Necessary Precautions To Take While Using Wi-Fi

While Wi-Fi networks are handy, cheap, and convenient, they are not very safe. Your information is at risk especially when you connect to a public Wi-Fi network. If you have not changed the default factory settings password of your Wi-Fi router, then it is very easy to obtain, and anyone can access your network.  Here are some precautions which you should take while connecting to a wireless network:

Enable System Firewall

Firstly, you must turn on the system firewall. On systems which run Windows 7, Vista, and XP, the firewall is enabled by default. If you use Mac computer, then just go to System Preferences. Click on Security and select Firewall. After that, click on Start. If you use Windows, then just go to the Start menu and launch the Run box. Type Firewall.cpl in the box and hit the Enter key.

Protect Private Data

Do not go to websites and enter your financial or personal data when you are connected to an unsecured wireless network. Do not enter any login details, credit card details, bank account numbers, PINs, social security numbers, etc. since wireless networks are easy to hack. However, it necessary to perform such tasks on a wireless network, and then check that the website is encrypted. Make sure that all the web pages of the site are secure.

Turn Off Sharing

To make your network more secure, you need to disable sharing. To do this, go to the Start menu. Click on Control Panel and select Network and Internet. Click on Network and Sharing Centre. Now, click on Homegroup and Sharing Options. Select Change Advanced Sharing Settings. In this window, turn off file and printer sharing. Also turn off public folder sharing and network discovery. To do the same on your Mac device, just go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences. In the sharing prompt, just untick the sharing options which are turned on.

Disable Wi-Fi When Not Using

A number of computers connect to Wi-Fi networks which are in the radar automatically. But, to be safe, you should always turn off the Wi-Fi if you are not using it. You can disable the wireless card by going to Control Panel from the Start menu. Go to Network and Internet. After that, click on the Network and Sharing center. Now select Change adapter settings located in the Task tab. Click right on Wireless Network Connection and click on Disable from the options. To do the same on Mac, just go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences from the drop-down list. Now, go to Networks and pick the wireless network you do not want to connect automatically to. Uncheck the square following Automatically join this network.

Robert Williams, the writer of this article is an experienced digital marketing professional with a keen interest in writing on norton setup. With all his articles and blogs, he focuses on making the readers aware of the latest as well as upcoming technologies in this domain.