Do you find yourself wondering, "Is my Wi-Fi secure?" Well, it's it important to check your Wi-Fi security! Well, an unsecured Wi-Fi connection makes it much easier for hackers to access your confidential information. It also allows strangers to jump on your Wi-Fi network and steal your bandwidth. It's really important to keep control of your network, to keep both you and your data safe.
In this article, we'll guide you through the steps you can take to make sure that your Wi-Fi is secure, and give you some tips to protect your internet conenction from hackers. Here's how to check your Wi-Fi security.
How To Check Wi-Fi Security
When you connect to your network for the first time, you should be asked for a security key or password. If you aren't prompted to enter this, then immediately you know your network is unsecured. This means that literally anyone within range of your router would be able to join the network.
A slightly more advanced way of checking, is to log-in to your router admin account, and have a look at the settings. You can see in there, if your network is secured or not. It will also let you change or set a password, if you wish to do so.
You can also use an online security test, which will identify whether your network is secure or not. F-Secure is one example. You can run a Router Checker test for free, which can tell you whether your router settings have been modified by someone.
These are a few ways of checking your Wi-Fi security. But how do you go about protecting yourself from hackers? Read on, for our top tips.
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How To Protect Internet Connection From Hackers
There are plenty of steps you can take to protect your internet connection from hackers. There are numerous ways you can go about doing this. But we're not going to overcomplicate matters. Our top tips are as follows:
Is my Wi-Fi Secure? Passwords Are Important!
- Change your default password. Most home Wi-Fi connections come with a password that's been pre-generated. While this is better than nothing, it remains advisable to change this password.
- Use a strong password. The more complicated the password, the harder it is to guess.
- Limit who gets access to your network. While there will be people you can trust to give access to your Wi-Fi network, that doesn't mean you should allow anyone access. You may have a party, or tradespeople in, and asking for access to your Wi-Fi. Never feel obligated to give them the password.
- But, if you do give them the password, make sure you change it as soon as you can after they've gone.
- It's also worth changing the password on a regular basis.
Change Your Network's Default Name
Usually, your network will be set up to be easily identified. It will often include the name of your ISP. This makes it easier for people to guess the default settings for that ISP. So change it to something more anonymous. We don't recommend anything that has your name or your home address in it. Make it as hard for others to identify as possible.
Is my Wi-Fi secure? Check your encryption!
Encryption essentially scrambles the messages sent over a wireless network. This means they can't be easily read if they are intercepted by a third party. If you don't have an encrypted network, you can enable this via the wireless security settings for your router.
There are several different forms of encryption. WI-Fi Protected Access III (WPA3( is the newest and best protocol, but still not widely available. If this option isn't available to you, try to use WPA2 as the next best option.
Update Your Router
Regularly checking for firmware updates is an important part of checking your Wi-Fi security. Updates will help to fix any software bugs, or security issues that may have been identified by the manufacturer. So keeping your firmware up-to-date is another important tool to protect you from hackers.
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