People today expect WiFi access when they’re visiting your office. However, setting up your WiFi the wrong way can create a stressful experience for them. Additionally, this can also expose your confidential information to malicious hackers. So what’s the right way to do it?
Giving your guests access to your company’s main WiFi connection might seem like a good idea, but you should avoid this at all costs.
Anyone with a little technical know-how can potentially access everything on your company network, including confidential data. In addition, if any of your visitors' mobile devices have been compromised, it's possible that they can transmit malware to your entire network.
If your router comes with built-in guest WiFi support (you can check this feature through a quick web search), you can use it to create a separate “virtual” network. This means guests will have access to the internet without directly connecting to your company’s primary network.
If your router doesn’t support multiple WiFi networks, you can implement a separate wireless access point that bypasses the rest of your network and connects directly to the internet, thus preventing any outsider from accessing your company’s private data.
Keep in mind that guest WiFi still uses your ISP connection, so you should limit bandwidth usage on your guest network. Visitors streaming videos can slow down your internet connection, which can affect the productivity of your employees. With that in mind, you can even have your employees use the guest WiFi on their mobile devices to minimize the chance of them hogging company bandwidth for personal use.
Remember, your guest WiFi should only provide outsiders with internet access, nothing more. While the proper setup isn’t rocket science, it can be a tedious process. Having said that, if you need to work with a managed services provider and their internal team of experts to take care of it, or if you simply have questions about how else to leverage your hardware for better efficiency and security, just give us a call.