How To Protect Your Home Internet From Hackers

You may think that your password is enough to protect your home internet from hackers. Though setting a difficult password is the first line of defense, it is simply not enough. Especially now that many people are operating a smart home that also involves the security system. 

Since how alarm systems work has changed dramatically over the years, it now requires a strong internet security plan to make sure that it doesn’t get hacked. These systems rely on your wifi and the cloud to be secure and if you aren’t careful then they could be exploited.

If your signal is strong and can be accessed from outsiders, it can be just a matter of time before somebody is able to get your password and enter your network. Once this happens then all of your sensitive information is in the hands of somebody else. 

In this article, I will go over the ways to protect your internet and thus your home from hackers.

1 – Automate your password 

Passwords are very easy for people to figure out as many people use something that helps them remember. As such, if somebody knows the names of your kids or pets, then they will likely find a way in since this is the most common way to generate a password. 

Instead, use an automated one that is generated for you so somebody has no way of guessing it. 

And change it every three months so that it can stay unguessable.

2 – Turn on a firewall

This sounds far more technical than it really is. It is likely that your router has a firewall capability but it just hasn’t been set up.

Each model router has its own way of turning the firewall on, so there is no universal way to do it. You’ll need to look through the operating manual to see how to set it up. But, set it up you should.

The way that it works is that the router gives each device on the network its own IP address. Each address is unknown and unseen to anybody outside of the network. The only address that somebody outside the network would see is the address of the router itself. 

Once it is set up, then unsolicited traffic to your devices is blocked before reaching them. 

3 – Keep the firmware current

The manufacturer of your router likely gives updates that need to be downloaded and you should definitely not ignore these downloads. This is so that any security gaps can be patched. Over time the programmers are able to detect bugs or other issues that affect the security of the device.

When you update it, these bugs get fixed and effectively close a loophole that can be exploited by hackers. If you let these updates go without downloading, then you open yourself up to threats that are easily avoided. 

4 – Enable encryption

If your signal is not encrypted, a savvy hacker can intercept your online activity and steal things like passwords to your bank accounts and other sensitive data. To get around this, you should encrypt your signal.

When you set up your router you can choose from different types of transmission settings. Go for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA 2) with AES. this is an encrypted signal that can’t be broken into.

If your router is already set up and running, then go into the settings and change it to make sure you have it encrypted. You’ll find this under the Wireless Security tab on the site where you set up your router preferences. If you forget how to do this, then check out the manual.