October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which is why cybersecurity tips are all over search this week. The advice has not changed much, and most of it takes minutes. This guide covers the four habits the federal government is asking everyone to adopt in 2026, then the part most tip lists skip: the router settings that protect every phone, laptop, TV, and camera in your home at once.
Key Takeaways
- CISA's 2026 campaign, Securing the Next 250, comes down to four habits for individuals: strong passwords, multifactor authentication, spotting and reporting phishing, and keeping software updated.
- Password length matters more than symbols. Current NIST guidance sets 15 characters as the floor when a password is the only thing protecting an account, and it drops the old advice about changing passwords on a schedule.
- Your router is the front door for every device you own. Changing its admin password, using WPA3 or WPA2, and updating its firmware protect all of them at once.
- A router that no longer gets firmware updates cannot be made safe with settings. Replacing end-of-support equipment is one of CISA's three priorities this year.
- Phishing was the most reported internet crime of 2025, according to the FBI. Going to a site directly instead of clicking a link sidesteps most of it.
Why Cybersecurity Tips Are Everywhere This Month
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) opened Cybersecurity Awareness Month on October 1, 2026 with the theme Securing the Next 250, tied to the country's 250th anniversary. The campaign asks every household and business to pick up a few protective habits now instead of after something goes wrong.
The numbers explain the urgency. The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report counted 1,008,597 complaints and roughly $20.9 billion in reported losses, both record highs. Phishing and spoofing led every other category with 191,561 complaints. For the first time, the report also tracked scams involving artificial intelligence: 22,364 complaints and more than $893 million in losses.
None of that calls for panic. The most common ways in are still a reused password, a missing update, or a rushed click, and all three are fixable.
The Four Habits CISA Wants Everyone to Have
CISA's list for individuals has four items. They are the foundation, and everything in the home network section builds on them.
Use long, unique passwords and a password manager
Length beats complexity. The current federal standard, NIST SP 800-63B-4, sets 15 characters as the minimum when a password is the only thing protecting an account, and it drops the old rules about mixing in symbols and capital letters. A passphrase of four or five unrelated words is long, easy to type, and hard to guess.
The second half matters as much: every account gets its own password. When a company is breached, attackers try the stolen passwords on email, banking, and shopping sites. A password manager makes unique passwords practical because it creates and remembers them for you. The one built into your phone or browser is a fine place to start.
The same NIST guidance tells organizations to stop forcing password changes on a schedule. The same logic works at home: change a password when there is a sign it has been exposed, such as a breach notice or a login alert you do not recognize.
Turn on multifactor authentication
Multifactor authentication (MFA) adds a second check after your password, such as a code from an app, a prompt on your phone, or a passkey. If a password is stolen, the thief still cannot sign in. Start with your email account, since a person who controls your email can reset the password on almost everything else. Then do banking, shopping, and social accounts.
CISA recommends phishing-resistant options where a service offers them. In practice that means a passkey or a physical security key first, an authenticator app second, and text message codes third. A text code is still far better than a password alone.
Learn the signs of phishing, then report it
Phishing is a message that pretends to come from a company or person you trust so that you will click a link, open an attachment, or hand over a code. The classic tells are pressure to act fast, a request you were not expecting, and a sender address or link that does not quite match the company it claims to be. Spelling mistakes used to be a reliable warning sign. With AI writing tools, they no longer are.
The safest habit is to skip the link. If your bank, a delivery service, or your internet provider says there is a problem, open the app or type the address yourself and check there. No legitimate company will ask you to read back a verification code.
Then report it. Use the report button in your email app, forward phishing emails to reportphishing@apwg.org, and forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM). If you lost money or gave up account details, file a report at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Turn on automatic updates
Updates close the security holes attackers already know about. Turn on automatic updates for your phone, computer, and web browser, and restart when they ask. Then think about the devices that never ask: smart TVs, streaming sticks, cameras, printers, and the router itself. Each has an update option somewhere in its settings or app.
Cybersecurity Tips for Your Home Network
Every device in your home reaches the internet through one box: the router. Secure it and you raise the floor for everything connected to it, including the gadgets that have no security settings of their own. These steps follow the National Security Agency's Best Practices for Securing Your Home Network.
Change the router's admin password
Your router has two passwords. The WiFi password gets devices online. The admin password opens the settings page, and on many older routers it ships as something like "admin" or "password," which anyone can look up. Sign in to the router, find the Administration or System menu, and set a new one. Our guide on how to log into your router has the address and default login for every major brand.
Use WPA3 or WPA2 with a strong WiFi password
On the wireless settings screen, check the security type. WPA3 is the current standard. If some of your older devices cannot connect to it, the mixed WPA2/WPA3 setting is the next best choice, and WPA2 alone is still acceptable. WEP and the original WPA are not. Pair it with a WiFi password of 12 to 16 characters or more that is not printed on the router. The menu paths for each brand and provider are in our guide to changing your WiFi password.
Update the router's firmware
Firmware is the router's built-in software, and it needs security fixes like any other. Many routers ship with automatic updates turned off. Look for Firmware Update or Router Update in the settings page or app, install anything waiting, and switch on automatic updates if the option exists. Gateways rented from an internet provider are usually updated by the provider.
