How to Set up a Secure WiFi Network Wherever You Are

It is likely that right now you are working from home or accessing the internet from all sorts of locations other than the office you are used to. This means that you need fast and easy internet access, but you don’t necessarily have the on-site infrastructure that your office provides for you every day.

So, if you are at home, wherever that is in the world, you need to be able to set up a Wi-Fi network to hop onto. And, you need it to be secure.

Security isn’t something that is done well on public Wi-Fi networks. And often home networks don’t do this well either. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it well for yourself.

Here are three areas surrounding this top that you need to pay the most attention to in order to set up a secure network:

Your network needs to be practical and secure.

A network that easy to connect to may seem practical because it is efficient. But there is so much more to it than easy connection. If the network is not secured, then you are in trouble. Sacrificing safety for security is a big mistake.

You can make sure that the Wi-Fi network you are connecting to is working for you and not against by using the right tools (especially if it is your home Wi-Fi network). It all starts with locking down your router, which is the heart of your entire network.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Make sure that you have a modern, secure router.
• Make sure your router has a unique name so that hackers cannot break in.
• Make sure your router is protected by a strong password to keep hackers out of your network.
• If your router has antennas, make sure they are pointing in optimal directions to send the strongest Wi-Fi signal you your devices.
• Only use WPA2 encryption. It is the strongest protection protocol.
• Turn off any remote or connected features that are not critical.

While making sure your router is set up to perform its best and set up to be as secure as possible, that’s not all you have to do. Remember, the router is the heart of your network. So, whatever your router is connected to and vice versa needs to be secure, too.

Your endpoints (devices) need to be secure.

Your entire network set up is not secure if you only take care of your router. You need to make sure that you are securing your devices as well. After all, they are the things connecting to your router.

A device that is not secure and that is connecting to your router acts as a channel for hackers to break into your entire network. Which means access to all of your personal devices and information.

To make sure that you are protecting yourself from being hacked, here’s what you need to do:

• Make sure your devices are updated with any anti-virus software. Patches are put in place for a reason.
• Make sure you have a firewall up and running.
• Know all of the devices that are connected to your Wi-Fi network. That way you can easily identify unwanted guests and kick them off. (This will help save bandwidth, too.)
• Separate your smart devices onto a different network than your personal devices. Connected IoT devices are much more vulnerable than other devices.

Investing in a Wi-Fi management system will help monitor and take care of this list for you so you don’t have to do it manually. Taking all of these steps into your own hands can be overwhelming. A Wi-Fi management system like Optim can take the guesswork out of the equation. Implementing Optim to manage your entire Wi-Fi network setup will help maintain and restore your network performance and your peace of mind.

Everyone else’s endpoints (devices) need to be secure, too.

It’s hard to control what other people do. But you can take control of which network you connect to and which network you let others connect to.

What we mean are these two key things:

1. If you are going to connect to someone else’s Wi-Fi network, make sure that your device is secure first. This way, you are combating your own device from being compromised. But at the same time, you are also protecting your friend or family member’s network from anything your device might bring in by connecting.

2. If you are going to let guests connect to your home network, make sure you have a separate guest network set up for them to connect to. This will protect both you and you guests from the pains of unprotected Wi-Fi connection (AKA – being hacked).

Setting up a secure network can be done anywhere and is easy once you know what to do. It takes a little bit of an effort to setup and maintain, but there are tools out there to help you not get too overwhelmed. Again, Optim is a great aid. Optim Managed Wi-Fi ensures a better performing network and with Advanced Security, it proactively fixes any Wi-Fi issues while safeguarding you and your network.

Make sure that wherever you are using the internet, that your set up is secure.

Want more Wi-Fi home network or public network tips like this? Check out Actiontec’s Industry Articles and the Actiontec blog. We update them regularly to provide insight just for you.