Your internet router is probably the most imperative tech gadget residing in your home. Taking the liberty to explain its importance in a better and understandable way, a router is like a small device supplying life-aiding oxygen to all the other internet supported devices. A router is responsible to check all the incoming and outgoing traffic and acts like a sentry ensuring that nothing harmful enters in and nothing confidential goes out. It also controls the entry points of your wireless home network and by that outlet, the connected tablets, laptops, phones, smart devices, and more. One thing has been made clear by way of marking all the important aspects of a router, that its security is critical as well as vital.
There are a lot of ways to secure your home network that we have put down in this article. However, what is better than the easiest and the simplest way that comes as a complimentary service with your internet plan? Well, nothing! You should look into Spectrum packages that offer a complimentary security suite along with the best internet speeds and other benefits.
Here are some of the best ways you can incorporate to secure your home network.
Create unique passwords
You should always use WPA2 security to protect the sanctity of your router. Its main purpose is to make sure that every new device that is connected with your network has to submit a password. This is a default setting on almost all routers although if it is not automatically set on your router, you can manually enable it.
Furthermore, it is always a good idea to create a unique Wi-Fi password and to change it regularly. It sure means that you would need to reconnect all the connected devices often but it protects your network from the unwelcomed lurkers as well. It is also better to change the password that is required to access your router settings as well so nobody, other than you, knows the main key to your network.
Update your firmware
All routers run a firmware, a low-level software, that is responsible for everything that your router does. Your network’s security standards, the rules that allow your devices to connect with the network are all controlled by this firmware. The important thing for the firmware to function properly is updating it regularly. The updates usually have some security reforms in them and so it is better to have your system updated. Some modern routers have the applications in-built that have automatically update format. Even if your router does not have this feature, you should update it every now and then.
Set up network encryption
Your wireless network comes with several encryption languages like WPA, WPA2, or WEP.
WPA2 or Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 is a standard security protocol and helps in encrypting traffic on the Wi-Fi networks. It has replaced the older, less secure versions like WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and is an updated version of WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). All internet and Wi-Fi supported products should use WPA2 security. This security should be enabled on your devices so a protection layer is added to the network.
Switch off the network
We recommend you to disable your wireless network when you are not using it in an attempt to protect it. Even for a wired network, you should do the same and turn off all the devices that are connected with the Ethernet cable when you are not at home.
This is a shield of protection against any malicious hacking attempts that cybercriminals might go for. Here are some of the benefits you get when you turn off your wireless network:
- Minimum chances of getting your network exploited by cybercriminals
- Lesser possibilities of getting your devices damaged due to power outages
- High chances of noise reduction when the network is switched off
Keep up your anti-virus software
First things first, it is essential for you to have good anti-virus software downloaded into your system. There is a lot of good, free of cost anti-virus software applications available however you should choose one that speaks to your nature of work and the type of security you require. If possible, invest in a good anti-virus software or a full-fledge security suite.
Once you get a good security suite or anti-virus in your system, your task is to put it on automatic updates. Putting off the updates means that you are exposing your network to potential cybercrimes.
Create a VPN
VPN or Virtual Private Network is responsible to create a more secure and better connection between remote devices and other local servers and computers. A VPN works to minimize the possibility of hackers entering into your network.
Having a VPN installed in your system can help protect it from various malicious issues as well as helps in keeping your devices technologically healthy.
Switch off DHCP
Switch off the DHCP, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol functionality server in your router. This would improve the security of your wireless network. DHCP is responsible to assign a unique IP address to each connected device so they can communicate with your network and other devices.
Summing Up
Security of your home network and keeping your data safe and protected should be your number one priority. The ways advised in this article are easy and conveniently done even by someone who is not that aware of the technological aspects of modern life.
Moreover, you must know that the security of your network gets weak in time and thus can get easily exploited. Sometimes, the strength of your password or your software being updated does not matter if cybercriminals can just enter into your network. This can happen on account of a lot of reasons including a better hacking system or some new crime based software.
This is why we have written this comprehensive guide on how to secure your home network and hope that it helps you protect your entire system and devices.
Stay safe and happy!