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Is Your Wi-Fi Safe? A Simple Home Network Security Checklist

Six settings on your router that take ten minutes to check, starting with the admin password most people have never changed.

By the SoftwarePivot Editorial TeamUpdated 1 min read

Line drawing of a home router with signal arcs next to a checklist with three of four boxes ticked.

Your router protects every device in the house, and it's probably the one you've thought about least. Work through this list once and you're done for a year.

Change the admin password

This is the password for the router's settings page, not the Wi-Fi password. Many routers still ship with a default printed on a sticker. Change it to something long and save it in your password manager.

Update the firmware and check the encryption

Look for a firmware update option in the router settings and turn on automatic updates if it exists. Then make sure the Wi-Fi uses WPA3, or WPA2 if some of your devices are older. Anything labelled WEP or "open" needs fixing today.

Filed under How-to. Written and reviewed by the SoftwarePivot Editorial Team. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.