What is the best way to secure wifi?

kalajadoo · Jun 21, 2021

Hey, So, this is my first post here. I have been visting this site for quite a time now, but have never posted here. I am asking this question here because the community is very engaging, empathetic and wants to genuinely help others. So, the issue is we recently faced hacking attempts in our home network. We faced damages in terms of data loss, hijack our usernames and passwords, ruin credits, make purchases etc. I am not a techy savvy person, now we are trying taking to safety precautions but still I want to implement some sort of application or system which can secure our home network and minimize hacking attempts and stop intruders. Is there a way, technique or method to secure my network being a non technical person,

TIA

HuFlungDung · Jun 21, 2021

Become a technical person

At minimum, change the user name and password to get into the router setup pages, never ever use the defaults. Many people are too lazy to use unique complex passwords because they cannot be bothered to use a password manager to keep track of it all. Passwords need keeping track of. Don't be one of those people.

Make sure to use a good name brand router that has on-going technical support and firmware updates, because routers get hacked via bugs in the firmware.

Don't install smart devices on the same router as your computers. They should be on their own router, because these devices can serve as a back door entry to your network. This is technically challenging to do, there is no way around that. But there are how-to videos on YouTube that will help you figure out the details of having one router serve as the gateway for another one. Or simplify by swearing off the smart devices altogether. Even functioning properly, these devices can be used to spy on you.

TGTool · Jun 21, 2021

Make sure you have a router than provides the most recent security technology. Then read the instructions for how to log into your router and make the desired settings.

Use a strong security protocol and most current routers would offer WPA2 as an option. Then set the wifi password to something difficult to guess such as absolutely random numbers and characters including upper and lower case. It's a little more of a pain to then set that password on all your wifi devices, but you normally only have to do it once. Don't forget to store your password somewhere securely in case you need a device reset or add another device.

That should normally take care of the problems you encountered. Anyone trying to hack a visible wifi will want to try an easy one, either with no password at all, or someone using a simple or default password like 12345. If you're really paranoid, the router may also let you set your wifi name to be not publicly visible. That makes adding device even more complicated but throws another roadblock in front of potential hackers. That's probably not necessary, You just need to make your system less attractive than others in your neighborhood.

DDoug · Jun 21, 2021

kalajadoo said:
Hey, So, this is my first post here. I have been visting this site for quite a time now, but have never posted here. I am asking this question here because the community is very engaging, empathetic and wants to genuinely help others. So, the issue is we recently faced hacking attempts in our home network. We faced damages in terms of data loss, hijack our usernames and passwords, ruin credits, make purchases etc. I am not a techy savvy person, now we are trying taking to safety precautions but still I want to implement some sort of application or system which can secure our home network and minimize hacking attempts and stop intruders. Is there a way, technique or method to secure my network being a non technical person,

TIA

Smells rotten..... :toetap:

Just a Sparky · Jun 21, 2021

Do NOT use an 'open' network. Always password-protect your wifi networks. Otherwise all data sent wirelessly will be unencrypted, which is basically the equivalent of shouting "HEY, MY BANK ACCOUNT PASSWORD IS 1-2-3-4-5!" across your whole neighborhood.

Also, as mentioned, use a password manager. This enables you to use unique, randomly generated passwords for every site. That way if one site suffers a data breach and your password there gets leaked, you won't suffer any harm to any of your other accounts as a result. Been there, done that. Never again.

Mtndew · Jun 21, 2021

digger doug said:
Smells rotten.....

I was going to say the same thing. Seems like that post is setting up the spam post that is coming, no doubt.

Although... they did join a year ago almost to the day.

CarbideBob · Jun 21, 2021

How old is your wifi router?
Newer ones are harder to crack and force you to use a password. Most all will tell you the strength of the password.
In the old days we used to go war driving for fun. Amazing the number of open systems you would find in a mile or two.
We would send instructions on how to lock the thing to the owners printer. I'm sure some were surprised to see this magically appear.
Real old stuff also used WEP (weak encryption protocol) which could be broken no matter the password but did take 24 hours or more.
Nowadays this breakin is rather rare IMO and add on protection is oversold.
Since I buy more bandwidth and data than I can use in my shop I have a open to the outside connection and tell the neighbors that that they can use it freely.
My hat was not always white.
Bob

cnctoolcat · Jun 21, 2021

When it comes to passwords, they now say to use some complete phrase that you can easily remember.

AI computers can eventually guess the typical password consisting of letters, numbers, symbols, etc. (In addition to being hard-as-hell to remember!)

But a goofy little phrase used as a password (ex.: monkeyeatstractortire), the AI machines and hackers are never able to crack it.

JoeE. · Jun 21, 2021

cnctoolcat said:
When it comes to passwords, they now say to use some complete phrase that you can easily remember.

I did just that the other day. I was having a battle with the system trying to access some online account.

In the end, after much gnashing of teeth and tantrum throwing...after being forced to change a password I'd had forever and didn't want to change.. I used "Ihatechanginepasswords"

thermite · Jun 21, 2021

kalajadoo said:
Is there a way, technique or method to secure my network being a non technical person,

TIA

Surely.

