Working from home has become increasingly popular in recent years. Many business owners have decided to allow remote work to maintain their company’s productivity because of COVID-19. This drastic change has boosted personnel capability and company reorganisation, requiring managers to train their employees in new remote communication techniques.
If you work remotely or plan to start working remotely, you should understand the importance of having a secure connection. A secure wireless connection protects not only your company information but also your personal information if you work with classified information. Some companies provide secure connections so you can work from home, but if you don’t, here are some steps you can take to protect your personal and professional data when using a wireless connection.
What is a Wireless Network, exactly?
The term “wireless network” refers to a network that is not connected by cables. The cost of the internet can be avoided by using wireless networks. How Is it possible to keep your data safe when using wireless technology? You must maintain your privacy when using a wireless network.
The wireless network is powered by radio waves, which are implemented at the physical level of the network structure.
Invisibilize your network
“Identifier broadcasting” allows wireless access points to broadcast their presence to wirelessly enabled computers. In some cases, identifier broadcasting is advantageous. Disable identifier broadcasting in your access point’s user manual to make your network connection secure and invisible to others.
Your Wireless Network Should Be Renamed
A predetermined name or “service set identifier” is included with many wireless access point devices. Manufacturer-managed default names are widely known and can be used to gain unauthorised access to your wireless network. When renaming your network, choose a name that will be difficult for other users to guess.
Wireless Threats at Home
You should be aware of the importance of securing traditional wired internet connections by now.
If you’re thinking about switching to a wireless connection in your home, think about the following: You’re connecting a device to your DSL or cable modem that sends your internet connection to your computers over the air via a radio signal. Consider the security issues that arise when you open your internet connection to the airwaves, as opposed to traditional wired connections. Some of the threats to home wireless networks are described in the sections below.
Your Administrator Password Must Be Changed
A default password is pre-programmed into your wireless access point device. Anyone can gain unauthorised access to your wireless network because default passwords for various manufacturers are widely known.
Ensure that your administrator password is difficult to guess and contains characters, and that no personal information is provided. If your wireless network doesn’t have a default password, make one and use it to keep your device safe.
Update the software on your access point
The manufacturers of your wireless access point will eventually release software updates or patches to fix bugs in the device. Remember to check the manufacturer’s website for software updates or patches on a regular basis.
How to Protect Your Social Security Number
For reasons of privacy, social security numbers must be included. If someone asks for our SSN, you should adjust some related questions to topics. A strong password and number should be included in the social security number system.
Dispose of Personal Information Safely
Before you dispose of a computer, delete all of the personal information it contains. Use a wipe utility programme to overwrite the entire hard drive. Before you dispose of a mobile phone device, check the owner’s manual and the service provider’s website. Hide a mobile device’s memory or subscriber identity module (SIM) card. Remove the entire list of made and received calls.
Wi-Fi Can Be Harmful
Keep your personal privacy in mind before connecting to a Wi-Fi network. Be aware of the Wi-Fi connection. If sending all personal information over a public wireless network in a coffee shop, library, airport, hotel, or other public location is free, check to see if your information will be protected before sending it. When we use an encrypted website, only the data we send to and from that site is protected.
Secure Your Laptop
Only keep business and financial information on your laptop when absolutely necessary. You Shouldn’t Use an automatic login feature that remembers your user name and password and logs you out automatically when you’re done. If your laptop is stolen, a thief will have a harder time accessing your personal information.
Be Aware of Your Environment
When using a public wireless access point, you should be aware of what is going on around you. Is your screen visible to others? It’s possible that someone saw your information as a result of hacking.
Unauthorized Access to Computers
A wireless network combined with an unsecured file can result in your information being hacked. Personal information security is jeopardised by a computer programme. It should be uninstalled from the computer. Prevent unauthorised access to your computer system.
Invisibilize your wireless network
Sharing personal information over a free wireless network is risky. Passwords should be hidden on wireless networks. Make your network system unnoticeable and personal.
Your Network Traffic Should Be Encrypted
You should be able to encrypt traffic between your wireless access point device and your computers. Encrypting wireless traffic converts it to a code that can only be decoded by computers that have the correct key to decode it. See the US-CERT Cyber Security Tip for more information on encryption.
Updating and patching your access point software is essential.
The manufacturer of your wireless access point will release updates to the device software or patches to fix bugs from time to time. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s website for software updates or patches on a regular basis.
