Defend You Network Against Spooky Cyber-Criminals

Cybercrime has increased significantly these past couple of years since the COVID-19 Pandemic occurred; our dependence on technology has increased even more since we were stuck in a lockdown. Technology is ever changing: we depend on technology for many things, from shopping to paying bills, and even for entertainment. These are a few reasons why it’s very important to have a secure home network to protect your information and your home from Cybercriminals. Here are some tips that will help you have a safer network security at home.

1. Router Position in Home

Many people don’t give it much thought when installing their router in their home but its placement in a home is very important. You want to place your home router in a place where the wi-fi reaches all over your house or the most important places of your home. You also want to make sure your signal does not reach too far outside your home because that’s one thing cybercriminals look for when they are doing a type of attack called wardriving. Wardriving is a type of cyber-attack where hackers go driving around searching for vulnerable wi-fi networks they can access from their car. This is why it’s very important to choose the right spot in your home to position your router in a way your network can stay safe.

2. Default Password

Changing the default password form your router and modem is a very important first step to ensure network safety. The reason why this is very important is because anyone can find the passwords online and sometimes, they are very common and easy to guess. If someone has access to the router and/or modem in your home network they can modify your setting on the network as well as have access to all the devices connected to said network. With this access they can steal important information you might have on your devices as well as important information you might’ve accessed on the web. Leaving default passwords leave your network very vulnerable to cyberattacks that can be damaging to you.

3. Change Network Name

Along with changing your default password you should also change your default network name; this is because default network names give away important information about your network. Hackers will locate the type of router you have in your home by looking up the default name of your network, from there they can determine what tools and attacks they can use that can easily target the network. From there, cybercriminals can gain access into your network and steal important and private data you might’ve had on your devices.

4. Device Updates

Doing regular software updates on a computer is vital to ensure network safety. This is because manufacturers send out patches, security updates, and new features, as well as updates for any common issues. Regular updates ensure your devices are not as vulnerable to security issues that might’ve left your device open to certain vulnerabilities in previous versions. The way to think about how important computer updates are is for example if you have a fence in your home and you see there is an opening in it you would not leave it open and hope someone doesn’t see it and go in through it. Instead, you would repair it to prevent any intruders from having easy access to your home. That’s a similar way that software updates work; they improve your device so they can run smoothly and stay secure.

5. Device Management in your Home Network

Managing the devices that have access to your internet or that are connected to your network is very important because you want to make sure they are device you know and trust. The way to manage the devices in your network can be by either accessing it from the router web interface, the app provided by your internet service provider, or there are some applications on the app or android stores that help you manage your network along with the devices connected to it. From those applications you can check that only devices approved by you are connected to your network. If not, you can go ahead and kick them out of the network, along with taking precautions so they do not connect again such as changing your password.

Following these tips are great first steps in maintaining a safe home network. There is more information you can look up online to make your home network even safer. With technology always changing and improving it’s always great to keep up with new ways to keep yourself safe as well as your home network safe from cybercriminals. If you need assistance with securing your network, please call us at (915) 587-7902. We would be happy to assist you.