Why EVERYONE must enable the WiFi Guest Network right now!

If you are not currently using your WiFi Guest Network facility you are absolutely missing out! Most people look at their WiFi’s guest network and think this is just a silly option so you don’t have to give your friends your WiFi password. Besides, they are your friends so who cares if they have your password right?

Well, that would be a mistake and you should start using the WiFi guest network ASAP!

What’s the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

Most routers have three WiFi facilities: 2.4GHz band, 5GHz, and Guest WiFi options.

We know that 2.5Ghz provides you with slower WiFi speed and therefore slower internet speed than the 5Ghz but can be used when your devices are further away from the router. The 5Ghz provides nice and quick WiFi and therefore internet speed, but the devices connected to it also need to be in close proximity to the router.

Related: If you are having issues with your WiFi, definitely check this out before you call your ISP!

And that brings me to the third WiFi facility: the WiFi Guest Network.

Why you should enable the WiFi Guest Network

When someone rings your doorbell and you let them into your house, they pretty much have the ability to go anywhere in your house. Grab something from the kitchen, sit on the sofa in the lounge and even snoop around your special secret drawer if they want to.

The same thing happens on your WiFi.

When someone asks for your WiFi password their device has access to the Internet but also to your entire network. You have no control over what their devices can and can not do on your network.

Of course, you aren’t worried about your friend hacking your personal info or your photos or your banking info. But you also have no idea what Brad  (*not his real name) has been doing online and what dodgy apps he had downloaded. Those apps could be harvesting info from any network they join.

And it’s not just

Brad you have to worry about, but what about all those cheap smart home devices you picked up on Amazon or eBay?  Those need WiFi access so you can access them when you are anywhere on your WiFi or when you are away from home. For that to work, it means that the app needs to allow data to flow in and out from the outside world.

If you can get in, it means that so can the company that made the device too. And that should make you nervous.

At best case, you bought really great devices from a reputable company that is constantly updating their software to prevent hackers from exploiting their systems. But realistically, smaller companies make cheaper products and they don’t have the same large security budget. Hackers are constantly exploiting their vulnerabilities and selling that information on the Dark Web.

So now we have Brad’s dodgy apps and Smart Home products from the cheap no-name company. And that is why we enable the WiFi Guest Network.

What does the Guest Network do?

When you enable the Guest Network, it provides WiFi access with internet access but that entire WiFi network is kept separate from your network where your personal info is. In other words, Brad can still have access to the Internet and you can still view your smart camera and switch on the porch light from anywhere in the world, knowing that your computer and your family’s phones and tablets remain safe. And separate.

How to set up the Guest Network:

Every router is different. If you can’t find these setting in your own router, go to Google.com and search for your router’s make and model and follow the instruction there, but the basic steps are the same

1. Log into the router – usually, this is 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 (see video below on How to access your router)
2. Find the Guest WiFi Network setting
3. Enable it and make sure you have a password set.
4. If its an option, make sure you enable the 2.4Ghz and the 5Ghz bands as some devices can only use 2.4Ghz.
5. If there is an option to enable “access to local WiFi” or “allow access to the network” or anything like that, please make sure you DO NOT ENABLE that.

You might also find that not only you have better security, but your WiFi and your Internet speed increases as you have split your network and there is much less traffic on the networks!

Want more info on Faster WiFi and Faster Internet? Check these out:

https://thetechieguy.com/how-to-reduce-lag-and-get-faster-internet-on-the-playstation-with-port-forwarding

https://thetechieguy.com/how-to-troubleshoot-your-own-wifi-and-fix-your-internet-speed

https://thetechieguy.com/how-to-get-faster-wifi-with-these-5-changes-the-pros-use/