Q: How do I stop my personal hotspot being hacked?

Would connecting via Bluetooth be an option for you?

Lindsayartist wrote:

 

I'm not stupid but I also am not a IT Specialist either. If you connect via USB you can still be detected as wifi from different devices. Otherwise my daughter wouldn't be able to connect her kindle whigh she can. So please explain what you think I don't get

No one said you were or even implied it. If your daughter can still connect to your phone then you don't have your phone and computer set up for a USB connection.

As a test for a USB hotspot connection turn off both Bluetooth and Wifi on your phone and on your computer. Do not use Airplane Mode because you still need a cellular data connection. Plug your USB cord into your computer and phone.

1. Did you pair your computer for a USB connection to your phone in Network? If no then you need to do so.

2. Can you still see her kindle connection to you? If yes then you still don't have your hotspot set up right. See all of the above.

3. Can you access the internet on your phone? If no then you don't have phone data turned on or your carrier doesn't allow hotspot connections.

4. Can you access the internet on your computer? If no then you don't have a pairing to your phone or number 3 above.

If you did everything correctly you should see a blue bar at the top of your phone with a message; Personal Hotspot: 1 Connection. No one else can hack your connection because there is no wireless connection since both your wifi and blue tooth are off on both phone and computer. If some is hacking your connection now, which is highly unlikely, then you need to talk your carrier.

I only gave directions for a USB connection because of your concerns about being hacked over wifi. USB is the most secure. If you want to use wifi (or bluetooth) for each device then follow the appropriate directions in the links I provided earlier.

Your protection is a strong password.  That's how it is for any kind of a secure log in whether it be your bank or personal hot spot. The longer and more complicated the  password the better it is. An example of a very secure personal hotspot connection password could be something like this:  .[UY{R9$goW<$;A)t!}ikXkCONU That password is just a snippet of what was just generated for this example at this site.https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

I had a similar problem. 2 iPads and 1iPhone that shared the same Apple ID and password. If you turn off Bluetooth on all devices that share an Apple ID, then your devices should not connect to the personal hotspot when that hotspot is turned off. Hope that helps.