We lock our front doors, but we often leave our digital windows wide open. Your home Wi-Fi router is the gateway to your personal finances, your privacy, and your smart home devices. Securing it is easier than you think.
Step 1: Check Your Connected Devices
The first step is visibility. You can't secure what you don't know about.
Open Stop Stalker and run a Network Scan. Look at the list carefully. Do you recognize every device?
- Computers/Phones: Easy to identify.
- Smart TV/Consoles: Should be recognizable.
- "Unknown": If you see unknown devices, you might have a neighbor stealing Wi-Fi, or worse, a compromised device.
Step 2: Change Default Passwords
If your router username is still "admin" and password "password", change it now. A hacker can find the default passwords for almost any router model in seconds online. Once inside your router settings, they can redirect your traffic to fake banking sites (DNS hijacking).
Step 3: Update Firmware
Router manufacturers release security patches to fix vulnerabilities. Log into your router (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and look for "Firmware Update".
Step 4: Use a Guest Network
Pro Tip: Network Segmentation
Most modern routers create two networks: Main and Guest. Put all your smart home devices (cheap bulbs, smart fridges, IoT cameras) on the Guest Network. Keep your laptops and phones on the Main Network. This way, if a cheap smart bulb gets hacked, the attacker can't jump over to your laptop.
Step 5: Disable WPS
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is that button you press to connect devices easily. It's also incredibly insecure and can be brute-forced by hackers in minutes. Go into your router settings and disable WPS entirely.