Five reasons why you should NEVER share your WiFi password – even with friends

THEY say sharing is caring – but when it comes to WiFi sharing is risky business.

While you may dish out your internet password to friends and family, be sure you trust them to use it responsibly.

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What they do on it could put your household in techy danger.

Here’s how.

Doing illegal stuff online

Doing anything illegal could be traced back to your household.

It may be as simple as downloading a movie they didn’t pay for.

Service providers are known for detecting such things and sending warning letters which will go to you as the account holder, not the person using it.

So be sure they don’t do anything they shouldn’t, as you could face serious legal consequences and have your internet cut off too.

Controlling your devices

If you have any smart gadgets like lights or speakers, your friends and family will be able to control them once they’re on the same WiFi network.

This happens if you and your devices are running on Android.

While this isn’t dangerous it could turn into a nuisance with them playing pranks on you by turning lights off or making music blast out.

Sharing your password with others

Once the password is on their device, what’s to stop them from giving it to someone else?

They could cheekily hand it out to other relatives or neighbours without your permission – and be a hog for speeds.

Using up your broadband

While most people have unlimited broadband these days, some only get a certain amount each month to save money.

And others are on slower speeds to keep costs down too.

If you’ve got a broadband limit, they could use it up very quickly downloading something huge like 4K movies or games.

Spreading viruses

Malware works in mysterious ways – and some clever hackers can spread stuff beyond the first device that downloads it.

If the person falls victim, they could come across something capable of working its way across your entire network – and onto all of your own personal devices.

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