Everything You Must Know About Wi-Fi Security!

With the increment of technology, the dangers are also increasing. We are experiencing with so many defaults in the technology used nowadays that if a common man using these gadgets will know about them, he/she will stop using it at all.

The issues seem small when you see on a lesser term, but on broader terms, it is a big issue. And when you see in industries, companies, and business, then you will know how bad effect doe it has in the world. This indeed needs to be tackled down.

All these problems increased when the system of the internet was introduced. This itself brought thousands of new places to visit. And as an evolution of the internet took place, we were introduced to a totally new system of Wi-Fi.

Now the thing with Wi-Fi is that with time it has come under great danger. Wi-Fi is one of the entry points for hackers. Wi-Fi is the gateway to your networking world. Through Wi-Fi hijackers and attackers gets a pathway to enter your network. Thus, it is essential to take care of Wi-Fi security.

As the threat around these wireless services increases, it has become essential that we know what these threats are. We should also know that how we can fight these intimidations. That is why we need to secure our devices.

In this article, we will provide you all the information about Wi-Fi security and what can be done to make Wi-Fi connections secure. Let’s find out.

What is Wi-Fi security?

So, what is Wi-Fi security? Well, to answer that question we can say that when a threat or a danger arises towards our wireless internet, we need specific methods in which we can save our Wi-Fi systems from them. The security methods that we take resolve the problems in our Wi-Fi systems is known as Wi-Fi security. It means that when by any mode we try to secure our Wi-Fi from intimidations is the Wi-Fi security.

Basically, we can say that by preventing or protecting the internet or the service of wireless internet, we can keep our Wi-Fi secure. And this security is what enables us to use our Wi-Fi system without any tension from the threats. Wi-Fi security is the barrier between hacking and systems.

Why do we need Wi-Fi security?

This question arises in many minds. They say that why do we need this security. Nothing has ever happened to our systems then why should we take these steps.

Well, the answer is simple. You may not have been attacked yet. But, what is the guarantee that you might not get attacked in the future?

It is just like alerting yourself from incoming dangers. For example, you secure your houses from burglars and intruders, right? Why do you do that if you have never been robbed? The answer is simple. You do it because you are trying to save yourself from the outside dangers. Well, the same goes for your Wi-Fi security.

When you save yourself from outside robberies, why not protect from the unseen threats too. Isn’t it true?

So to protect or secure yourself from the perils of the attackers in Wi-Fi systems, you need Wi-Fi security. Hackers and attacker are out there in search of unsafe systems around to make use of them by attacking them. So it is your duty that you must save yourself and have Wi-Fi security.

How can we have proper Wi-Fi security?

Now that we have concluded it is essential to have a secure Wi-Fi connection, we should also know that how can we have one. There are some ways in which we can set up our Wi-Fi security. Some of these are given as follows:

• A strong password
• A different network for others
• Employ powerful encryption
• Conceal your SSID (Service Set Identifier)
• Rogue A.P
• Give limited access
• Set different firewalls
• VPN usage

A strong password

When you set up a Wi-Fi system, you also set it with a password. This password gives access to your   Wi-Fi connection. The password is like the chain between your devices on which you use Wi-Fi and your Wi-Fi devices.

When you set this password, you are actually setting up a gateway between the Wi-Fi and the attackers. So, it is vital that the Wi-Fi password you use is strong and unique. It means that it should be too powerful to break into.

A good password is mostly one with numbers and upper and lower cases. It should also have maximum characters in it. The password should be tricky yet easy to memorize for you. Because if you note down your password somewhere to remember it, then it can be severely dangerous. To set good passwords and to remember them, you can use password managers.

You can also add some symbols like @ or $ or &. These kinds of signs make your passwords tricky and difficult to ger and break. So, when a hacker is hacking into your Wi-Fi systems, it will be hard for him to crack yourself and he may never be able to crack it. In this way,  you will remain safe from different kinds of cyber-attacks

A separate network for others

If you have to permit others to access your Wi-Fi, it is practical to suggest a visitor set-up. It means that they can connect to the internet, deprived of having access to your corporation’s or family’s interior system.

It is essential both for safety purpose, and also to stop them from unintentionally contaminating your network with bugs or other viruses.

One of the methods to do this is by consuming a single internet connection with its wireless access point. It is seldom compulsory as most businesses have wireless routers that can control two Wi-Fi networks at once – your primary network, and another for visitors.

It is sensible to power on WPA protection on your visitor’s network instead of leaving it exposed for two significant motives. The very first is to offer some level of control over who uses it. You can tell the password to other people on appeal, and as long as you modify it regularly, you can stop the number of people who know the password from growing too large.

Most importantly, it protects your guest’s devices. When they use that network as, when other people who are also using your system might try to get in any of the guest’s device or snoop in it, it will also possibly save them from this.

Employ powerful encryption

Some Wi-Fi access points still propose the earlier WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) standard of security, but it is basically damaged. It means that attackers can break into a WEP-secured system employing a hacking suite (like Air cracking) in minimal time. So to exclude invaders, it is vital to use a different WPA security.

For minor businesses and houses, it may be sensible to use a WPA that has a pre-shared key. It means that all staff or family use only one password to connect, and the security of the network will be dependent on this term that they would not share it with anyone. We should also try to change the password every time a worker leaves the job.

