Updated with current information for 2022
So, you’ve named your WiFi wireless password at your Athens Ohio apartment, and it’s hilarious. Bra Monkey, Great Jowls of Vonnegut, Jimmy Buffett Might Be My Dad all come to mind.
Now you need to lock that baby up tight. Don’t be that sucker without a password. Not only will the neighbors be sucking off your Internet teat and slowing down your Netflix connection, but an unprotected WiFi source leaves you dangerously open to hacking. Unless you want Putin using your Ashley Madison account, it’s best to play it safe.
How to Change Your Password
You can change the password through your network’s settings page on your browser by entering your IP address into the search bar. You can usually get it off the back of your router. Follow the steps on the settings page to change the password.
Tips to an Unhackable Password
Make sure it’s something everyone living in your student rental will remember, but not so simple that it’s easy to guess. Avoid birthdays, addresses, the current year, or anything else a cyber hacker might be able to figure out. Don’t use obvious words like Password, Ohio University, or student rental. Throw in an easy to remember symbol like a star, question mark or exclamation point. Basically, keep it simple enough to remember but tricky enough a hacker won’t guess.
How will everyone you rent the house with remember it? You could leave it on the fridge, frame it and put it on the wall, tape it to a mirror. (We don’t recommend a boss tattoo.) Get creative.
Set up a wired connection
Using ethernet cables for your devices is an effective way to improve the security of your internet connection.
“An Ethernet connection is much more secure than a WiFi connection. Data on an Ethernet network can only be accessed by physically attaching a device to the network, while data on a WiFi network travels through the air and can be more easily intercepted,” reads an article on Spectrum’s website.
Plus, in places where wireless connection may be spotty – like outside on your rental’s yard – ethernet cables can save the day.
Ultimately, having a strong internet connection is important, but it doesn’t mean anything if that connection is unsecure. Follow these steps to protect yourself from possible hackers and those lazy next-door neighbors.