Send the Wireless trash to the recycling center and run your LAN on Copper or glass.

Anyone with reasonable skills and common Unix tools can crack WiFi at will "from a distance". Glass or Copper, they need physical access.

Or at least it is faster and easier that way.

All this is well-covered. In networking and data security guru forums.

Not by and for "Machinists" Nor florists, feather-merchants, flooring installers, house painters, nor proctologists or heart surgeons.

Get real!!!

"Find the EXPERTS". ANY identifiable "field of interest".

Asking other amateurs is the same as deliberate masturbation, has easily as messy a future. and to LESS pleasure.

tdmidget · Jun 21, 2021

For a while there was someone in my neighborhood who named his router "FBI Surveillance Van". Not sure that might attract more than it would repel. May call mine "person of interest no. XX".

JST · Jun 21, 2021

Face facts, your password does not gain security from being complex..... It's all just numbers, the cracking systems do not even know what makes sense to a human.

The number of different possible characters, and the total number in the pass phrase are what counts. All 8 character passwords are basically open doors these days.

Guessing easy ones is for script kiddies. &^%$#@!( is basically the same as 12345678 any more.

Being longer or obscure only makes the lazy ones go elsewhere. It's like a lock.... keeps out folks who do not really want to get in.

EmGo · Jun 22, 2021

Secure wireless ? Use cables ....

When it comes to passwords, they now say to use some complete phrase that you can easily remember.

googlesucksdonkeydick works well. Kinda long to type tho.

GregSY · Jun 22, 2021

I'm rapidly approaching a pure hatred of wifi and anything computer related....

This week, I went to a company function at a fancy Ritz hotel. I went to check in, and they couldn't even take my credit card because the wi-fi was down. They were stopped dead for over a day. Can you imagine...running a business that can't function without wi-fi???

IMO, what lies at the bottom of it is not so much hackers but the 'greed and stupid' that is the core of every ISP and otherwise 'internet' related company. They have a 50% interest in providing a service/product and a 50% interest in being sneaky. If they weren't spending half their time being sneaky, they'd have a lot more time to provide a product that works well.

Imagine a hammer company that produced a great looking hammer and was constantly refining and updating how it looked and adding more features.....but more or less ignored the fact that the head flew off the handle every 5 swings. That's what we get from internet businesses.

reggie_obe · Jun 22, 2021

Hard wire all devices. Change passwords on any device with a default passwords as a precaution.
Turn Wi-Fi off.

michiganbuck · Jun 22, 2021

I now use Avast secure browser and think that may help. But I'm not a computer guy so don't really know.

I think the Password is king ..best to use a "not a real word" with a capital, number, and special symbol.

Some password you can't forget, like "tractor-car-boat" So perhaps a password like this trcaBo#1

wp6529 · Jun 22, 2021

Just a Sparky said:
Do NOT use an 'open' network. Always password-protect your wifi networks. Otherwise all data sent wirelessly will be unencrypted, which is basically the equivalent of shouting "HEY, MY BANK ACCOUNT PASSWORD IS 1-2-3-4-5!" across your whole neighborhood.

This is *not* true at all. Your bank web site and any other reputable web site that handles confidential information will be a secure web site and your data will be encrypted between your browser and the bank's server *regardless* of the presence or absence of other levels of encryption along the way such as WiFi, VPN, etc.

Also keep in mind that regularly changing your passwords is *not* helpful, particularly if it causes you to use easier to remember and less secure passwords. The length of time a password is in use does not affect the probability of it being compromised. This is the same as the fact that the length of time you've been playing the lottery doesn't change the odds of winning.

Joe Gwinn · Jun 22, 2021

wp6529 said:
Also keep in mind that regularly changing your passwords is *not* helpful, particularly if it causes you to use easier to remember and less secure passwords. The length of time a password is in use does not affect the probability of it being compromised. This is the same as the fact that the length of time you've been playing the lottery doesn't change the odds of winning.

True. The purpose of periodic changes in passwords is to limit the damage from a compromised password.

One classic way to crack passwords is to try the entire English (or local native language) dictionary out on the password file. There are far fewer words than random sequences of the same length. Common passwords are also tried.

If you know more than one natural language, a word from one language concatenated to a word from another is quite strong, so long as the total length is enough.

Scottl · Jun 22, 2021

One important part of router security is to severely limit internet access with an exception list for sites you can trust. That will for example foil an email phishing attempt when it tries to connect to an unauthorized site.

WiFi is a HUGE security risk and if you are going to use it you need to invest the time to learn and setup security settings. It takes a LOT of time.

One hint: Go to the trusted sites and copy/paste from the browser address bar into a text file. This will create a list you can copy into the router setup.

GregSY · Jun 22, 2021

Passwords in general are insecure, as they more or less require the user to write them down. The concept that a person must remember exactly some donkey-ass chain of letters and symbols is asinine.

But, even worse are fingerprint and iris recognition. Not only asinine, but also a gross violation of privacy. Once you give it up, you never get it back.

What is the best way to secure wifi?

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