Give guests and smart devices their own network
Most routers can broadcast a second network, usually called a guest network. Devices on it can reach the internet but not your computers and phones. Use it for visitors, and for smart home gear such as plugs, bulbs, cameras, and TVs, which tend to get fewer security updates than phones and laptops. The NSA suggests keeping your main WiFi, guest WiFi, and smart devices apart for this reason.
Turn off remote management
Remote management lets someone change router settings from outside your home. Almost no household needs it, and it is one of the first things attackers look for. Find it under Administration or Advanced settings and make sure it is off. While you are there, turn off WPS (the push-button connect feature) and UPnP if nothing in your home depends on them.
Restart the router on a schedule
The NSA recommends restarting your router, phone, and computer at least once a week. A restart clears out some kinds of malicious software that live only in a device's memory, and it gives pending updates a chance to install. It is not a cure for a router that is out of date. Our article on the NSA router reboot warning explains what a restart can and cannot fix, and the restart guide shows how to schedule one automatically.
Retire equipment that no longer gets updates
Replacing end-of-support devices is one of the three priorities in CISA's campaign this year. CISA aims that advice at utilities and other critical infrastructure, and the same logic holds at home. Once a manufacturer stops releasing firmware for a router, newly discovered flaws stay open for good, and no setting can change that. If the last firmware release for your model is more than a year old, or the manufacturer lists it as end of life, plan to replace it.
A refurbished router that its manufacturer still supports receives the same security updates as a new one, so staying protected does not have to mean paying full retail. See how long routers last for the full list of warning signs.
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Two More Habits Worth Having
Back up what you cannot replace
Photos, tax records, and documents should live in at least two places. An external drive, a cloud backup service, or both will do. A backup turns ransomware, a stolen laptop, or a dead hard drive from a disaster into an inconvenience. The NSA's home guidance suggests backing up to external drives and unplugging them when the backup finishes.
Treat public WiFi as public
Airport, hotel, and coffee shop networks are shared with strangers. Avoid banking and other sensitive logins on them, or use your phone's hotspot instead. If you travel often, a travel router puts your own private network between your devices and the hotel WiFi, and a VPN encrypts what leaves your device. Our travel router comparison and VPN kill switch explainer cover both options.
Where to Start: A One-Evening Plan
You do not need to do everything at once. These six tasks cover the most ground for the least effort.
| Do this | Where | About how long |
|---|---|---|
| Turn on automatic updates | Phone, computer, and browser settings | 5 minutes |
| Turn on multifactor authentication for email and banking | Each account's security settings | 10 minutes |
| Set up a password manager and give your email a new, long password | Phone or browser, then your email account | 15 minutes |
| Change the router's admin password | Router settings page or app | 5 minutes |
| Check the WiFi security type and install firmware updates | Router settings page or app | 10 minutes |
| Turn on the guest network for visitors and smart devices | Router settings page or app | 10 minutes |
When those are done, our Digital Security Checklist goes further with hardware security keys, network-wide ad and tracker blocking, and more advanced ways to separate devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most important cybersecurity tips?
The four on CISA's list: use long, unique passwords with a password manager, turn on multifactor authentication, learn to spot and report phishing, and keep software updated. At home, add a fifth: keep your router updated and replace it when the manufacturer stops supporting it.
What is the theme of Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026?
CISA's theme is Securing the Next 250, which marks the nation's 250th anniversary and looks ahead to protecting the systems the country will depend on next. The month runs October 1 through October 31.
How often should I change my passwords?
Only when there is a reason. Current NIST guidance moved away from scheduled password changes because they push people toward weaker, predictable passwords. Change a password when a company tells you it was breached, when you see a login you do not recognize, or when you have shared it with someone who should no longer have it.
How do I know if my router has been hacked?
Warning signs include settings you did not change (especially the DNS servers), unfamiliar devices on the connected list, an admin password that stopped working, and being sent to odd websites when you type a familiar address. If you see any of these, reset the router to factory settings, update its firmware, and set new admin and WiFi passwords. Our NSA reboot warning article walks through the checks, and the guide to changing DNS on your router shows where the DNS setting lives for each brand.
Is a refurbished router safe to use?
Yes. A router's security depends on whether the manufacturer still releases firmware for that model, not on whether the box has been opened before. Update the firmware and set your own admin and WiFi passwords during setup, the same as you would with any router. The refurbished routers we sell are tested by hand and backed by a 90-day warranty.
Where do I report a scam or phishing message?
Forward phishing emails to reportphishing@apwg.org and scam texts to 7726. Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and if you lost money, file a complaint with the FBI at ic3.gov as soon as possible. Fast reports give banks and investigators the best chance of stopping a transfer.
Related Guides
- NSA Says Reboot Your Router: What the Warning Means and What to Do
- How to Change Your WiFi Password on Any Router or ISP Gateway
- How to Log Into Your Router (Any Brand)
- How Long Do Routers Last? Signs It's Time to Replace Yours
- How to Change DNS on Your Router
- Digital Security Checklist 2026: Personal + Network
- Shop refurbished WiFi routers
