How To Make Your Home Wi-Fi Safer And Prevent Hacking

When people think about home safety, they usually mean ways to make a home safer for seniors, such as removing tripping hazards, or ways to make it more kid-friendly. When they talk about threats, they refer to protecting your home against fires or installing security alarms. One thing that's often overlooked is Wi-Fi safety. It's normal to enjoy the myriad of features that the internet affords us and forget that this connectivity can also make us targets for cyberattacks. Considering there are even security-related downsides of using something like a smart thermostat, staying vigilant in keeping your data secure is not just a good practice — it is absolutely essential.

One of the ways to do this is to always keep your Wi-Fi network secure and protected from potential hackers. Since this network is a portal for accessing valuable information, such as work emails, financial data, or crypto wallets, it is imperative that you fortify all sensitive data against attacks. You can make your network safer and prevent such attacks by doing seemingly simple things, like using strong passwords and router security protocols, and updating them regularly.

In fact, there are several features in your router that you might not know about, which can risk your privacy. For instance, the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) feature allows multiple devices in your home to communicate on the same network, but it also significantly increases security risks. The convenience in connection makes it easier for malware to spread across devices and bypass security features, like firewalls. Unless specifically needed, you should keep this feature disabled in your router.

One of the most crucial steps when setting up a new Wi-Fi connection is to immediately change the passwords for both the router and the network. Wi-Fi routers often come with pre-set passwords. However, this default password is written on the router label itself and is sometimes also publicly accessible online. Not changing your password essentially means leaving your data at the mercy of random hackers searching the Internet. If this password falls into their hands, hackers can easily change it to a new one and steal your data.

You can change your passwords by accessing the router's configuration page online or via a mobile app. Use a strong password that is also unique — it's always recommended to include a combination of numbers, symbols, and special characters to make your passwords hard to crack. Having said all that, your job as a vigilant netizen does not stop there. 

You should change your passwords every three months or so. This helps in a number of ways. First, if your network falls victim to a breach, it stays vulnerable for a shorter period. Apart from that, changing passwords also protects your network from possible attacks on your friends' or neighbors' devices, who may have previously accessed and saved your network. Other non-password-related advice involves disconnecting your router whenever you leave home, so that hackers can't access it.

Encryption is a crucial step in protecting all the data that makes its way around the internet. Several security protocols have evolved over the years to scramble the data sent across networks, ensuring that only authorized users can access it. Unfortunately, like all forms of technology, these protocols get outdated too. In fact, cybercriminals are just as eager to innovate — to breach these protocols — as tech companies are to build them. 

This is why it is crucial to have the latest security protocol for your Wi-Fi router. WPA3 (which stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access), a far superior technology compared to its predecessor, WPA2, offers the best protection against cybercrime and breach of data. WPA3 is also far more equipped against hacking tools that are used for guessing passwords and is more effective in encrypting data. It also provides stronger authentication mechanisms. If your Wi-Fi router does not support WPA3, you should consider replacing it with one that does.

Apart from specific security protocols, staying on top of the latest tech also means constantly updating your router software. These updates are crucial not only for fixing bugs in your network or adding new functionality but also for addressing security holes in previous versions that could fall prey to attackers. Most of the time, these updates are automatic, but you can perform them manually with a web browser or through your internet provider.