Some Wi-Fi routers also contain a feature called Wireless Protect Setup (WPS). This feature offers an easier technique to connect systems to a WPA protected wireless services. However, hackers can exploit this to retrieve your WPA password. Hence it is necessary to deactivate WPS in the router’s settings.

 In higher companies, it is more practical to use WPA in enterprise mode, which enables the users to have a personal username and password.

Moreover, it makes it more convenient when workers are regularly leaving, as you can disable his accounts. But to procedure WPA in enterprise mode, you have to start a server (known as a radius server) which supplies the login info for all employees.

 Conceal your SSID

Another important step that you can take towards securing your Wi-Fi is securing it through your SSID (Service Set Identifiers). That means that you can hide your network name. This way it will be challenging for anyone to identify your network.

SSID also have an option of  “hidden” so that you cannot see the name of the network you are connecting to. Try not sending your SSID to anyone else other than family members, or in a company, only to the employees and no one else.

A point to be noted is that it is not always obligatory that setting your Wi-Fi settings to hidden mode may save you from the hackers. They might still scan into your SSID. But it is still essential to do so as it may also stop many to attack you.

And this process also does not require much work, so it is better to be safe than being sorry afterward. Because you can have different layers of security when it comes to Wi-Fi security. So this is also one of them although it has its flaws.

Rogue A.P.

Rogue access points have a huge safety threat. These are not your corporation’s official Wi-Fi access points. They could have been brought by your employees when they do not get a good Wi-Fi signal in your office. Or they can also be of someone who wanted to hack in your system and hence must have brought it with him to access your network quickly.

In either case, rogue access points are a huge risk as you cannot do anything about them and you might also not know that how are they planted in the office in the very first place. For instance, a hacker can set up the network in such a way that anyone could have access to your passwords.

To identify rogue access points, you must search your offices and the area around it regularly by means of a laptop or a mobile device armed with appropriate software such as Vistumbler. The software permits the computer to scan the frequencies to sense any wireless traffic roaming around a rogue access point and support you locate them.

Give limited access

You can limit the access to your wireless network by only allowing specific individual devices to connect to it and excluding the others. Every wireless device has a unique serial number known as a MAC address. MAC verification only permits access to the network from a set of addresses defined by the superintendent.

It stops unsanctioned devices from retrieving network means and acts as a bonus hindrance for hackers who might want to infiltrate your network. Hence by providing them limited access to your system, you can at least save yourself from a huge threat.

It is an easy step towards ensuring your security as it provides a thick layer of protection to the system from an external attacker. You can also choose the number of people that you would like to give access.

 In this way, no external source can harm your system. Mostly this way of creating barrier is used in larger companies and offices, more than a smaller one.

Set different firewalls

Hardware firewalls protect against outbreaks coming from an attacker. Many devices have in-built firewalls, which keeps an eye for any strange activity that goes around. The tools are frequently set with deliberate evasions that guarantee they do their job safely.

Most firewalls use packet purifying, which looks for the caption of a packet to decipher its source and designated addresses. This data is compared to a set of predefined instructions that look for whether the packet is authentic or not so to tell that it has to be kept or to be discarded.

Software firewalls mostly govern with the endpoint PCs or laptop, with the benefit of giving an improved idea of what network traffic is sending through the device. More than just informing that which ports are being recycled and where data is going. It will tell which applications can be used or are being used and enable blocking of the sending and receiving data.

VPN usage

A good VPN is the best solution to any internet related problem. When you use a good VPN for your network, it automatically guard’s all your systems, and you will be mostly protected from any kind of threat. So it is safe to use a VPN.

A VPN conceal your data from snooping by any attacker by encrypting it. In actual, hackers could breach your network but could not harm it in any way, and it is safe as long as your VPN is running permanently without any interruption.

A VPN not only will secure your data but also it will do its best to encrypt your connections no matter whichever public Wi-Fi you are using. A VPN acts as a Wi-Fi defender for all of your public network’s connections, building a “protective layer” that keeps your online data personal. So just like said before, a VPN helps us like antivirus and stops any severe threats from coming towards us.

Wi-Fi 6:

With time new technologies are being introduced. Wi-Fi 6 is an upcoming technology which is useful in many ways. Through these years technicians have been trying to update the quality of the internet. Wi-Fi 6 is an example of this. It may be used for:

• Strong Wi-Fi connection with a better speed
• Provides longer battery time in phones laptops
• Better service in crowded areas
• Helps in reducing dead zones

What will happen if we do not have Wi-Fi security?

If you do not have a proper secure Wi-Fi and does not keep your Wi-Fi security updated, then it is likely to happen that an attacker left on loose who is just looking for a prey might catch you and will quickly get access to your connection and may use it against you.

 If you want to protect yourself from such sort of perils than you must have Wi-Fi security. It is because your data is at risk all the time without security.

Not having Wi-Fi security is a crucial problem which may lead to uncertain outcomes. For example, your passwords might get disclosed, or your data may be stolen or lost, or even your identity is at risk. In any of the following cases, you are at a great danger risk. These are the disadvantages of not having Wi-Fi security.

Conclusion:

In light of the above facts, we can say that on the internet, you are never safe. There are always people around you waiting for one wrong move or just one forgotten detail to corrupt your system. To save yourself from them, it is imperative that you take steps for Wi-Fi security.