Is Your Home Wi-Fi Secure? Here Are 10 Tips to Lock Down Your Network (2023)

FAQs

How secure is my home Wi-Fi? ›

Click Manage Wireless Networks. The Manage Wireless Networks page opens, displaying a list of the networks within range. Next to your network name, if it says something such as Security: WEP or Security: WPA2, your network is protected.

When choosing from among WEP, WPA, WPA2 and WPA3 wireless security protocols, experts agree WPA3 is best for Wi-Fi security. As the most up-to-date wireless encryption protocol, WPA3 is the most secure choice.

When in doubt, simply disable your Wi-Fi radio when you're not using it, as this will prevent most Wi-Fi-based attacks. By taking the steps above, it's easy to reduce the risk of your Wi-Fi device joining a malicious network automatically, being tracked between locations, or leaking personal information.

Can a Wi‑Fi router be hacked? It's entirely possible that your router might have been hacked and you don't even know it. By using a technique called DNS (Domain Name Server) hijacking, hackers can breach the security of your home Wi‑Fi and potentially cause you a great deal of harm.

You use that signal to connect to the internet. But unless your network is password protected, any device within range — whether yours, your guest's, or a stranger's — can pull the signal from the air and use your internet connection.

WPA2 uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) which is also used by the U.S. government to protect classified documents. This is the strongest level of security you can provide for your home wifi network.

WPA3 provides a more secure connection than WPA2, but many WiFi devices might not yet detect WPA3 and support only WPA2. Similarly, WPA2 provides a more secure connection than WPA, but some legacy WiFi devices do not detect WPA2 and support only WPA.

However, you should not panic; the weak security notification is a common phenomenon and doesn't mean anything has been compromised yet. If you see a “Weak Security” message in your Wi-Fi settings, your network may be on an older and less secure encryption platform.

Can someone see what I'm doing on their Wi-Fi? ›

Can Someone See My Internet History On Their WIFI? Yes. The WiFi owner has access to the admin panel from the WiFi router, meaning they can see the browsing information performed on their WiFi network. In addition, routers see log information, including when and what you did on your computer.

If you're not careful, almost anyone can see your internet activity. Wi-Fi admins can see your activity through router logs, while websites, apps, ISPs, search engines, and advertisers all have means of tracking what you do online. Your devices and browsers keep records of what you do on them too.

By using a technique called DNS (Domain Name Server) hijacking, hackers can breach the security of your home Wi‑Fi and potentially cause you a great deal of harm. They can redirect your traffic to a website run by them, causing you to unwittingly give your credit card number or Facebook login credentials to a criminal.

Every phone has a unique Media Access Control address, commonly known as the MAC address, which helps identify it when connected to a network. If you suspect you've been hacked, dialing *#*#232338#*#* and comparing the MAC address with your network can help you find out.

If a hacker gets a hold of the password to your Wi-Fi network, they can use your internet connection to do whatever they want. This can range from using your data to stream videos and download files, to performing illegal activity. Also, getting onto your router is the first step to accessing the devices on it.

Access the Wi-Fi connection settings. Find your wireless network on the list of available networks. Tap the network name or info button to pull up the network configuration. Check the network configuration for the security type.

Turn on encryption

Go to your router's settings and find the security options. Look for the WPA2 Personal setting. If you don't see that, select WPA Personal (but this could be a sign that your router is outdated and more vulnerable). Set the encryption type to AES.

A secure URL should begin with “https” rather than “http.” The “s” in “https” stands for secure, which indicates that the site is using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate. This lets you know that all your communication and data is encrypted as it passes from your browser to the website's server.

Why you shouldn't give out your Wi-Fi password? ›

Ideally, you don't want to give people access to your main WiFi network. This will give their laptop or phone access to all the devices in your home, which means they—or any malware installed on their system—can compromise sensitive data on your personal devices.

A common cause of reduced Wi-Fi performance is dense walls and furniture in between routers and wireless devices. In addition to dense walls and objects, conductive materials can block Wi-Fi signals the most, causing Wi-Fi not to work in some buildings.

