printer

Don’t Get Hacked Because Your Wireless Printer is Not Secure

by Josh Biggs in Tech on 25th January 2021

Cyber threats and hacks have been on the radar of big and small companies for quite some time now. Most people are aware of at least one of the massive scale attacks that have happened in the past decade, such as the Equifax hack back in 2017 that affected more than 147 million customers, or the Marriott International hack that took place over four years and put 500 million customers’ data at risk, and even the My Fitness Pal hack back in 2018 which affected 150 million users. 

Most people tend to think of cyber-attacks as an abstract issue that affects businesses, but that’s not the case at all. In fact, you can fall victim to a cyber-attack or crime in your own everyday life without ever knowing. One culprit that you may not be aware is an issue at all is your wireless printer. If it’s not secure, you could be putting yourself at risk. 

How Can Your Wireless Printer Pose a Problem? 

If you’re like many other households in the country, you have a wireless printer. They are convenient, inexpensive, and are a great way to ensure your entire network of wireless devices in the home has access to a printer. It sounds innocent enough, but that same wireless printer can act as a gateway for potential cyber-attacks.

This worry has now left some wondering if their printer could in fact be spying on them thanks to a corporation, tech company, or foreign power. Of course, this action would be illegal, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Wireless printer security is now a trending topic with many everyday people asking what they can do to make their printer more secure.

Make Sure Firmware Stays Updated

One of the best ways to ensure your printer is kept secure is to update the firmware. It’s not unusual to get an alert from the printer company that there is an update to the drivers or firmware. You want to be sure you perform these as soon as possible, as they tend to have security patches which will bolster just how secure the printer is.

Make Sure Your Home Network is Secure

Because the printer is using your wireless home network, you want to be sure it is secure as well. This means password protected. While it may be tempting to pick a simple password that is easy to remember, doing so just means you’re making life easy for hackers. Ideally you want to pick a strong password that has a combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols, and numbers. If you want to really err on the side of caution, be sure to change your password on a regular basis.

Simple Steps Can Protect Your Printer

At the end of the day, all it takes is a few simple steps to secure your wireless printer. It’s also a good idea to purchase a well-established brand name printer that has a history of being safe and secure.

Categories: Tech

Cart (0)

No products in the cart.