Wireless internet access, wireless connection to your network, no cables, connection from anywhere…We love it!
But it can be very insecure, unless you take care. The following simple steps will make you much more secure:
Securing your WiFi network
- Change away from the default password for the router. The password a router comes with will usually be a standard, well-known password. So change it as soon as possible – ideally before you connect it to the internet.
- Keep the firmware on your router up-to-date. The firmware is the software on the device which runs it. As well as providing new functionality, updates patch security holes, which is why it’s important that you apply them as soon as possible.
- Secure your networks with encryption such as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Turn wireless encryption on. This is usually done in the router’s admin console; there may be a page called “WiFi” or “Security”. Check on the manufacturer’s website if you can’t find it at first. (WPA3 is the most recent version of Wi-Fi Protected Access – if you’re buying a new device, look for one that supports WPA3). Whilst checking the encryption, you should also be able to change the SSID (Service Set Identifier) of your wireless network. This is the name you see when connecting to the network from a device. Choose something that is unique, but not easily linked to you or your address.
- Use a guest Wi-Fi network if possible. This is a separate network from your primary one, meaning that guests can’t see your own devices via the network that they are using.
Using other Wi-Fi networks securely
- Use encrypted networks; ones that say “secured”.
- Don’t select “Connect automatically” or “remember this network”. Both of these options means that your device is trying to connect to Wi-Fi networks as you are moving around. If you have “remembered” a network, then your device will try to connect to any network with the same SSID – and these can be created to be anything you choose. In other words, another network with the same SSID as the one you previously remembered could end up connected with your device, and all your communication can start running through that network…
- If you are connecting to your office via a public Wi-Fi network, you could use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to do so. This creates an encrypted route, meaning that an attacker would be unable to see the content flowing along it.
- If you have no secure network available, consider using mobile data instead.