Home Hacking

These days, modern thieves are much more likely to go after your data than break in to your home. Read on and learn how to keep them out.

10:41 26 February 2016

Breaking into your data is much more easier than breaking into your own home. To ensure that your home network is not compromised, experts from various security firms offer effective tips:

 

·       Greg Day, European security chief at Palo Alto Networks said that it is unregarded devices that are often become a big security issue. "You should look at the pings going out from your home network," he said. "There might be a lot more outgoing traffic than you think."

 

·       Use and keep your anti-virus software and firewall

 

·       Update firmware on your router. Change the default admin names and passwords right away

 

·       Update operating on all devices including tablets and phones

 

·       Be suspicious of emails with attachments. Kyprianos Vasilopoulos from security firm Trustwave said: "Everything starts with email," he said. "That's always the easy route."

 

Meanwhile, Craig Young from security firm Tripwire advices: "You should also disable WPS," he said. WPS, or Wi-fi Protected Setup, was supposed to be an easy way to get devices connected to a router. But the push-a-button-to-connect system came with flaws.

 

"It's a technology where the complexity of the wi-fi pass phrase gets reduced to an eight-digit pin," he said. In some cases, he added, the size of the pin is reduced further and some routers use the same default digits.