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Home networks have gone from out-of-date setups involving a single PC and dial-up modem to entire ecosystems connecting smartphones, portable speakers, and even washing machines.
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A compromised home network invites hackers to do anything from talking to your child through a connected baby monitor to committing identity theft, thanks to your poor cybersecurity habits.
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In this article, we’ll teach you how to turn your home network into an impenetrable digital fortress — no advanced computer skills required!
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Change the Defaults
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Every router comes with default settings that make it easier to set up. It will have a preset IP address for connecting to its web interface and associated well-known login credentials like “admin” for the username and “0000” for the password. Your wireless network may also use the default manufacturer or internet service provider (ISP) name for your Service Set Identifier or SSID.
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All this info is available online for most router types, so you should change it as soon as possible. Start with the SSID, as hackers who pick up your Wi-Fi signal can find out a lot about your router – and how to exploit it – just by looking at the network name.
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Setting strong passwords for your router and Wi-Fi network is crucial. Each should be more than 12 characters long and unique. Going for passwords that are easy to remember also makes them easy to crack. Reusing them isn’t smart either — you wouldn’t want a cyber crook to suddenly have your network password because an account you had the same one for was hacked and exposed on the dark web.
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The simplest solution is to use a password manager for all your accounts. Password managers for Linux, Windows, MacOS, and other operating systems are widely available. Get a suitable one for yourself, and that way, each of your accounts gets a complex, one-of-a-kind password you don’t have to remember since the manager will safely store and fill it in.
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Good managers also help boost password security with two-factor authentication. Enable it for your router password and any other important accounts to authenticate login attempts with a secondary code that a hacker who might have stolen your password doesn’t have access to.
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Optimize Your Router’s Security Settings
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Routers have several settings you can activate to boost network security further. Which ones are on by default varies by model, manufacturer, and ISP, so check them all.
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Start by discovering which type of encryption the router uses to prevent nearby hackers from intercepting communication between connected devices and your Wi-Fi. Modern routers use WPA3, WPA2, or a combination of the two. The first WPA standard and WEP are old and ineffective against brute-force attacks.
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Your router has a built-in firewall. They’re useful for preventing denial of service attacks and blocking vulnerable ports from attackers. The firewall should be on, but check to be sure.
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Make sure the firewall’s firmware is current and updated automatically. Using old firmware versions leaves you vulnerable to known security flaws.
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You could also restrict the devices allowed to connect to your network through Medium Access Control or MAC address filtering. Your smartphones, laptops, etc., all have unique MAC addresses you add as exceptions. While a hacker could fake one, they’d have to know exactly what type of devices connect to the network.
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Finally, you should consider disabling remote access and hiding your Wi-Fi network altogether. Most home users don’t need remote access, making it an unnecessary risk. Hiding your Wi-Fi prevents hackers and freeloading neighbors from connecting but won’t inconvenience you much if you securely store its login credentials.
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Protect Connected Devices
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A modern home network isn’t a self-contained bubble. Devices that are part of it also frequently connect to less-safe networks. For example, a smartphone you use to access public Wi-Fi could get infected with malware or expose login credentials to hackers who monitor such unsecured networks. Reintroducing the device into your home environment suddenly puts all others at risk.
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A VPN is the right tool to tackle such concerns. It encrypts home network traffic at the system level, so even an infected router couldn’t serve to track or abuse the data you exchange online.
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It can also boost performance and privacy by hiding your IP address, preventing ISPs from throttling select sites, and making targeted advertising harder. Anyone who monitors a public Wi-Fi connection could register traffic from your device but wouldn’t have usable data to steal due to VPN encryption.
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Lower Your Online Profile
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While attacks like phishing and data breaches can impact millions of people, those involving home networks are usually targeted. Whether it’s worth a hacker’s time to try and break into yours depends on how much information they can find on you online.
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Inactive accounts and revealing old social media posts you can deal with alone, not so with all the info some data broker might be hoarding that you don’t even know about.
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Benefitting from the best data removal services helps your home network security in the long run. They’ll have data brokers and people finder sites take down everything they have on you, greatly reducing the chances you’ll catch some hacker’s eye.
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