We'll give you a refresher on how to protect your home Wi-Fi network
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2024 4:22 am
We'll give you a refresher on how to protect your home Wi-Fi network
In this third week of October, in which we continue celebrating the European Cybersecurity Month , and in previous weeks we already talked about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its risks as well as the most common online frauds , we want to highlight the importance of protecting Wi-Fi networks.
In most cases, once we have installed the Wi-Fi router in our denmark phone number data home, we understand that it has enough protection mechanisms that will make it an insurmountable wall against possible external intrusions. But is this really the case? Well, we have to say no, since routers have some security options that are not activated or configured correctly by default. If we add to this the fact that users are unaware of this... the result is that our connection can be vulnerable. Let's change this situation! How? By updating these security measures so that we all know them and know how to apply them.
Access to your wifi router
To carry out this action, it will first be necessary to know the IP address that gives us access to the router. This can be found in several ways, but we recommend following these steps for Windows computers:
Start button >> (in the box that says “Search programs and files”) cmd >> Click on the result >> Type ipconfig/all >> search for the “Gateway”
Screenshot of the Windows Start button, Search programs and files item
Windows screenshot showing the cmd program
Screenshot of MS-DOS with default gateway
As we have already mentioned, there are several ways to access it. If you have an older version of Windows or prefer to use alternative methods, we leave you the following link which also explains how to access this data.
In the case of computers with MAC OX operating system, the steps to follow to find out the gateway are as follows:
1.- Access the Apple menu (top left of the screen), and view the system preferences, access Network, select Wi-Fi in this case and go to advanced settings.
Screenshot of the MAC window of the system network preferences.
2.- Finally, you should select the TCP/IP tab
Screenshot of the MAC operating system where you can see the TCP/IP protocol configuration, and with it the IP address of the router.
Once we have the router's IP, we will have to access it through our browser. The user data and password can be found in the router's manual or on the sticker that comes on the base or back of the router. You can also ask the manufacturer directly for the password:
Simulation of a router interface. Login.
Next, we will have to look for the configuration option in the router menus that allows us to change the default password. It should be noted that each router may contain this option in a different place, so an active search will have to be carried out through the different menus:
Router interface simulation. Password change.
Remember that the password should be as strong as possible, combining upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. This measure is intended to prevent anyone using the default password of the router from accessing it to take control and make the necessary configurations without our knowledge.
Update wifi network name
As in the previous section, among the different options that the different menus of your router will show us, one of them will allow us to change the name of the network. In the vast majority of cases, the name of the network is related to the service provider we have contracted. In order not to give clues about us (who is our telephone operator and what model of router we have), it is best to remove this type of information and change it to something that does not associate us with our SSID (network name).
Simulating a router interface. Changing the name of the Wi-Fi network.
Change the password to access the Wi-Fi network
Another important aspect to keep in mind to avoid intruders in our connection is to use a password to access it as strong as possible. Again, it is not recommended to use the default password provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), even if at first glance it seems very secure. Remember to use combinations of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and special characters.
Simulation of a router interface. Change the Wi-Fi network password.
Setting up a Wi-Fi network with WPA2 encryption
In the router configuration, there are usually 3 encryption modes: WEP, WPA and WPA2. But currently there is one that is more robust and is the one that is recommended to be enabled: WPA2-PSK. As it is the most recent, it may be the case that some device is not compatible with this mode. If this is your case, you can enable the mixed WPA/WPA2-PSK encryption.
Under no circumstances should you have WEP encryption configured, as it is not secure and someone with the necessary knowledge could steal your Wi-Fi password in a short time. Fortunately, most modern routers do not usually have this option configured by default, however, it is important to check it.
In this third week of October, in which we continue celebrating the European Cybersecurity Month , and in previous weeks we already talked about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its risks as well as the most common online frauds , we want to highlight the importance of protecting Wi-Fi networks.
In most cases, once we have installed the Wi-Fi router in our denmark phone number data home, we understand that it has enough protection mechanisms that will make it an insurmountable wall against possible external intrusions. But is this really the case? Well, we have to say no, since routers have some security options that are not activated or configured correctly by default. If we add to this the fact that users are unaware of this... the result is that our connection can be vulnerable. Let's change this situation! How? By updating these security measures so that we all know them and know how to apply them.
Access to your wifi router
To carry out this action, it will first be necessary to know the IP address that gives us access to the router. This can be found in several ways, but we recommend following these steps for Windows computers:
Start button >> (in the box that says “Search programs and files”) cmd >> Click on the result >> Type ipconfig/all >> search for the “Gateway”
Screenshot of the Windows Start button, Search programs and files item
Windows screenshot showing the cmd program
Screenshot of MS-DOS with default gateway
As we have already mentioned, there are several ways to access it. If you have an older version of Windows or prefer to use alternative methods, we leave you the following link which also explains how to access this data.
In the case of computers with MAC OX operating system, the steps to follow to find out the gateway are as follows:
1.- Access the Apple menu (top left of the screen), and view the system preferences, access Network, select Wi-Fi in this case and go to advanced settings.
Screenshot of the MAC window of the system network preferences.
2.- Finally, you should select the TCP/IP tab
Screenshot of the MAC operating system where you can see the TCP/IP protocol configuration, and with it the IP address of the router.
Once we have the router's IP, we will have to access it through our browser. The user data and password can be found in the router's manual or on the sticker that comes on the base or back of the router. You can also ask the manufacturer directly for the password:
Simulation of a router interface. Login.
Next, we will have to look for the configuration option in the router menus that allows us to change the default password. It should be noted that each router may contain this option in a different place, so an active search will have to be carried out through the different menus:
Router interface simulation. Password change.
Remember that the password should be as strong as possible, combining upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. This measure is intended to prevent anyone using the default password of the router from accessing it to take control and make the necessary configurations without our knowledge.
Update wifi network name
As in the previous section, among the different options that the different menus of your router will show us, one of them will allow us to change the name of the network. In the vast majority of cases, the name of the network is related to the service provider we have contracted. In order not to give clues about us (who is our telephone operator and what model of router we have), it is best to remove this type of information and change it to something that does not associate us with our SSID (network name).
Simulating a router interface. Changing the name of the Wi-Fi network.
Change the password to access the Wi-Fi network
Another important aspect to keep in mind to avoid intruders in our connection is to use a password to access it as strong as possible. Again, it is not recommended to use the default password provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), even if at first glance it seems very secure. Remember to use combinations of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and special characters.
Simulation of a router interface. Change the Wi-Fi network password.
Setting up a Wi-Fi network with WPA2 encryption
In the router configuration, there are usually 3 encryption modes: WEP, WPA and WPA2. But currently there is one that is more robust and is the one that is recommended to be enabled: WPA2-PSK. As it is the most recent, it may be the case that some device is not compatible with this mode. If this is your case, you can enable the mixed WPA/WPA2-PSK encryption.
Under no circumstances should you have WEP encryption configured, as it is not secure and someone with the necessary knowledge could steal your Wi-Fi password in a short time. Fortunately, most modern routers do not usually have this option configured by default, however, it is important to check it.