But when not safeguarded, your home Wi-Fi network can be a playground for scammers, hackers and other cybercriminals. A small vulnerability in your home Wi-Fi network can give a cybercriminal access to almost all the devices that connect to that network.
A small vulnerability in your home Wi-Fi network can give a criminal access to almost all the devices that connect to that network. Hackers and scammers might be able to access your online bank accounts or credit card portals. They might be able to spy on those emails you send to your doctor.
Jeremy comments that while there is currently no scientific evidence to suggest that it is harmful to sleep with your Wi-Fi on, some experts recommend turning it off at night to reduce exposure to the low levels of electromagnetic radiation emitted by WiFi routers.
It puts stress on its internal components with the changes in current and temperatures involved. So if you want to increase the chances of your router or modem lasting longer, leave them turned on all the time—as long as they're in use. If you don't use them for a long time (months, years), turn them off.
Don't access personal bank accounts, or sensitive personal data, on unsecured public networks. Even secured networks can be risky. Use your best judgment if you must access these accounts on public Wi-Fi. Don't leave your laptop, tablet, or smartphone unattended in a public place.
The simple step of hitting the off switch can lead to a better night's sleep. When on, a WiFi signal may interfere with our brains during sleep, so by turning it off we reduce EMF exposure and hopefully rest more deeply.
As you may have already guessed, turning off the Wi-Fi doesn't significantly affect the battery life of your phone. As long as you keep the potential risks in mind while you are on the move, the odds are that your transactions over Wi-Fi will be safer.
Know when to reboot your router so you can maintain a healthy, speedy internet connection. There's no definitive rule for how often you should reboot your router or wireless gateway. Ideally, you should reboot them at least once a month to clear out the memory and refresh your connections.
While EMF emissions from different routers vary, for most home WiFi routers, a distance of 40 feet (ideally, or 10 feet at a minimum) will help your body and shouldn't impact your WiFi connection too much.
See if you can lower your Wi-Fi router's output. It may be set to “High” as a default, which could create more intense wireless radiation output than anyone in your household needs. To reduce radiation exposures significantly, many experts recommend using wired devices whenever possible.
Electromagenetic sensitivity or Wireless allergy can cause headache and fatigue due to heavy use of devices that release electromagnetic radiation.
Because it does not require authentication, a public WiFi Internet connection means hackers might be able to see your data. Not only that, but the Wi Fi router's administrator might see what sites you use and could sell your data. Therefore, do not visit websites with sensitive information if you're on public Wi-Fi.
Due to encryption, connecting your mobile device to a 4G network offers better security than a Wi-Fi network — especially a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Although a private Wi-Fi connection can also encrypt your connection, mobile data is still ultimately safer.
Turning Wi-Fi off when you're not using it improves network security and frees up some bandwidth for your wired devices. Maybe you don't want to disable your Wi-Fi access completely, but would like to hide your Wi-Fi name so only people who know it have access to your Wi-Fi.
Turn Bluetooth off when not in use. Keeping it active enables hackers to discover what other devices you connected to before, spoof one of those devices, and gain access to your device. If you connect your mobile phone to a rental car, the phone's data may get shared with the car.
WiFi is a wireless technology that establishes a wireless network to allow computers and devices with the required wireless capacity to communicate via radio waves. The Internet, on the other hand, is a global network of networks where computers communicate with each other via Internet Protocol.
Since Wi-Fi in its simplest terms is a way for your devices to connect wirelessly to your home network, internet is not required to connect to a local Wi-Fi network to share files or other resources (which is pretty much all you can do without an internet connection).
For those of you using a wireless connection, you may see an error message pop up stating "WiFi connected but no internet connection". This means that your device/computer is correctly connected to the router, however, it is still not connected to the Internet.
A mobile hotspot is not inherently safe. Quite the opposite, in fact. It can be hacked either at the point where it connects to the internet or the point where it connects to any tethered device. Others can see what you're up to and, in certain circumstances, may even be able to take over your entire network.
Ideally, you don't want to give people access to your main WiFi network. This will give their laptop or phone access to all the devices in your home, which means they—or any malware installed on their system—can compromise your data.
These guidelines recognize that too much exposure to electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation can harm the human body, particularly at close distances. While maintaining a safe distance from the WiFi router can greatly reduce your exposure to its radiation, keeping the router in your bedroom is not recommendable.
Repeated Wi-Fi studies show that Wi-Fi causes oxidative stress, sperm/testicular damage, neuropsychiatric effects including EEG changes, apoptosis, cellular DNA damage, endocrine changes, and calcium overload.