How to Secure Your Wi-Fi Router

Securing Your Wi-Fi Router

Networking makes easy to share internet access and data but you wouldn’t want to share your information with just anyone. With wireless network, your information is traveling through the airwaves, not physical wires, so anyone within range can access your network. So follow some tips to secure your Wi-Fi or wireless network from unauthorized access.
  

Changing the default username and password

For wireless products such as access points and routers, you will be asked for a password when you want to change their settings. These devices have a default password set by the manufacturer. (The Linksys default password is admin). Hackers know these default passwords and will try them to access your wireless device and change your network settings. To prevent from any unauthorized changes, change the device's default password so it will be hard to guess. 

Changing the default SSID

Your wireless devices have a default SSID (Service Set Identifier) set by the manufacturer. The SSID is the name of your wireless network, and can be up to 32 characters. Linksys wireless products use Linksys as the default SSID. Hackers know these defaults and can use them to join your network. Change the network's SSID to something unique, and make sure it doesn't refer to the networking products you use. As an added precaution, be sure to change the SSID on a regular basis, so any hacker who may have figured out Your network's SSID in the past will have to figure out the SSID again and again. This will prevent future intrusion attempts.
TO setup and improve your wireless network's signal, you can change your Wireless Network Name (SSID) and/or try using a different channel. 

Change the SSID on a regular basis, so any hacker who may have figured out Your network's SSID in the past will have to figure out the SSID again and again.

Enabling WPA Encryption

Encryption allows protection for data that is transmitted over a wireless network. Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) offer different level security for wireless communication. WPA is considered to be more secure than WEP. Because it uses dynamic key encryption. To protect the information as it passes over the airwaves. you should enable the highest level of encryption that is supported by your Network equipment.

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a Wi-Fi standard that was designed to improve the security features of WEP. WPA is stronger than WEP encryption. PSK are PSK2 are the types of WPA which has two encryption methods. Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) that incorporates Message Integrity Code (MIC) to provide protection against hackers, and Advanced Encryption System (AES) that utilizes a symmetric 128-Blt block data encryption. 

Enabling MAC address filtering 

Linksys routers give you the ability to enable MAC (Media Access Control) address filtering. The MAC address is a unique series of numbers and letters assigned to every networking device. With MAC address filtering enabled, wireless access is provided solely for wireless devices with specific MAC addresses. For examples you can specify only the computers in your house or organization to access your wireless network. It would be very difficult for a hacker to access your network using a random MAC address. After identifying the MAC address you can now begin setting-up wireless MAC filter on the Linksys router. 

Enable the Wi-Fi Router firewall

You should always enable your router’s inbuilt Firewall. Firewall don’t allow the unauthorized access or hackers. most likely SPI Firewall, which compares parts of all incoming network data against a database and only allows it in if it passes the test.

Keep your Wi-Fi Router’s Firmware Updated

You should always keep your router software up to date. Because Router manufacturers always release the latest firmware features with new features.  Every few months, you should check your router manufacturer’s website for firmware updates to your model.

Also Read:

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