Protecting your home network from any malicious activity is more vital now than it ever has been before. The moment you connect to the internet, you are at risk of being hacked by someone with time on their hands. Even once you have logged off, once someone is inside your network you will have problems. The best thing that you can do is make sure that does not happen to begin with.
Back when the internet was just becoming mainstream, it was much harder to get a virus. You had to actively download something with a virus or visit a website known for malicious activity. Now, you can be compromised just by visiting a random webpage, even though it looks legit.
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Update All Systems Regularly
Computer and network system updates are there for a reason. The manufacturers regularly push out updates to correct bugs or possible system vulnerabilities that hackers like to use against you. All it takes is for your operating system or router software to be out of date and you have created a small hole in your network for someone to get through.
When your OS asks you to restart and update, do it. It can get annoying, for sure, but it will save you the hassle, time, and stress later on. All hardware and software can be set to update as and when patches become available.
Don’t Forget Your Hardware
You might think that if your computer hardware isn’t linked to the internet that it must be safe. While this is often the case, there have been reports about people’s hard drives, graphic cards, and printers being hacked. The reason is that anything with firmware or a bios menu can be accessed. It takes a bit more time to do, but with the right experience, a skilled programmer can change system settings and make your life quite difficult.
Before buying any new equipment, research the capabilities, and what additional security measures you can put in place. Graphics cards can easily be hacked if you play online games. Say you want to buy one of these Lenovo intel graphics cards — you need to understand exactly how to secure computer hardware like this if ever you are online.
Password, Password, PASSWORD
You hear all the time that you need to have a secure password with eight letters, one capital letter, a number, and a symbol. Sounds tedious right? Well, those rules are in place because of how easy it is to hack an unsecured network. Remember, the longer you can make it, the better. While it might seem impossible to remember every complicated password, with the right software, you can securely save them. Look for encrypted password software.
Also, look into two-factor authentication for everything. Link it to your cell phone so that you have to take an extra step to log in. This will protect someone from gaining access to your phone or tablet, accessing your home network, and ruining everything.
Securing your network doesn’t need to be hard work. You just need to know what antivirus and firewalls work and try to make it as hard as you possibly can to not attract any hackers.
