How to secure your home network?

by | June 12, 2020 | How to

How to secure your home network?

Since the COVID pandemic requires us to work from home, it’s essential to make sure that we have a proper home office where we can work without any worries. There will always be problems when it comes to securing our home network and making sure that there are no data leaks. When working from home, we are still using company resources and data, so the last thing we want is to have that leaked, which is why we need to focus on having a secure home network.

Why do I need a secure network?

Keeping your data safe should be a priority whether you’re working from your office or at home. While working remotely, it’s easy for lines between work and home to be blurred. It’s important to ensure that your business data does not get mixed with your personal data and that bad actors who might be interested in stealing it are kept away.

Cybercriminals are hard at work looking for new ways to exploit victims through this global crisis. Based on several security companies’ observations, they’re constantly coming up with new strategies and techniques related to the COVID outbreak. As we move into this “new normal” of virtual engagement, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and keep our home network secure. 

Steps to be secure

Take the steps below to take your home network’s security to the next level.

Add a strong password to your router

Your router is the entry point in your home when it comes to any IT attack, be it ransomware, DDoS or anything like that. The best thing that you can do is to add a very hard to guess WIFI password and write it down on paper. This way no one will know it, and the chances of an attacker figuring that out will be very slim.

Change the admin credentials from the default ones

A lot of people leave the admin credentials as default. Those are obviously the easiest ones to crack. We recommend changing your default router admin credentials and choosing a complicated user/password combination. This would make it close to impossible for anyone to damage your home network. Don’t worry if you forget these credentials, you can always reset your router. You may want to customize the network name too, just to be safe.

Always encrypt the connection

You should make sure that your connection is encrypted at all costs. Encrypted connections are harder to hack. WPA 2 is a very good encryption system, so try to use that if you want to prevent possible attacks.

Disable remote management

Remote management is a problem because whenever you access your network remotely, other people can do the same. It’s best to disable this feature, and not worry about it, especially if you’re not using it. While we’re on this topic, you may also want to limit the WPS system. This can bring in some weaknesses too, and the truth is that most of the time, you don’t really need it.

Update everything

Keeping the router firmware up to date is very important. If you have any antivirus or anti-malware solutions, you should do the same thing. The more you focus on keeping your software updated, the safer you’ll be. Just try to take that into consideration, especially if you want to prevent network attacks.

Use a firewall

Firewalls are a great way to block possible attacks or unauthorised access to your network or computer. Software bugs and vulnarabilities allow hackers to get remote access to your network and firewalls can block that. Using a firewall can be a good prevention strategy, and it’s definitely going to help you more than you might imagine.

Start using a VPN

A VPN helps you keep your data safe, and allows you to stay anonymous online. With the help from a VPN you can also access restricted content, improve your privacy, protect your data, mask your ip, and many more. We’ve writen an article on this topic here.

With awareness and these few simple steps, you can better prepare yourself for this new world of secure remote work and social interaction. As attackers and their techniques evolve, we’ll be here to help you adapt and stay safe.

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