I have a lot of family that comes over and I don’t really worry about what they can access or not because I trust them. However, when anyone else comes over and stays for a couple of nights, I tend to be much more restrictive. Nowadays you don’t know who has the skills to browse your network and access your computers or devices.
I have a home network of 5 computers, 2 printers, 1 IP cam, 2 routers, and a couple of media streaming boxes. I mostly worry about people getting access to the NAS device. I could have added more security to it, but that makes it harder for me to use on a daily basis. ..
In order to keep your network closed off to outsiders, you’ll need to do a few things. First, make sure your network is properly configured and protected. Next, create a rule that only allows people who are authenticated and authorized to connect through your network to access your resources. Finally, make sure everyone who uses your network knows about the rule and follows it strictly.
Setting up Guest Networks
If someone wants to connect to your home wireless network from their computer or smartphone, you really can’t prevent any snooping if they have access to your main wireless network. That means if everything connects to MyHomeNetwork either via ethernet or wireless and you give someone access to that wireless network, they can get access to everything else on the network.
There are ways around to deal with this type of situation such as network isolation, which means no device on the network can talk to any other device on the network. This will make it impossible for you to use your own network. This is great for public WiFi spots where you don’t want the guy across the table at Starbucks being able to access your computer, even though you’re on the same wireless network.
If you want to set up a separate guest network, there are a few different ways to go about it. You can either activate the guest network feature on your wireless router if it supports it or you can buy a really cheap secondary wireless router and connect that up for guests. I have a Linksys Cisco E2500 router at home and what’s great about these routers is that the guest network option is built right in. ..
Wireless and Guest Access: To log into your router, go to Wireless and then Guest Access.
Enable the guest network, give it a password, pick the max number of guests that can connect, and you’re done! Now guests can access the Internet, but if they start prying around your network, they won’t find any devices or anything else connected to the main network. It basically creates a wall between your network and the guest computer. ..
The only way to make this work is to use a router that has this feature, or to set up a guest account on your computer. Neither of which are easy or cheap.
Now, the only issue with this is that you would have to connect the second router to the first one most likely. This is because there is really only one cable coming from the main ISP modem to your wireless router. So, in order to connect a second router, you’ll have to have to connect the second router to the first. ..
NAT allows two networks to communicate with each other, which is better than having just one network. If someone comes over who knows how to hack, there’s really not much you can do at that point anyway unless you make everything super secure.
We are trying to prevent computers and NAS devices from showing up on someone’s computer when they open Finder or Windows Explorer. That’ll be enough for 99% of the people out there. There is a technical way to make it so that the two networks can’t communicate, but that require using a DMZ and that’s simply too complicated for what I’m trying to show.
Your first option is to simply turn on the guest network. If your router supports it, this is the easiest way to connect to the wireless network. If not, you can purchase a cheap used router and connect it behind your first router.
Sharing Printers & Scanners
If you have users connecting to a separate wireless network in your house, then printing may not be possible if the printer is connected to a different network.
In the case where you have a printer that attaches by cable, just attach the printer to their computer if they have one or simply use your own computer and print what they need for them. If you have a wireless printer and they want to print from their computer, the best way to do this is to use Google Cloud Print. As long as they have a Google account, you can simply share your printer with them via email and they can print from their computer without having to install any drivers or anything else!
If you’re looking for a way to print from anywhere in the world, Google Cloud Print is the perfect solution. This method works with any printer, and you can share printers with others easily. Setup is super easy and there’s no need to worry about your printer being connected to the internet or your computer.
If you have an All-in-one type of device, you can connect the scanner directly to the computer.
Guest Computers and Accounts
If you are a guest at a party, and need to use one of your computers to get your work done, the best option is to use a Guest account. This will ensure that they have limited ability to change computer settings and will not be able to access sensitive documents, emails, passwords, browser history or anything else.
The downside to using a guest account in Windows is that it can prevent you from installing software, which can be a real issue if you have a younger adult or kid who wants to use your computer. They can’t change any system settings, add hardware or create/change the password for the guest account. It’s pretty much locked down and you don’t have to do anything other than make sure you log into that account before giving them access.
If you’re using Windows 10, you can enable the Guest account by going to the Control Panel and clicking on the “Guest account” icon. Then, you’ll see the Guest account alongside your normal user account.
You can enable a Guest user account on a Mac by going to System Preferences, clicking on Users & Groups, and then enabling the Guest user.
If you don’t have a password for your main user account on Windows or Mac, then anyone could log in to those accounts without needing to know your password. ..
If you have an old computer or netbook lying around, you can wipe it and install a fresh copy of Windows. You can also install the local printers and enable the guest account. When someone needs to use a computer, just give them the spare computer.
If you have a different network configuration for allowing guests access, please let us know in the comments. We hope you enjoy! ..
