How to keep your home broadband secure
Life is busy and most of us won’t even stop to think about how secure is our home broadband? We just take it for granted. But if you’ve ever used your broadband to log in to your email, online banking or any form of social media then it’s time to take a look at why your home broadband security is so important AND maybe it might not be as secure as you expect. Broadband has changed A LOT over the years and how we use it has changed even more. Here are our top tips for home broadband security:
Who can see your router?
Have you ever gone into a friend’s house and when you try and log on to their Wi-Fi there are 6 or 7 picked up – which one do you choose. Well, we guarantee the same happens at your house too. Your neighbours will be able to see your broadband ID and that means so can hackers. Sometimes these can literally be people trying to hack in from outside your home (yes that sounds a bit creepy and YES IT DOES HAPPEN). This is simple to fix – simply logging in to your home router will give you access to a number of options including switching off ‘Broadcast your Router Name’. Toggle that to the off position and then simply no-one will be able to see your router/Wi-Fi name on their lists, they’ll have to get that from you. If no one can see your router, it’s much harder to hack and there will be plenty of easier targets! Of course, we understand it’s easier for busy households to leave their broadband ID discoverable – but if you’re not ready to turn off your broadband ID name broadcast“ at least take a step in the right direction and change its name from the default name “ make it something random and definitely not your surname or house name.
Change your password from the one you’ve been sent
Are you still using the original password you were sent? A simple one to fix in your router/Wi-Fi settings “ but one that’s often overlooked. Change your password from the standard one you have been sent, it may look like a jumble of characters but there is often a pattern to default passwords and when that’s linked to a broadcast router ID then potential hackers have a better chance of cracking the code. Manufacturers often still use passwords that are only 8-10 characters in length – but they malicious hackers are clever enough to digitally crack those in a matter of minutes. It’s much easier for you to remembers something personal to you. At Beebu, we always recommend using a phrase that includes over 20 characters, and combine capital letters, numbers and a symbol or two if you can. Make it a phrase that you can remember easily and that will be so much easier than the auto generated, random codes. Over 20 characters in a password might sound ridiculous – but it’s a great idea to do this for all your passwords “ it will help you keep safe, but please don’t use the same password on everything. Keep them different and if you ever suspect that someone has cracked it, then make sure you change it! Simply changing to a password over 20 characters means that it will statistically take over 34 years for a hacker to hack it “ nothing’s impossible but, this makes it highly unlikely and again there are many easier targets for them.
Want to know more about password security across all your devices? Visit a trusted source such as https://www.security.org/how-secure-is-my-password/
Check who & what is logged in to your broadband?
If you have legacy devices or have shared your Wi-Fi with other people over the years, then it’s always good Wi-Fi housekeeping to remove legacy devices from your router logs. This ultimately will help speed primarily but can also stop any hackers from loitering without being noticed. Often a hack isn’t visible initially, they can sit around gathering data – password keystrokes, social profile etc for months before they make any attempts to steal data or take any action.
Is your router Firewall switched on?
Another quick check is to make sure in your settings – often broadband routers have a firewall installed but they are not always shipped with the option switched on. If you’re using a BeeBu Router, then we will normally ship this with the firewall enabled from the minute you flick it on, we like to make your Full Fibre journey as simple and secure as possible from the moment you open the box. (need to fact check this is true for Beebu routers) If you haven’t already made the switch to Beebu Full Fibre, just take a look at your Router firewall settings.
Is your router software up to date?
Routers will come pre-installed with firmware (basically the software that keeps everything running and connected), and sometimes as a manufacturer continues to develop their products or something needs updating to fix a bug, this will need updating. All BeeBu routers are shipped on the latest firmware level or will automatically update when you switch them on. (need to fact check this is true for Beebu routers)
Is any router 100% secure?
Broadband security is developing at a rapid pace, but sadly not in penetrable. At Beebu we take many steps to protect your connection but following these simple steps can make a dramatic difference to keeping you protected. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch – our Beebu team are on hand via chat or socials and always happy to help.