Your computer is the most precious thing to you. You have all the photographs you’ve ever taken stored in your computer along with some important documents of home and from work. You also have data of all your family members stored in.
You always keep an eye on who accesses your computer and you’re vigilant about your online activity. You have the latest version of antivirus software installed and you go to bed thinking your data is safe.
But one day, your clients walk-in for quick meeting and they connect to your office Wi-Fi. But somehow, your computer is corrupted and it starts to act crazy. You don’t seem to understand the problem until your IT associate suggests it could have been because of your client’s online activity through your wireless network.
Sounds Quite Impossible?
With the need to stay connected becoming increasingly inevitable, the first thing friends and family ask for when they walk into our homes is our Wi-Fi password. To be more polite and hospitable hosts, we tend to share the password, too. But that’s when consequences get triggered.
If you didn’t know, the devices in your network could get corrupted if one of the guest’s downloads or accesses a malicious program. This program then finds a way to contaminate all the devices in your network including your phone, computer, laptop and any other gadget part of it.
That’s why there’s a convenient solution.
When you’re being hospitable, it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the safety and security of your data and the devices it is stored in. To avoid such awkward circumstances, all you have to do is create a separate Wi-Fi access point for your guests.
This access point is dedicated only to your guests and does not interfere with the access point where all your other home devices are connected. What’s more interesting is that even if a malware manages to finds its way into your friend’s phone, it’s contamination is restricted to the devices connected to the guest wifi services network and not yours.
Setting up a guest Wi-Fi network is simple and you don’t have to be tech savvy or have technical skills to do it. You also don’t need to grab extra cables or wonder if you have to pay twice the price for your internet connection. Most Wi-Fi routers allow you to set up a guest network in a few simple steps.
You’ve successfully set up a guest Wi-Fi network.
IoT devices are smart devices that connect to the internet. If you have a smart television, smart bulb, home automation systems, smartwatch, FitBit or other advanced gadgets, we suggest you connect all of them to a guest network.
This is primarily because cybersecurity relating to IoT is still getting stronger. Tech veterans and companies are still identifying loopholes and security compromise spots to come up with solutions. Because the devices in an IoT ecosystem are capable of communicating to each other over the internet, chances of intrusions and botnet infestations are high. They are more prone to hacks, DDoS attacks, cryptocurrency mining and other online threats.
That’s why it’s a good practice to dedicate a separate network for their functioning. Even if one of the devices in the framework gets hacked, the infestation will only be limited to the guest network, leaving the devices in your home network unharmed.
Follow the steps we have mentioned to dedicate a network for your IoT devices and ensure your local files are safe and secure. Online security and safety is on us and with more exposure to the internet comes more threat. That’s why it’s always good to stay vigilant of our online activities and the steps we take to secure our networks and connections. And if you run a business, the need to have a guest Wi-Fi network becomes all the more crucial. There would be visiting guests and staff who would require internet access. To safeguard your primary network, implement these steps. And if you’re looking to set up uninterrupted connectivity in your workspace, get in touch with us