Since we now live in times where virtually everything is online, the matter of our personal security becomes more important than ever. But with fast and easy access to the internet, that’s literally at the tip of our fingers, online security is oftentimes neglected.
Needless to say, this can not only lead to minor inconveniences but it can also seriously affect your overall safety. That’s why it’s extremely important that we all pay more attention to our own security, in general. So, if you’re wondering how to secure your home Wi-Fi, or how secure it is in the first place, make sure you keep on reading.
The modem and the router
One of the most common misconceptions is that a Wi-Fi router can be easily hacked. Since the router is connected to the modem, and is secured by a good security standard, tapping into it is not as easy as one may assume. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible either. Simply put, if you take proper precautionary measures and ensure that you properly secure your router, there really is no threat of any unauthorized access. That’s where proper password hygiene and maintenance come into play, among other things, but we’ll discuss that a bit later. So, the simple answer is that Wi-Fi connections are generally safe, but they do require some attention and upkeep to stay that way.
The importance of a strong password
As mentioned earlier, creating a strong password for your Wi-Fi connection is where it’s all at. Generally speaking, you should aim at creating a password of about 15 characters that is not easy to guess. So, don’t make the same mistakes many people do and use your name, your pet’s name or your birthday for your password. Instead, try to come up with a combination of different upper- and lower-case letters, symbols and even numbers. Yes, this may result in a password that’s somewhat a bit complicated to memorize, but since you’ll be using it for your home network, you can easily simply write it down somewhere. Not only are such passwords more difficult to guess, but they are also more protected from brute force password-guessing. Aside from the Wi-Fi password, you also need to pay attention to your admin password used to access the router itself. Simply put, securing your Wi-Fi network properly won’t make much difference, unless you make sure you do the same for your main network as well.
Guest networks
In the end, aside from your main network, you should also enable a few guest networks. That way you can use your main network to connect all of your primary devices, and use the guest network for all of the other, non-essential devices, such as IoT devices, gadgets and – well – guest devices. A general rule of thumb is that your Wi-Fi will be as secure as the least secure device that’s connected to it. So, aside from securing your network properly, you need to make sure you do the same with all of your wireless devices. If a device you’re connecting to your Wi-Fi network lacks proper security, you’ll also be exposing your network to potential risks, which is – naturally – something you should definitely avoid.
The bottom line
Generally speaking, Wi-Fi connections are usually quite safe. However, just how safe and secure they are will greatly depend on how well they’re being taken care of. So, if you’re worried about your home network and its overall security, make sure you take necessary steps to secure it properly, and you really won’t have any reason to worry about it.
