Tips and Tricks for Securing Wireless LAN

Connecting yourself to Internet without relying on wires seems to be a normal thing nowadays. But are you aware of the consequences and threats that Wi-Fi Internet brings to your devices as well as to your identity? Have you ever thought about your device’s security before connecting them to a public Wi-Fi network, which may contain various viruses and malware threats? If no, then you should not continue to connect your Wi-Fi enabled devices to such networks.

Most often, you are excited to set up a wireless home network and to get Internet connectivity working as quick as possible. But you must keep this in mind that it’s quite risky and may lead to numerous security problems, which can result in a complete shutdown of device or huge data loss.

 In this article, you will read about the tips that will help you improve the security of your home wireless network:

 1.Change default administrator username and password

While establishing a Wi-Fi home network, you are required to connect your devices to an access point or router. Vendors offer a variety of web pages that ask for the network address and account information for setting up these additional equipments.

Every web page is guarded with a log-in screen (including the username and a unique password) to ensure that only the rightful owner can set up the network. Pay extra attention while dealing with these equipments as the default username and password provided by the manufacturer are very popular and simple, hence, can be easily hacked. Change these settings immediately and assign a new username and password, which cannot be easily traced or hacked.

 2.Turn on the WPA / WEP encryption

Enabling the encryption features will assist you in applying an additional layer of security to your devices as well as Wi-Fi network. Majorly, all Wi-Fi equipments support one or the other form of encryption that scrambles the content of the message, which are sent over various wireless networks. The encrypting feature modifies the message in such a way so that they cannot be easily read by humans.

The basic aim behind making your data encrypted is to prevent your files and folders from anyone, who may have access to your network and view the crucial data without your knowledge. Different Wi-Fi equipments may require separate encryption technologies but you can easily choose from WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), depending upon your preferences and level of security you want. If all your Wi-Fi devices share the identical encryption settings, then you can encrypt all of them by using a ‘lowest common denominator’ setting.

 3.Hide the name of your network

Wi-Fi access points generally use the default name to display the name of your wireless network to others. These names are also known as the Service Set Identifier, or SSID, and are usually displayed to the users when they try  to gain access over your network. You can easily hide the SSID to ensure that only those users can connect to your network, which are aware about the actual name of the network.

Huge business giants reveal their SSIDs to only their employees to restrict the unauthorized access on their Wi-Fi network. It doesn’t mean that hiding your SSID should never allow the hackers to detect your network and its SSID, but adding an extra layer of security may avoid attracting the attention of opportunistic hackers.

 4.Update your router’s firmware regularly

All routers are incorporated with numerous internal read-only chips, which carry embedded instructions that are to be updated by the manufacturers for offering high-end security to your wireless networks. You should check the router manufacturer’s website to look for a product's firmware update and install them immediately to enhance the overall performance and to resolve common bugs and security issues.  Always keep your router's firmware up-to-date to provide an extra shield of protection from viruses and malware threats.

 5.       Enable MAC Address Filtering

The physical address or Media Access Control (MAC) address of every Wi-Fi enabled device is recorded on the access points and routers, when a particular device is connected to a network. The routers and access points can easily track down the MAC address of the devices that were connected to them even a month or week ago.

 Many routers offer the option to consumers to fill in the MAC addresses of their home equipments, so that only allowed devices can gain the access over the network. It not only restricts the path of unauthorized access but also help you in saving the bandwidth that might be enjoyed by your neighbor for free.

 6.Turn Off the network when not in use

Going out on a weekend or planning to have a road trip with friends? Don’t forget to switch off your network before leaving from home. If you forget to shut down your network and a potential hacker enters into it, then you might have to face huge financial, personal as well as professional data thefts. It is almost impractical to turn off the devices frequently, hence, do it immediately when leaving for travel or extended periods of stay. Switching off your broadband modems and routers will not only save a little power, but also discourage the unauthorized access to your network as well as Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Above mentioned tips not only help in securing your wireless LAN but will also offer an extra security shield to your Wi-Fi enabled devices. Positioning the router or access point safely, enabling firewalls on each computer and the router, stopping auto-connecting to an open network and disabling file sharing in public are some of the other prominent tips to avoid wireless security threats. Although, none of the above mentioned tips can give you 100% assurance of your Wi-Fi network, but security is all about providing multiple layers of protection. Apply these layers and secure your Wi-Fi enabled devices from wireless threats!

Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve internet security with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. With a strong track record of devising effective ways of online pc support and system security, she has so far helped thousands of users across the globe. Her writings on tech issues are the reflection of her in-depth interest and command she carries as a online pc repair technician. Her blogs and articles have been rated high for their lucid style and easy to understand language.