One of the problems that we can find in our wireless networks is that there are intruders. If someone breaks the password, for example, they could gain access to the network, slow it down, and even gain access to other connected computers. We are going to give some essential guidelines if you find yourself in the situation where you have detected intruders on Wi-Fi or think there may be.
Although the security of Wi-Fi networks has improved remarkably in recent years, it is not uncommon for there to be intruders. Especially this happens when we make mistakes when creating the passwords and protecting the network. We can leave a door open for anyone to access. If this happens, we must take action as soon as possible.
Change Password
The first thing we should always do when we see that there are intruders on a network is to change the passwords. It is the same thing that we would do if, for example, we see that someone has entered our Facebook or Gmail account. It is the main barrier that will prevent someone from entering and we must restore it.
This must be applied to the Wi-Fi key, logically. We must make sure to use one that is secure, that contains all kinds of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols, but also good encryption. But in addition, it is essential to change the password to access the router, since this can be used by a possible intruder to change the configuration at will.
Check that the router is up to date
The next thing will be to check that the router is updated correctly. If we have had intruders, the cause may have been some vulnerability in the device. Sometimes bugs appear that are exploited and serve to gain full access to a device and control the network.
The same should also apply to network adapters. Sometimes they have outdated drivers and that means there are bugs that could be exploited. It is advisable at all times to have the latest versions available.
See if there are any vulnerable devices The problem may be with a device that is vulnerable. It may happen that, for example, we have an IoT device with a security flaw and it is the gateway. It can be a surveillance camera that we have, a television, a video player... Any device.
The ideal is always to verify that we have the latest version of the firmware in this type of device. They are widely used by cybercriminals to access a network. It is essential to check that everything works well and that there is nothing strange.
Detect future intruders
There are tools to detect intruders on Wi-Fi. We can use them to detect any unwanted access as soon as possible. We are not always going to notice that the Internet speed works slow or that we cannot enter certain devices.
These programs are very useful for managing our connections, seeing what devices are connected, when they have been connected, etc. It is one of the actions that we must carry out periodically to maintain good security on the network.