1/ Check your wireless security settings
Although largely phased out – you’ll be surprised how many people are still using WEP to secure their wireless network. Check your router wireless settings, and ensure you’re set to use WPA-PSK (or better yet – WPA2-PSK). Why? Put it simply – WEP can be cracked in minutes by an experienced hacker.
Although largely phased out – you’ll be surprised how many people are still using WEP to secure their wireless network. Check your router wireless settings, and ensure you’re set to use WPA-PSK (or better yet – WPA2-PSK). Why? Put it simply – WEP can be cracked in minutes by an experienced hacker.
2/ Choose a secure wireless password
Don’t use your Street Name, Surname or Postcode for your wireless network password. Think about it this way – if I was going to break into your wireless network, these are the first 3 passwords I would try. I’d probably then try them written backwards, or strung together. Make sure your wireless password is something unique to you only – or something random. Ensure it has upper and lower case letters, and also includes numbers and special characters (i.e #£$%&-!). Make the password AT LEAST 8 characters long.
Don’t use your Street Name, Surname or Postcode for your wireless network password. Think about it this way – if I was going to break into your wireless network, these are the first 3 passwords I would try. I’d probably then try them written backwards, or strung together. Make sure your wireless password is something unique to you only – or something random. Ensure it has upper and lower case letters, and also includes numbers and special characters (i.e #£$%&-!). Make the password AT LEAST 8 characters long.
3/ Give your wireless network a generic name
Don’t give away your name, or your house number/street in the wireless network name. All this will do is tell potential ‘hackers’ which house the network resides in, and also give them clues to a potential password.
On another note – if they break into the network, they’ll be able to list devices attached to it. If they discover a network full of expensive laptops/phones – they may consider it a good spot for a burglary!
Don’t give away your name, or your house number/street in the wireless network name. All this will do is tell potential ‘hackers’ which house the network resides in, and also give them clues to a potential password.
On another note – if they break into the network, they’ll be able to list devices attached to it. If they discover a network full of expensive laptops/phones – they may consider it a good spot for a burglary!
4/ Don’t give away your wireless password
Everyone has friends/family that will at some point request access to your wireless so they can browse the web/check emails/banking. Familiarise yourself with the procedure of resetting your wireless password. You’ll then be able to change it before letting them log in, and then set it back after. Although you may trust friends/family – you can never be sure their device isn’t leaking all stored passwords out to the internet world!
Everyone has friends/family that will at some point request access to your wireless so they can browse the web/check emails/banking. Familiarise yourself with the procedure of resetting your wireless password. You’ll then be able to change it before letting them log in, and then set it back after. Although you may trust friends/family – you can never be sure their device isn’t leaking all stored passwords out to the internet world!
5/ Don’t leave devices powered on and connected when not in use
If you turn your computer off overnight, you can sleep safe knowing it isn’t being attacked. The same goes for other devices like phones and laptops. Don’t leave them connected and on unnecessarily.
If you turn your computer off overnight, you can sleep safe knowing it isn’t being attacked. The same goes for other devices like phones and laptops. Don’t leave them connected and on unnecessarily.
6/ Keep regular backups of your data
Although this won’t stop your home network being compromised – it will reduce the pain if you happen to lose any data in the process. For every 10 people I know that have lost data, 9 of them comment that they wish they kept regular backups. It takes minutes to backup data to a DVD or external drive – which could save hours of pain in the future.
Although this won’t stop your home network being compromised – it will reduce the pain if you happen to lose any data in the process. For every 10 people I know that have lost data, 9 of them comment that they wish they kept regular backups. It takes minutes to backup data to a DVD or external drive – which could save hours of pain in the future.
7/ Don’t connect to the network without Anti Virus installed
As soon as a device is connected to your home network, its vulnerable to attack. Make sure you keep on top of your Anti Virus updates – knowing how these work will ensure you notice if there is a problem. Without Anti Virus installed, you’re also opening up the other devices on your network to attack, as a virus could get onto the un protected machine and then attack the other ‘protected’ devices.
As soon as a device is connected to your home network, its vulnerable to attack. Make sure you keep on top of your Anti Virus updates – knowing how these work will ensure you notice if there is a problem. Without Anti Virus installed, you’re also opening up the other devices on your network to attack, as a virus could get onto the un protected machine and then attack the other ‘protected’ devices.
8/ Keep your computer up to date
Apply weekly updates to your Computer. The 2 key companies (Apple and Microsoft) make this very easy to do. Keeping on top of it weekly will keep the update durations minimal (as the updates will be smaller in size), again meaning you’ll have an easier time keeping on top of the task!
Apply weekly updates to your Computer. The 2 key companies (Apple and Microsoft) make this very easy to do. Keeping on top of it weekly will keep the update durations minimal (as the updates will be smaller in size), again meaning you’ll have an easier time keeping on top of the task!
9/ Ask – Does the device need to be connected?
Ask yourself whether the device needs to be connected to a network. If you have a computer you use purely for office tasks and photo storage etc – then don’t connect it to the network. If it isn’t connected, it can’t be attacked. Of course this makes the above 2 tips a bit more difficult – but with a computer ‘offline’, they become a lot less important. If you need to – Virus Scan files before putting them onto the ‘offline’ computer – just to be safe.
Ask yourself whether the device needs to be connected to a network. If you have a computer you use purely for office tasks and photo storage etc – then don’t connect it to the network. If it isn’t connected, it can’t be attacked. Of course this makes the above 2 tips a bit more difficult – but with a computer ‘offline’, they become a lot less important. If you need to – Virus Scan files before putting them onto the ‘offline’ computer – just to be safe.
10/ Don’t disable default security mechanisms
If your home network comes with built in security, don’t disable it. Every block you can put between a potential hacker and your home network is a justified one. Most home routers come with a built in firewall, and most mainstream Operating Systems come with a built in firewall. Leave them both on!
If your home network comes with built in security, don’t disable it. Every block you can put between a potential hacker and your home network is a justified one. Most home routers come with a built in firewall, and most mainstream Operating Systems come with a built in firewall. Leave them both on!
Bonus TIP – Don’t keep the default passwords for any device. Its the easiest way into a network.
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