What’s a guest Wi-Fi network, and why do you need one?

The modern world is so hooked up to online services that when guests come around, “How ya doing?” will probably be followed by “What’s your Wi-Fi password?” But the hospitable host probably doesn’t realize that revealing this information could pose a network security risk.

For example, guests might accidentally download a malicious program or connect an already infected phone or laptop to the network. Many pieces of malware are able to spread themselves over a local network, and if an infected device is connected to your Wi-Fi, it will try to contaminate everything in its range.