protect your network further. Four types of wifi protection systems are generally used to protect transmissions so that the user’s device and the wifi router can read their content.
These are the following:
- Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
- Wifi Protected Access (WPA)
- Wifi Protected Access 2 (WPA 2)
- Wifi Protected Access 3 (WPA 3)
WPA 2 and 3 are the most efficient options because they are the newest and most secure systems. Older WPA and WEP versions are not resistant to brute force attacks.
If your router offers it, consider creating a guest wireless network that uses WPA 2 or 3 and is protected with a strong password. Use this guest network for visitors, friends, and family members who don’t have the intention (or need) to hack into your network. However, they can use devices that have been compromised or infected with malware before using your network. A guest network helps strengthen the security of your home network.
Use a VPN to strengthen your network security
VPNs or Virtual Private Networks are mainly used to improve internet privacy. They encrypt your data so that cybercriminals cannot determine what you are doing online or where you are located. The protection offered by the VPN goes beyond the router. So even if the encryption provided by the router is compromised, you still have the VPN’s encryption to render your data unreadable.
If you want to protect your IP address, use a VPN. A VPN changes your IP address and indicates that you are using your device from a location other than your home address. VPNs can be used on desktop and laptop computers, phones, or tablets.
Keep your apps up to date
Keeping your software up to date, including your router’s firmware, is good cybersecurity practice. Older firmware has vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. Some routers allow users to check if firmware updates are available from the management interface. Some routers offer automatic updates. You can check the provider’s support website to see if updates are available for your router model.
Sometimes, firmware updates are triggered by large-scale virus attacks that make the news. The increase in large-scale attacks will motivate router manufacturers to check their firmware codes to ensure that their equipment is protected against new attacks. In such a case, it issues a security patch. Hence the need to stay up to date.