Keeping your WiFi in good condition is essential to avoid connection or even security problems. It is something that you should always do, but in this article we are going to focus on the case that you are going on vacation. We are going to show you what to do with your WiFi if you are going to be away for a few days or weeks. The objective is not to have problems of any kind, since in the event of a computer attack, for example, you will not be able to act when you are outside.
It is key that you router is well protected and configured to work properly. It is a device designed to be always on, but sometimes it may be interesting to turn it off. You could even limit the use of the wireless network, as we are going to explain, to reduce the risk.
Prepare the WiFi for vacations
If you do not change anything, your WiFi will continue to work the same even if you are not at home. What can happen? think of some security breach there is and how potential intruders could exploit it to break security. This can make you rethink whether you should always leave it connected.
Do you need it on?
The first question is whether or not you need to leave the router on and the WiFi working normally. It can be useful if you have a home automation and you want to access some device from outside. Also in case you have a NAS server, surveillance cameras or anything.
But if you really don’t need to connect any devices, the best thing you can do is turn off the router the weeks you are away. You will be able to save energy, even if it is very little, but especially you will protect security. You will not have problems in case they try to access your network, if a vulnerability arises, etc.
change the password
If you decide to leave the router on, one thing you should do before you go on vacation is change wifi password. With this, you will get it to be more protected. Changing the password from time to time is good, so if you are going to be away for a long time, it is interesting to enter a new one.
Now the password must be good. It is important that it is totally random, that it has letters (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers and other special symbols. In this way, it will be very difficult for them to find out and you will be able to correctly protect your network against possible intruders.
Check that it is updated
You should also make sure that you have the updated router. This is going to be key to protecting the WiFi and avoiding problems. You should always have the latest version of the firmware, as this will help you face possible attacks that take advantage of vulnerabilities in the model you use.
Some routers update themselves, but in other cases you will have to do it manually. You may have to go into the settings or even go to the manufacturer’s page and download the file there.
Limit coverage
If you want to keep your router on, but at the same time maximize security, what you can do is limit coverage. You have the option to directly hide the network. However, that is not a really effective measure either and what you can do is limit the strength of the WiFi, something you can do from the settings.
Maybe you don’t need the WiFi to go very far, since you’re going to be on vacation. You simply want a device near you to connect, so limiting the power will reduce the coverage considerably and you will have less risk of theft of the network when you are not there.
As you can see, you can make these simple changes to your WiFi if you are going on vacation. The goal is to increase the security of your wireless connection and prevent attacks. Having the router in good condition is essential and you can always make some simple changes that can come in handy.
