How to Secure Your Home Network in 30 Minutes | Enduring Ideas 2.0

Posted on 1 June 2012 by Jaime Chanaga

Secure Your Online Privacy at Home

Weekends are a great time to do home improvement projects. One are that is often overlooked out of convenience is how we secure our home computer networks. Why should we protect our home computers and networks?

Criminals can now visit any residential street in America and use a laptop computer to connect to your unsecured wireless networks. Think of it as breaking and entering your house remotely. You wouldn?t leave your valuables on the kitchen table for a criminal to steal. However, many people leave their computers and home wireless networks unsecured. This allows curious teenagers or criminals to steal your private information remotely.

What information do you store on your home computers?
Most people keep banking records, personal photos, tax returns, and other personal information records on their home computers. Would you put that information on your laptop and leave it a coffee shop without a password? The truth is you wouldn?t do that. Yet you do leave yourself vulnerable to identity theft by leaving your home computers and networks unsecured.

Ok, so back to easy steps you can take this weekend to protect your home computers and networks.

1. What To Do
   Here are five easy actions you can do in 30 minutes this weekend to secure your privacy and home network.
2. Install OS Updates.
   If you have a Windows PC run Windows Update. If you have another computer OS run and install any updates.
3. Update your Anti-Virus Software.
4. For your Wireless Network, use Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2). This should take no more than 15 minutes to reconfigure your wireless router and any other devices (iPads, Tablet PCs, Laptops) to use WPA2.
5. Use OpenDNS (www.opendns.com)
   Replace your ISP?s DNS servers with OpenDNS for better reliability and more security.? Parents, please see http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/parental-controls/ for more information. *Disclaimer, I?m not a reseller of OpenDNS and have no financial or other conflict of interest in recommending them, however, I like their security and parental controls!
   

Want to learn more? Read these helpful guides:

By doing any or all of these easy steps this weekend, you will help protect your digital privacy at home.

What are other small steps you do to protect your privacy? Share them with all of us by commenting below!

Jaime Chanaga is a consultant, speaker, and author. His work has attracted clients such as EDS, OAG.com, Walmart, Lucent Technologies, Bank of America, HSBC, Disney, and over 200 other leading organizations. His consulting firm, The CSO Board, LLC partners with clients in all sectors and regions to help them solve critical strategic issues make lasting substantial improvements in their performance.

This entry was posted in Privacy and tagged computer network security, computer security, cyber security, cybersecurity, data breach, id theft, idtheft, privacy. Bookmark the permalink.

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