Protect your data with a guest WiFi network

CHARLOTTE — It’s something we’ve all done: share our home WiFi with a contractor, babysitter, or family friends. But you may be sharing more than you think. Consumer Reports shares a quick way to protect your digital privacy and security using a simple tool you may already have.

Consumer Reports says a little-known feature on most routers offers a quick fix. One easy way people can protect their network is to set up a guest WiFi network like the one in your doctor’s office or local coffee shop. It gives your guests access to the internet, not all the devices on your network.

There are three reasons why you’d want to set up a WiFi guest network: One is to improve the privacy and security of your devices. A friend’s laptop could unknowingly be infected with malware that could spread to your devices. With this secondary guest network, your stuff is on the primary network, and everything else is on the secondary network. It just keeps your stuff safe because it is kept separate.

Number two is to improve the performance of your overall WiFi network. Most routers let you set bandwidth limits on a guest network to prevent them from slowing down your connection, and time limits that can automatically disconnect devices after a set time.

CR says it only takes a few minutes to set up a guest network, even if you’re not tech-savvy.

First, log in to your router’s app or website and go to the settings. Look for “guest network” or a similar option. Activate it and give it a password and a name that’s easy to identify, and it’s ready to go.

That brings us to the third reason: to make it easier to share WiFi with friends and any visitors you may have, especially if you print out a QR code from your router’s app, stick it on the fridge. Take their phone, point it at the little QR code, and then, boom, they’re connected. So, you can be a good host while still protecting your digital privacy.

While CR says it’s perfectly safe to make your guest network password something simple and easy to type, your primary home WiFi password should always be long and complex to keep hackers out.

©2026 Cox Media Group