How to Segment Your Home Network to Maximize Security

Home network security is more important than you think. If you're struggling to protect your network, some simple network segmentation can help you improve your security.

Use different networks for client devices

One of the simplest and most effective techniques for segmenting traffic on your home network is to set up a separate guest network in your home. Since most, if not all, modern routers  support 5GHz networks, you can free up the 2.4GHz band for extra devices that you might not want on your main network.

Setting up a separate network for guest devices has two main advantages. First, it ensures that visitors connecting to your Wi-Fi cannot access your devices over the network. Second, it helps divide up bandwidth to ensure your devices get the best possible speeds. Many people have stopped sharing their Wi-Fi password with guests in favor of setting up a separate network.

Most routers can store multiple SSIDs or networks, which means you can quickly create a new network with an easier password. You can then give this password to visitors and let them connect to the Internet without taking up bandwidth or network access to your personal devices.

Separate your IoT devices to a separate router

In general, you should set up your IoT (Internet of Things) devices, such as smart lights, cameras, and other smart devices, on a different router. This creates a digital barrier between your IoT devices and your main network, ensuring that your gadgets remain safe even if hackers gain access to them. This is also a useful way to recycle an old router .

Also, as mentioned earlier, putting these devices on a separate network means they won't affect the internet performance of your main devices, especially if you have multiple devices. You can also make changes to your main router, such as changing the network name or password, without having to update every smart device you use.

Another thing to keep in mind is the Wi-Fi band. Most IoT devices use the 2.4 GHz band, which provides better coverage. If you have a lot of smart devices, one router may not be able to handle them all. Moving these devices to a second router that acts as an access point can help alleviate this issue.

No WPS on main Wi-Fi band

Now that your main Wi-Fi is free of any IoT devices and the guests have their own network, you can go ahead and disable WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) on your main network. WPS makes it easy to connect to a network, eliminating the need for a password, but it has some vulnerabilities that can put your router at risk.

Consumer routers offer a number of implementations of WPS. The most common is push-button WPS, which requires you to press a “WPS” button on the router to initiate the connection on your device. Another common implementation requires you to enter a PIN.

No matter which approach you use, WPS is insecure because of the WPS PIN vulnerability. This vulnerability allows attackers to brute force the WPS PIN on the router and gain access to the network. Many routers have started disabling WPS out of the box, but if you have an older router, disabling WPS is one of the first configuration changes you should make.

Adjust settings on main router

Speaking of configuration changes, if you’ve made the changes mentioned above, chances are you now have a pretty good idea of ​​the devices you’ll be using on your primary network. This makes setting up your router for increased security and performance much easier.

For example, you can implement a whitelist of devices that are allowed to connect to your Wi-Fi. This ensures that even if your main network password is compromised, the router will automatically block any incoming connections unless they come from a device it already knows.

You can set up QoS on your router to prioritize traffic or even troubleshoot network congestion without worrying about every smart light in your home breaking. You should analyze your Wi-Fi network for weak spots to make sure you have the widest coverage and are using the right channels and bands.

Segmenting your home network not only improves basic security, but also makes it quicker and easier to change settings that would otherwise cause problems for connected smart devices. It may take some initial work, but it will pay off in the long run.