Home network safety tip: keep most devices on the “Guest” network

Malware from the manufacturer means bad times for everyone

It would be great if the stories of products sold by major retailers with baked-in malware were relegated to decades past, but the issue hasn't gone away. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports that a low-budget kids tablet by Dragon Touch was sold on Amazon for the better part of a year despite having possible malware preinstalled from the factory.

There really is no clear and obvious way to prevent any instance of factory malware, but one thing that could help quite a bit is to keep your networks separate.

This is an example of a router with guest network functionality built in.
(See online!)

Many home routers these days offer "guest networks" which are intended to let houseguests or visiting friends access your Internet without exposing your home computers and files. It's convenient and easy to set up along with your normal network. But the best part is that you can use the same trick to keep untrusted devices away from your important data!

You'll need to look in the manual, instructions, or a handy Youtube video if you need help for your specific router (or buy a new one if your current one doesn't support it), but, once configured, it's simply a matter of asking: "does this device/thing need to connect to my home computers or backup systems? If "no", put it on the guest network!

Bottom line, you might have several computers and maybe a printer/scanner on your home network for file sharing or backup purposes, but why let the Playstation or Echo in the same space? They can still access the Internet on the Guest Network and that's really all they need

Moving forward, always put phones, tablets, and any other device stays segregated on the guest network where, if they become infected, they can't damage your real computers and important data.