In a world so technical, so rich in difficult terms and where it is so easy to look for guides and explanations on everything, it is easy to fall into certain beliefs that are taken for real, but actually wrong and false. Regarding the wifi networks there are many guides that talk about security, speed and various configurations that really let you believe false or otherwise wrong things if understood in an absolute sense.
In this summary article we see some of the 10 most common misconceptions about a home wifi network, to dispel some myths that continue to be told even by expert people.
To set it up in an easy-to-read way, let's see how wireless computer networks work using " True or False" questions>
READ ALSO: Great Guide on LAN computer networks, internet and wifi
1) Wireless networks are secure
A properly configured wireless router is sufficient to protect the wifi connection of any average family in a highly satisfactory way.
The important thing is to set a login password that is not weak or predictable.
It is therefore true to say that wifi networks are secure while it would be false instead to say that wifi networks are as secure as wired networks, which are certainly more secure.
READ ALSO: How to secure a wifi network .
2) Wired networks are always better and faster than wifi networks
If we talk about security, as written in the previous point, we have seen that cable networks are more secure especially because, having a hacker to spy on what goes inside the network, he should also connect with a cable to the router.
If we talk about speed it is also true, but with a difference now imperceptible.
Modern Wifi standards such as 802.11ac have improved router speeds and greatly reduced the speed gap making it almost irrelevant.
For connection quality, however, the cable one is always better, which does not suffer from interference and latency.
On the subject I had already written a complete exam to understand which is faster and better between a Wifi or cable network .
3) Wifi networks are especially bad for children
Responding to this statement in a clear way is not possible as it is still early to say.
As far as we know, to date, we can say that this claim is false and that wifi, unless you work with a router on your head all day, does not hurt.
To learn more, read the article " How bad is WiFi for us, children or babies? "
4) A router with multiple antennas is faster
I don't know if there is anyone who believes this claim to be true, but it is really one of the myths about routers.
The antennas, in fact, are not all the same and there are even routers with internal networks, not visible.
It is not the number of antennas that make the difference, but their location and construction quality.
It is true that having additional antennas improves coverage.
READ ALSO: How to improve the coverage of the wifi router at home
5) The internet connection provider limits the promised speed
Sometimes, when the internet is slow, we blame the network provider, that is Telecom, Fastweb or others, while instead it is only our problem.
At other times, there is actually a network problem at the origin or a network overload.
Generally speaking, the claim in question is false, an internet provider should not limit the connection speed of its customers.
There is also to consider that when a network provider promises speeds of up to 20 Mega, it speaks of real theoretical speed achievable in ideal conditions that never occur.
What some may limit are Peer to peer connections like BitTorrent, but that's another matter.
If in doubt, tests can certainly be done to improve the quality of your internet connection.
READ ALSO: Why the internet is slow and how to fix it
6) Hiding the SSID makes the network invisible to hackers
Many people, for security reasons and to prevent anyone from connecting to the wifi network, use the option to hide the SSID, i.e. not to make the network name appear when scanning wifi networks of the computer or mobile phone.
It may seem like a clever way to secure a network, but it is not.
A trivial wireless network analyzer such as Kismet or CommView for WiFi is able to detect even hidden networks so hiding them is useless.
The important thing is to always protect the network with a secure password.
7) 5 GHz band is better than the 2.4 GHz band
Modern routers work on two different frequencies and allow you to use the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands.
The 5Ghz one is preferable because it is a less crowded band, which does not suffer from interference.
On the other hand, not all wireless devices work on the 5 GHz band which also has less penetration on the walls of the house.
In the end you cannot say which is better to use, you must first see what connects and understand the environment where the signal must spread.
We talked about this in the article: Differences between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks; which is better? .
8) It is important to always download and install router firmware updates
You don't have to wait for the router to show problems before making updates, but do it whenever they are available.
In fact, firmware updates can improve router performance and cover any security vulnerabilities.
READ ALSO: Things to know about wireless networks, meanings and wi-fi devices
