Surfing the Internet using neighbors WiFi is enjoyable. But if you’re the owner of an unsecured network, you should be aware of the suspicious activity on your network. If the LED of your wireless router is constantly blinking and none of the family members are using the Internet, this might indicate that someone is stealing your internet. And you should take some actions to stop those thieves from accessing your network. In this article, you are going to learn How To Secure Wifi Network?
How to secure Wifi network
Securing your wifi network is an important thing to do. Anyone can steal your wifi and thus use your internet. It will create a slowdown in the Internet speed as it creates a Security risk. Innocent people are being arrested for sending Suspicious or spam emails from their networks. But they are not the cause of that.
Someone stealing their internet may have sent those suspicious emails. But After tracking the IP address, the Cyber cell people will arrest the owner of the Internet connection. So, Securing the WiFi is quite a serious one. Anyone can secure their Wifi network by following the simple steps given below.
How to confirm that someone is stealing your internet?
First, enter the router’s IP address in the browser’s address bar. Then open the DHCP Client Table (Status > Local Network > DHCP Server). This shows a list of all devices connected to your wireless network including those of strangers.
You can take the following steps to determine if someone is stealing your internet connection by using these steps:
- Conduct a scan of all of the devices that are connected to your network: Check the list of computers and other devices that are connected to your network by going to the administration page of your router. If you come across any strange devices on your network, it may be a sign that unauthorized users are accessing the internet through your connection.
- Keep track of your internet usage The majority of routers come equipped with a feature that displays the amount of data consumed by each connected device. If you suddenly notice a significant increase in the amount of data being used, this could be an indication that someone is stealing your internet connection.
- Make use of a tool for monitoring your network traffic You can use tools for monitoring your network traffic such as GlassWire or Wireshark to monitor the traffic on your network and identify any suspicious activity.
- Conduct a speed test. If you discover that the speed of your internet connection has of suddenly slowed down, this could be an indication that someone else is using your network. You can determine the speed of your internet connection by conducting a speed test on your connection.
- Get in touch with your internet service provider (ISP) If you are unable to determine whether or not someone is using your internet connection without your permission, you can get in touch with your ISP and ask for assistance. They will assist you in determining whether or not there are any unauthorized users on your network.
Steps to secure your Wifi Network
1. Setup a good Encrypted password for your Wi-Fi network
Set a well-encrypted password to your Wifi. WEP, WPA, WPA2, CCMP, EMP, TKIP, AES, and many more security protocols are available to use for your router. These are very good security protocols to use, but if you are a basic user you may get confused to which one to pick for your writer.
Most commonly everyone uses WEP security, however, we strongly recommend the WPA2 protocol to our audience. When you go into in-depth detail WPA2 uses two different types of encryption; AES and TKIP. TKIP or Temporary Key Integrity Protocol is used with WEP in the early days of the Wifi launch.
While AES is more secure and adds robust protection to your Wifi. AES uses a block size of 128 bits and key lengths of either 128, 192, or 256 bits depending on the router hardware. AES is more secure than other protocols with its own set of ciphers.
Recently, Wifi Alliance announced the release of their new WPA3 WiFi security protocol which is more advanced than other protocols and expected to release soon with new routers.
Open your router’s admin page and set the wireless security mode to either WEP, WPA, or WPA2.
- Username: admin Password: admin
- Username: admin Password: password
- Username: admin Password: (Blank)
2. Use MAC Address Filtering
Every gadget which can connect to the Internet has a unique MAC address. Go to your router’s dashboard, click on the Wireless Mac Filter selection, and add all of your known gadgets’ MAC addresses. Only one Mac address can connect to a network; this is created to restrict device multiple connections with routers.
For an added layer of protection, you can add your desired MAC addresses to your wireless router’s settings so that only the specified devices can connect to your Wi-Fi network. Only MAC address-entered devices get to access the internet from a router, and all unknown gadgets are restricted.
3. Update Router Firmware
Every router manufacturer releases new firmware updates, like operating systems and software. These updates contain bug and exploit fixes, to close the recent security holes. You can check the firmware update status and availability on the router settings page. Go to Router Settings->Firmware->Update. This is the most common path for updating the firmware, some companies use different locations for the firmware update. Check your router instructions booklet or Index for the complete details.
4. Enable a Firewall
Most of modern routers come with built-in firewall protection. Enable the firewall before you start using the router to give extra protection to your connection. You can select the best firewall from the large list.
5. Turn Off WPS
Every router comes with a WPS button for quick pairing with devices. When you push this button on your router it automatically connects to the device which is trying to connect with. This button makes the pairing easy by skipping the password entry part. This WPS button is a little insecure when you are trying to make your router more secure.
Any guest in your house can connect to your router without asking a password from you. We always recommend disabling the WPS push button to make it secure even for your visitors and guests. Every router has different locations or paths to disable WPS activity. You can check their manuals to disable it. For Apple users, the WPS button is not available and Apple Airport devices are already secured from this option.
6. Change SSID Name
By default, the router broadcast its manufacturer’s name as SSID (service set identifier). This makes it easy to get the manufacturer’s name by checking the SSID. For example, if you are using D-Link Router600M as SSID name, it makes easy to know the router manufacturer’s name along with the model number by a third person.
Also, the default name looks weird, change the name of your choice to make an extra layer of protection to your WiFi Network. Also, you can hide the SSID broadcast visibility. Just remember the SSID name for connecting your personal gadgets like gaming devices, tablets, smartphones, Televisions, etc.
7. Disable SSID broadcast
You can hide your wireless name from getting displayed on “Available Wireless Connections.” This can be done by enabling the wireless router not to broadcast the name to everybody. Click on Wireless > Basic Wireless Settings > Click on the Disable button next to “Wireless SSID Broadcast.”
8. Disable DHCP
The Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) server in your router assigns the IP address to login into the router. For example, Dlink’s default DHCP address is http://192.168.0.1 and it has a chance of having a DCHP range of 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.125 IP addresses.
This means the hacker has a chance of using any of the 26 possible IPs to hack your Wifi Network. Luckily, you can limit the DHCP range of your Wifi router from its settings. Or you can completely disable the DHCP of your router.
9. Disable Remote Management
Turning off remote management means turning off the ability for someone to access and control your router from a remote location, such as another location or device. This can be done by turning off the remote management feature on your router. If you disable remote management on your router, you prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to and control of it, which can contribute to the overall security of your network. You will need to log into the administrative settings of your router and search for an option to disable remote management. Once you find it, you will be able to disable remote management. In most cases, this setting can be found in the section of the web-based interface for your router that is dedicated to network or security settings.
10 Change Default Router Login Credentials
Default login credentials for routers are widely known, making them susceptible to unauthorized access. Change the default username and password to secure your router against potential threats.
11. Monitor Connected Devices
Regularly review the list of connected devices in your router settings. If you identify any unfamiliar devices, investigate and take appropriate action to prevent unauthorized access.
That’s all for now. If we missed any technique to protect Wifi, please do share your technique in the comment box below.