Turning Wi-Fi off when you're not using it improves network security and frees up some bandwidth for your wired devices. Maybe you don't want to disable your Wi-Fi access completely, but would like to hide your Wi-Fi name so only people who know it have access to your Wi-Fi.

The best Wi-Fi security option for your router is WPA2-AES. You might see WPA2-TKIP as an option, but it's not as secure. WPA2-TKIP is, however, the second-most secure — followed by WPA, and then WEP.

Presently, WPA3 is the strongest wireless network security system. It supersedes WEP, WPA, and WPA2, in providing security upgrades and wireless network security protection. WPA3 has better data encryption and key sharing capabilities than its predecessors (Sagers, 2021).

A home firewall protects the devices connected to your network from intruders on the internet. They effectively act as a one-way digital barrier by blocking access to your network from devices on the internet while simultaneously allowing devices on your network to connect to devices on the internet.

Generally, WPA2 is the best choice, even though it consumes more processing power to protect your network. Learn more about Wi-Fi security options and how encryption tools like VPNs can protect you even further.

To enable WPA3 Transition Mode, navigate to Wireless > Configure > Access Control > Security and set the WPA encryption selection to WPA3 Transition Mode.

Should I set my router to WPA2 WPA3? ›

Consider Upgrading From WPA2 to WPA3

This will depend on your devices' and network's compatibility. You'll have to check the documentation of your devices to see if they're compatible. But in the meantime, WPA2 with a good firewall setting and antivirus software on your devices is pretty good security.

The flaw, known as KRACK, affects WPA2, a security protocol widely used in most modern Wi-Fi devices. In some cases, a hacker could exploit KRACK to inject malware such as ransomware into websites, according to KU Leuven's Mathy Vanhoef, the researcher who discovered the WPA vulnerability.

If your Apple device shows a privacy warning or weak-security warning about a Wi-Fi network, that network could expose information about your device. If you administer the Wi-Fi network, we recommend that that you update the settings of your Wi-Fi router to meet or exceed the security standards in this article.

Most messengers and chat apps use end-to-end encryption to secure text messages. End-to-end encryption encrypts your texts on your phone before they are sent over the internet. The texts are then decrypted on the recipient's end. Prying eyes won't be able to read your texts on Wi-Fi even if they intercept them.

Doesn't delete all browsing data – Even though incognito mode doesn't save any cookies, login data, and other site information from the computer after the mode, the visited websites might still be monitored and logged when you are online.

Do the police monitor Google searches? While police do not actively monitor Google searches, they are able to obtain a warrant for your search history if they have probable cause to do so.

Long story short: yes, someone can monitor your phone to keep tabs on all your activities. This includes phone calls, texts, browser activity, photos, videos, apps, and more. This is often done via spyware, a form of malware designed for monitoring a device's activity remotely.

Yes, if you are using your work's WiFi network, your employer can track your internet activity regardless of which device you choose to use. They will be able to see all the activity on the company's network, including that which was conducted on any personal devices connected to the network.

What should I avoid using free Wi-Fi? ›

Check your router's network map for unfamiliar devices. Look for unwanted devices in a network monitoring app. Check your router's lights for wireless activity. Go through the router logs to look for suspicious activity.

Connecting to a cellular network is absolutely more safe than using WiFi. Most WiFi hotspots aren't secure because the data sent over the internet isn't encrypted. When you use a secured WiFi, you can encrypt your data, but it's still less reliable and automatic than cellular signal.

Your Neighbor's Network

When many networks are located closely together, for example in apartment buildings, this will affect the wireless capacity. For equipment on the 2.4 GHz band, neighboring networks are the single largest source of interference on the wireless network.

The best Wi-Fi security option for your router is WPA2-AES. You might see WPA2-TKIP as an option, but it's not as secure. WPA2-TKIP is, however, the second-most secure — followed by WPA, and then WEP.

Leave mobile data on and your battery will drain quicker than if it was off. There are a few reasons why this happens. First, your phone will be constantly searching for signal. If you're in an area with particularly poor signal, things only get worse, as your phone consumes more power while searching.

WiFi is a wireless technology that establishes a wireless network to allow computers and devices with the required wireless capacity to communicate via radio waves. The Internet, on the other hand, is a global network of networks where computers communicate with each other via Internet Protocol.