You get a new wifi router, open up your internet service provider account, and you are excited to have access to your network. Setting up your wifi network for the first time can be both an exciting and complex experience. Access to a reliable internet service is a game changer, as you are putting yourself in the driver's seat to acquire more opportunities with it. Whether technically savvy or need step-by-step instructions; to set up your network, identify your SSID, and set up the password, I want to assist you with how to better protect and gatekeep your access to your wireless network.
From a security standpoint, you protect that which you value. While wireless connectivity isn't a "tangible" asset, access to it is. As stated before, having reliable access to it opens up a world of opportunities for you and everyone else who get's a hold of it. Securing your SSID, along with other aspects of your home wireless network, is not only necessary but essential to get the most out of your internet service. Below are the steps you need to take and why they're necessary.
Stop Broadcasting your network SSID- This means the name of your wireless network, upon set-up, needs to not broadcast and be visible to anyone looking to connect to any available wireless network in a radius of them. In short, they can't hack something that they can't see. The easiest way to do this is to log into your router by navigating to the admin portal IP Address (while connected to your home network) and signing into it with the credentials.
Change the default admin password- On your router to something more familiar to you. While you're at it, change the name of the SSID too for your network. You want to make it very hard for anyone who is looking for a wireless network to hack to be able to access yours/ Changing the SSID from the default routers name to something more familiar to you stops anyone who is familiar with your router from being able to google and guess the default admin and password to log into that router.
Set up a guest network- On your router, so when people come over, they have their own network to connect to. It's a win-win as if you're unsure how secure their devices are; they can still have a connection, and you can keep your own network safe. As with your original SSID, don't broadcast it, either.
Set up your own Vlan- This is a more advanced step as it requires a little more configuration, but this is another layer of security with its added benefits. If you'd like to create your own ad hoc home network with your wireless connection, doing so will increase your ability to secure access to your home network. You can do this by logging into the router and go the advanced tab, click the security tab and then go to the mac filtering section and manually add each devices' mac address. This will keep unauthorized devices out of your network.
Set up your own VPN- A VPN is a virtual private network that encrypts your connection from a remote location back to your home network. This is important when you are accessing documents and files located on your home network. This is integral in hardening your network against outside attacks from hackers. Before doing so make sure you update your firmware and generate the certificate needed to set it up.
You can get to the VPN settings by clicking the advanced settings, scrolling down to the VPN tab and selecting which VPN option you want to setup.
Make sure you upgrade the firmware: You can do so by clicking the advanced tab, then system tools and then firmware option. In the resulting box, click the option to upgrade the firmware.
To be the most secure, I advise doing all the above to ensure the best chances of securing your network and all its access points. For more in-depth information on the philosophy behind hardening your network and testing to see if your home network can be hacked, refer to the video here.
Post a Comment