In this tutorial, we have given some important information on router tips and tricks. Doing these settings on the home router will make your network completely secure.
Unsecure home router not only causes internet bandwidth theft but it also poses a major security risk. For instance, someone can easily get access to computers and devices that are connected to an unsecured network.
By securing your home wifi router, you are not only just stopping someone from spying on your online activity but also protecting your sensitive data such as banking information(login details), e-mails, personal photo/videos, credit care from getting compromised.
Many people run their home wifi internet connection on default router security settings done by ISP guy during installation (usually it is basic security set-up) and they don’t take a minute or two to login and check if their router is fully secured or not.
We understand not everyone is tech-savvy or comes from the IT field to know what unsecured home router can cost us.
So, we wrote this simple instruction that you can follow to secure your home wifi router.
Contents
The router comes with these buttons & port switches:
WPS Button
WPS stands for Wifi Protected Setup. It is used to connect a device to the wifi without using/sharing a wifi password. This is done by pressing a WPS button on the router or by sharing a WPS pin (WPS pin can be created from wifi admin panel).
WAN Port
WAN long-form is Wide Area Network, WAN port is used to create wifi network around the area. You can connect a device (computer/modem) that has an internet connection to WAN port using a cable to establish a wifi network.
LAN Port
There are 3 or 4 LAN ports (depending on the router brand and model). LAN port is for connecting devices using a cable to access the internet from wifi router.
Reset Button
A reset button is for restoring your router settings such as admin login credentials, SSID name-password, etc back to company default settings.
Most Important router tips and tricks to secure home wifi
To do the router security settings, you need to login to your router admin panel by using your router IP
- Open your browser and in the address bar, type your gateway IP or your router admin login link
- Fill your User Id & Password to login router panel
After login, do the given below step to secure your router:
You should disable the WPS button on your router to fully secure your home wifi network. The reason behind this is that the WPS pin is vulnerable to brute force attacks. a person who is in your wifi range can perform brute force to get on your wifi network. You can read in detail on the cybersecurity website.
WPS is enabled by default, You can find an option to disable it under wi-fi/security settings.
Enable WPA2 Only
Routers come with few encryption types to secure network line, such as:
- WEP
- Auto (WPA or WPA2)
- WPA only
- WPA2 only
Out of all encryption types, WPA2 Only – is the most advanced and secure encryption type.
* For dual-band router: enable ‘WPA2 only’ for both 2.5GHz & 5GHz
Look into “wireless section” or “2.5GHz & 5GHz” section to enable “WPA2 Only” encryption. After selecting WPA2 only from a list – select a password (Make the password strong by using special character and number )
* In some router admin interface, it is written “Pre-Shared Key” – this is where you type your new password for wifi
Change Admin – User name & Password
Each router comes with a default username and password for admin area access. Anyone who is connected to your network can easily access the router admin area by typing default user and password and can do changes in a router, that’s why it is very important to change default login credentials to something personal.
You can change the router default login credentials by going into Account settings. Change the User and Password, After the change, you will be auto-logged out and got to re-sign again with your new login details.
*Important Note- Do not keep admin & password which is easy to guess and use a special character (#$!&#) for a strong password.
Post Summary:
Your home router is now fully secured by applying all these routers’ tips and tricks. If you find this post helpful, please do share it with your friends and family. Do let me know your queries and suggestion in the comment box.