As a router owner it is important that you know the basics of WiFi network protection in order to prevent unauthorized access from intruders and to migrate potential attacks from sophisticated bad guys simply by following the steps below.
1. Learn the basics
Before we move on with more advanced topics it is important that you understand the basic topics such as what is an IP Address, SSID, MAC Address. Get familiar to the router configuration interface. Learn to identify good and bad sites to not fall into prey of fake sites that mimic authentic sites with only objective to steal sensitive details from you. If you are to deal with security yourself it is very important first step.
2. Use strong password.
Security experts has emphasized from the very beginning about the usage of strong passwords. Always have a combination of upper and lower case alphabets, numbers, and symbols such as !_@#. An ideal length for a password is 12-15 characters. Never use straight forward answers such as your surname, or anything that can be easily guessed.
It is recommended that you change your password once every often because sometimes although you may not be responsible for the leak, but sites where you might have registered may get compromised and your data/information is wide-open so its best you change once a while.
3. Enable WiFi network encryption.
Your router provides various forms of encryption such as WEP, WPA, WPA2. The first two being old and potentially vulnerable to new technology as such it is always recommend you only use WPA2 as your encryption protocol.
4. Enable MAC-address filtering
In this post we discussed how to blacklist WiFi users, which basically allow you to block devices by their MAC Addresses. It is a very convenient method by which you can ensure that only the selected devices can access your router. You need to manually whitelist whenever you add a new device, quite time-consuming but is an absolute good practice.
5. Disable WPS settings
Wi-FI Protected Setup (WPS) method was basically create to simply network configuration just by tapping button on router and a device (such as WiFi extender/boosters) to pair automatically without requiring manual setup. Although very convenient, with right software and technique it can be hacked which is why it is very important that you disable WPS. You generally find this option in Wireless Settings under Advanced Setup.
6. Update your router firmware
In any case your router manufacturer had their data breached or had any system malfunction, they push a security patch or update to all of its routers to prevent any misuse of the potential loophole. And if your router is not updated, a hacker may try to penetrate your system using the backdoor. So it is very important that you keep your router always up-to-date.
Although most new routers these days come with automatic update solution which happens in the background. However if you’re using an old router that may not support auto-update and in such case you need to manually check every often and download and update it.
Bottom Line
Invest time in learning about internet security, after all it only benefits you. You don’t necessarily need to buy expensive software(s) to help you stay protected but rather just having basic knowledge can really help you.
If you have more advice then feel free to comment below we will love to hear your suggestions : )