Several individuals become victims of Wi-Fi theft every day. Most individuals don’t even realize that their internet is being stolen by someone. Therefore, it is extremely important to figure out the security measures that an individual must take to ensure that his Wi-Fi remains protected and is not being illicitly used by someone to download compromising content. Hackers employ different hacking toolsto breach the security of your Wi-Fi, but there are always measures to be taken for protection.
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The WPS
Every feature that is installed in the Computers to make them easier for the users to connect easily results in vulnerabilities that can be exploited by the hackers to steal information. The WPS uses a complex series of characters and encryption technology to ensure that the security of the Wi-Fi router is not breached.
Many Wi-Fi routers contain WPS features in several different ways; some routers rely on the physic button on the router that can be pressed by the users to enable all the devices in the vicinity to connect, while others employ a Pin that is printed on the router. The hackers or unauthorized users don’t have access to this feature; therefore enabling the WPS feature can stop Wi-Fi hackers from getting access to your internet.
The password guessing Method
WPS usually uses 8-byte PIN that is actually a 7-byte pin considering the last byte is just a checksum. In fact when this Pin breaks down into two parts, it is done so in parts of 4 characters and 3 characters which means that the WPS is being protected by only 4 bytes of protection. The perpetrator needs a little time to make thousands of guesses for the combination in order to succeed hacking through a simple program.
These kinds of software use thousands of different combinations to gain access to your Wi-Fi network. Some of the new routers have some measure of security to stop Wi-Fi hackers that use this method by restricting the number of attempts a device can make to connect with the router but this feature is not enabled by default. Therefore, to stay anonymous online you must enable this feature from the settings panel.
Update
Most of the Wi-Fi routers contain older codes and are not properly updated; this can cause serious vulnerabilities in the security of your Wi-Fi router. To stay safe on public Wi-Fi and at homes it is important that your router’s firmware is properly updated to incorporate all the essential security features that are updated by the manufacturers. Hackers can expose the outdated Wi-Fi routers to gain access and steal information from the computer. Updating is a very good and essential control to stop Wi-Fi hackers.
Password
Most users struggle with installing a proper password on their devices that can protect a very good measure of security against the hackers, but research shows that most users employ very weak passwords that don’t protect the computers properly and can cause serious threats to the security of your Wi-Fi router.
A password must be based on something unique and should have multiple variables, numbers and combination of small and large characters to create a strong password that cannot be breached by the hackers.
Monitor
Every router in the house is used by multiple devices so it is a good practice to maintain the list of Mac addresses of each device to ensure that only authorized devices are connected to the device. All the good quality routers contain provisions to check which devices are connected to it and what percentage of the bandwidth are they using.
If you are experiencing slow speeds or increase in the data usage you must check the list of the devices connected to your router to ensure no one is illicitly using your Wi-Fi. The devices that you don’t recognize and are illegally using your internet can be blocked from accessing your network any further.
Limit the knowledge
You should not share your password with a lot of people to ensure that the knowledge remains private, giving your Wi-Fi password to a friend of neighbor can enable them to use your identity in order to download materials that may be prohibited under the law. Most individuals hack the routers to mask their identity over the web when doing illegal activities such as downloading copyrighted material.
Summing-up
All of the above techniques can provide you with a strong security base for your Wi-Fi security and stop Wi-Fi Hackers that can steal your internet and identity over the web.