In this article, we will explain How To Protect Wifi from Neighbors and Hackers easily by using the three steps we discussed here.
Suppose your wifi has been behaving sketchily recently, like turning on or off by itself, or the speed has been significantly reduced. In that case, an outsider might be using it without your knowledge. It could be most likely your neighbors. If your wifi is being invaded, you will have less internet to yourself with lesser speed.
It can also seriously harm your privacy. Your devices could be hacked into, and your essential details like bank account information could be at risk. And hence, it is vital that you immediately take measures to protect your wifi network. This article is a detailed guide on how to protect wifi from neighbors. We will look into the few steps you can take immediately to secure your network and perform damage control.
Step By Step Guide on How To Protect Wifi From Nosy Neighbors
Here is a list of measures you can take to ensure your wifi network is safe and cannot be accessed by any outsider.
1. Change Your Password and Other Login Credentials:
This is the obvious first step to take. Guessing passwords is not very difficult for most hackers since many routers have the same bunch of admin usernames and passwords. Therefore, You should immediately change your network’s password. You can do so through the router’s web interface or the mobile app.
Make sure that you choose a strong password. It must have uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and a unique character. Avoid using your name or date of birth as a password. When you change your password, your network will get disconnected from all the devices, and you will be required to enter the password again. However, this is still a crucial step and worth the work and time.
If you wish to change the other network settings as well, for example, guest network or name, you can reset the router and change the settings. This will disconnect the router from any devices, and you will then be required to put in a new password to access the network.
2. Hide Your Wifi Network From Others:
If your router is switched on, it will automatically show up in the list of available networks in the devices around. One of the ways to protect your device is to hide your router’s wifi network’s name or SSID. You can check the router’s instruction manual to understand how to do this or search it online. But in brief, you need to log into your router using its IP address, username, and password. You will find the Control panel option in the dashboard that will appear.
Clicking on the Control Panel button will give you access to the Hide your Network option. If your network is hidden, you will find it a little challenging to connect to it yourself. Its name will be hidden, so you will have to configure the information manually.
Hiding your network is practical. However, it can still be traced by a tech-savvy neighbor. Even though the SSID will be hidden, the wifi network will still broadcast signals to make it available to them. If the person has your login credentials or has your network saved on their devices, it will be easy for them to figure out how to connect to it again. And hence, this is not the best practice to protect your network.
3. Check the Devices Your Router is Connected to:
You can check the list of devices connected to your router on the router’s administrative pages. This will require you to log in to the router and check its settings. To figure out how to check the administrative pages, you can rely on Google or other similar search engines. However, the list is not always easy for the user to read. You might not directly find the names of the devices as you would like to.
There are network mapping tools that will help you comprehend the list. You can download any such tool online and then check the list through these tools. These are free to download and readily available online. This is the best way to check the devices that might be causing issues with your connection or using your wifi without your permission.
The Final Thoughts:
This article is a guide on how to protect wifi from neighbors. You can change your login credentials and password and make the wifi invisible to others. However, the best way is to check the connected devices to your wifi and then clock any unfamiliar to you. The steps to block any device or check any such setting will be stated in your router’s instruction manual or can be easily found online for your reference.
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