Safer Home Wi-Fi in 4 Steps

Home Wi-Fi is a very useful service, but it presents some security weaknesses if certain precautions are not followed. For example, the name and password of your home Wi-Fi should be changed because malicious agents can easily gain access to your network and browsing if you do not change the default settings, allowing intrusions and access to personal or sensitive data. It is therefore important to protect the use of your Wi-Fi network from people outside your home or from people inside your home who act in a malicious way.

4 steps

To make your home Wi-Fi more secure, start by taking these 4 STEPS:

1. Change your passwords for accessing the network and the device;
2. Change the name of your network;
3. Choose the most secure cryptographic configuration;
4. Create a separate network for guests.

HOW?

1. Change your network and device access passwords

To change the settings of your Wi-Fi network you have two options: a) use the application or website designated by your operator for this purpose; or b) enter your router's IP (Internet Protocol) address in the address window of your browser, enter your username and password in the spaces provided and access the various functions. In both cases, you should follow the menu options which lead you to the password change, normally from headings such as "Configurations" or "Settings". For example, in option "b", you should choose something similar to "Home Network" and "WLAN", where you should choose "Configure", or "Wi-Fi Configuration". There you can change the network password, among other things, as we'll see. To change the router password you should access an area usually called "User Management", where you can "Configure". Passwords should be strong and changed regularly.

2. Change your network name

To do this step, you have to do something very similar to what you did in the previous step, looking for options like "Settings" or "Edit", or something equivalent, relative to the network in question, changing its name (the SSID), in parallel action to changing the passwords. Choose a name that does not indicate that the network belongs to you. Often, this change is made in the same menus you used in the previous step. In fact, the order of the changes doesn't have to be this way.

3. Choose the most secure cryptographic configuration

Your Wi-Fi network may use different security protocols, such as WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) or WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2). All of them encrypt the communications that are conducted through your network, but they don't have the same level of effectiveness to prevent intrusions and breaks in the encryption of the information. Therefore, the most advisable protocol is WPA2. In the application menus or on your operator's website, option "a", you should look for the function "Settings" or "Edit" in relation to the Wi-Fi network, or something similar, where you can change the network authentication mode to the WPA2 protocol. Regarding option "b", through the browser, it is likely that it is in the same menu described in the first step that you will find the possibility to make this choice, under "Security Mode" (or expression of this type), where you should select WPA2.

4. Create a separate network for guests

Finally, to receive guests in your home, the ideal is that they use a specific network made available for that purpose and not the one you normally use. To this end, you can create what is called a "guest network". If you use an operator's app or website, option "a", you can find the selection that activates the "guest network" in functions such as "Configure Wi-Fi", or another term of this kind. Regarding option "b", using the browser, you can also configure the function "Public network" for this purpose, taking care to create a name and password different from those you use in your home network and selecting the options "Switch on SSID" and "Visible SSID" (or equivalent functions).

EXTRAS EXTRAS!

• Check with your service provider for the recommended application or website to make the suggested changes if you are following option "a";.
• To follow option "b", if you don't know your IP, choose the "Command Prompt" feature in your Windows "search" and type "ipconfig" - the IP you are looking for is the set of numbers that appear under "Default Gateway"; or look up the same set of numbers next to the latter designation in the properties of the network in use, in the panel where they are listed.
• You should take into account that the menus and options presented may vary according to the operators, products and service renewal.