Over a quarter of Internet users worldwide use WiFi at home or on the go to connect to websites and web applications from computers or mobile phones. installing a wireless or wireless network today is really simple and cheap, just buy a router, that electronic object that creates a computer network (See also: " How a router really works"> The problem is that many people completely ignore what it means to protect the wifi network from external intrusions and neglect to secure the home wifi network .
Instead, you need to think of the home WiFi network as if it were the front door of our house, which requires an armored lock to ensure that no stranger can enter without permission.
It is important to know that when data passes over an unsecured WiFi network they can be intercepted by someone nearby.
The most trivial example is the neighbor who uses our internet connection "to latch" to get things done, slowing down the network or making us pay more.
In more serious cases, real data theft such as website account passwords can occur.
Since therefore the protection of the wifi network is necessary to keep our personal data safe when connecting to the internet, both from home and in bars or other places, everyone should follow the following steps to protect the devices connected to the network and put them safe from possible external intrusions .
READ ALSO: Protect the wireless network from intrusion, eavesdropping and espionage
1) First of all it is important to check which type of connection protocol is used by the Wifi network at home .
What needs to be checked is whether friends need to enter a password to surf the internet with their mobile phone when they come to visit us at least the first time.
If there are no passwords it means that the network is free and that anyone can enter it freely (obviously nearby).
However, putting a password is not enough, you also need to check what type of security protocol is used .
WEP is the oldest and weakest wireless security protocol, WPA is better than WEP, but it is WPA2 today the standard of a secure and encrypted wifi network.
2) Change the network security settings and activate WPA2
The wireless router is the machine or device that creates the WiFi network (then this is connected to the modem that takes us to the internet; sometimes the router is also a modem).
If your home network is not protected with WPA2, you must absolutely access the router settings page to configure the WPA2 type password.
Read the router instructions to see how to enter this settings page or consult the guide on Navigaweb to configure a Wireless Router to install a secure wifi network
In general, you can enter the router settings by opening a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox and browsing the address 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 (see how to find the IP address of the router)
Enter the admin password (which if not changed is always admin ) and then configure the WPA2 password.
Any device with WiFi sold since 2006 supports the WPA2 protocol.
If you use an older router, it would be appropriate to change it also because today the price of routers is really low.
SEE ALSO: Which wifi router to buy for the wireless home network?
3) Create a password for the WiFi network
To protect the network with WPA2 it is obviously necessary to create a password that is unique, such as a long combination of numbers, letters and symbols, so that others cannot guess it.
Since the network can only be accessed if it takes the signal, it is not wrong to write down the password on the router itself or on an adhesive sheet to stick on it.
Even better would be to create a QR code to connect friends on the net without giving them the password.
In this way, it will be enough for them to scan the code with their smartphone to access the internet without having to write a password.
Those who use a router already configured such as Alice or Fastweb, with the network already protected by a long default password, should consider changing this password.
This is for convenience (finding a more memorable one), and for security as these passwords are generated with algorithms that, in some cases, are recognized by hacker applications such as WPA Tester or Wifi-Unlocker for Android.
4) Password protect the router so no one can change its settings
Each router needs its own password which has nothing to do with the password used to protect the network.
The routers, just bought, are without a password or if they have it, it is simple and known to everyone (usually it is admin otherwise you can search for the router model in one of the sites where you can find the login and password for all the routers).
If you do not change the router password, anyone can enter the configurations, launch attacks on the whole network in a simple way and snort the traffic as he wishes.
You can almost always reset the router access password from the router settings page (see point 2).
Keep this password safe which must be different from the one you use to connect to the WiFi network.
5) Finally, you need to secure your computer on the network and there are three things to do:
- disable sharing of folders at least on the public network.
- make sure you don't have malware.
- install a firewall (optional).
These things are explained among the precautions to surf on public or unsecured wifi .
The wifi networks without password or the public ones that can be accessed after a registration are insecure because it is not known who manages them and who is connected to them.
By this nature one must think that network traffic can be readable in the clear.
For safety, therefore, it is important to navigate, even from a mobile phone, without ever writing important passwords (automatic access is fine), unless you access the sites in encrypted https, which do not transmit information in the clear.
Smartphone applications that automatically log into Facebook or other online services are protected.
Google has released a truly instructive video, which a child could understand, to illustrate these steps and improve the safety of our Internet browsing .
