Millions of people connect to the internet wireless from the US alone every day, and hundreds of millions of people connect to the internet wirelessly from all over the world. That alone shows that a lot of people prefer to connect to the internet wirelessly due to the flexibility and portability it affords. A great problem with connecting to the internet wirelessly, though, is security – this article will be giving you a few highly effective tips to help you protect your wireless broadband internet from being hacked.
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Use a Strong Encryption Key
Sometimes, the difference between your wireless network being hacked or not will be determined by the encryption key you use. A lot of people make the mistake of using the default encryption key that came with their router, or using something that is easy to remember. This can be really dangerous. It is very important for you to know that by using a strong encryption key to protect your wireless network anybody who discovers your network will need to have the key before connecting to your network – and since a strong encryption key is difficult to guess it will be impossible for a hacker to connect to your network.
Change Your Security Details Regularly
Every wireless router is designed in a way that it can be protected with passwords, encryption keys and the likes. You can easily prevent your wireless network from being hacked by changing your security details regularly.
For example, make sure you don’t use the same username or password that came with your router when you bought it. Also make sure you change the default IP address and encryption key for your wireless router and it will become very difficult for just any random hacker to guess your computer and start hacking it.
Enable Your Router Firewall
Another step you can take to protect your wireless internet from being hacked is by enabling the firewall in your router. Most router come with a firewall, and by turning on this firewall you will be able to ensure that not just anyone is able to get access to your computer.
In some cases, some routers don’t come with a firewall by default. If you’re experiencing a situation like this you can easily download and install a firewall from the internet on your computer. That way you will be notified whenever anyone is trying to connect to your computer and you will be able to take the right action to prevent your computer from being hacked into.
Protect Your Computer with a Strong Password
This might sound ridiculous but it can be very effective in most cases. Whenever a hacker has been able to take over your wireless network their next step is often to connect to your computer. By using a strong password that is difficult to guess they will be asked for that password and will often have to go through a lot of hassles to guess it – and in some cases won’t even be able to guess it at all.
Paul has been researching how wireless internet works and how to protect it from hackers for years now. He also provides great tips to help others find the right wireless broadband provider.
