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Your home network’s security is more important than you might imagine. If you’re struggling to protect it, some simple network segmentation can help you increase security.
Use Different Networks for Guest Devices
One of the simplest and most effective techniques to segment traffic on your home network is to set up a separate network for guests at your house. Since most, if not all, modern routers support 5GHz networks, you can free up the 2.4GHz band for secondary devices that you might not want on your primary network.
Setting up a separate network for guest devices has two major advantages. Firstly, it ensures visitors connecting to your Wi-Fi can’t access your devices over the network. Secondly, it helps divide the bandwidth to ensure your devices get the best possible speeds.I stopped sharing my Wi-Fi passwords with guestsin favor of setting up a separate network.
Most routers can host multiple SSIDs or networks, meaning you should be able to spin up a new network with an easier password in no time. you may then hand out this password to visitors and have them connect to the internet without hogging your bandwidth or getting network access to your personal devices.
I Separate My IoT Devices Onto a Separate Router
It is generally a good idea to set up your IoT (Internet of Things) devices, such as smart lights, cameras, and other smart devices, on another router. This creates a digital barrier between IoT devices and your primary network to ensure that your gadgets stay secure even if a hacker gains access to them. It’s also auseful way to recycle an old router.
Additionally, as mentioned before, having these devices on a separate network means they won’t impact the internet performance on your primary devices, especially if you have a large number of devices. You’ll also be able to change your primary router, such as changing the network name or password, without updating every smart device you use.
Another thing to keep in mind is the Wi-Fi band. Most IoT devices use the 2.4GHz band, which offers better range. If you have a lot of smart devices, one router might not be able to handle them all. Offloading these devices to a second router operating as an access point can help mitigate this issue.
No WPS on My Primary Wi-Fi Band
Now that your primary Wi-Fi doesn’t have any IoT devices and guests get their own network, you can go ahead and disable the WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) on your primary network.WPS makes it easy to connect to a network, removing the need for a password, but it has several vulnerabilities that can put your router at risk.
Consumer routers offer several implementations of WPS. The most popular one is the WPS push button, which requires you to push a " WPS " button on your router to initiate a connection on your device. Another popular implementation requires you to enter a PIN code.
Regardless of the approach, WPS is insecure because of the WPS PIN vulnerability. This vulnerability enables attackers to brute-force the WPS pin on your router and gain access to the network. Many routers have started disabling WPS out of the box, but if you’re using an older router, disabling WPS is one of the first configuration changes you should make.
I Adjust the Settings on My Primary Router
Speaking of configuration changes, if you’ve made the aforementioned changes, chances are you now have a pretty good idea of what devices you’ll be using on your primary network. This makes setting up your router for both security and performance much easier.
For example, you can implement a whitelist of devices that are allowed to connect to the Wi-Fi. This ensures that even if your primary network’s password is compromised, the router will automatically block any incoming connections unless they come from a device it already knows.
You canset up QoS on your router to prioritize trafficor evenfix network congestion issueswithout worrying about every smart light in your house going crazy. I recommendanalyzing your Wi-Fi networkfor weak spots to make sure you’re getting the most range and are using the right channels and bands.
Segmenting your home network can not only improve basic security but also make it faster and more convenient to change settings that would otherwise wreak havoc on connected smart devices. It might require some upfront work, but it pays off well in the long run.
