5 Router Security Settings that you Need to Implement Right Now!
Today security is paramount. We ensure our doors are locked, we got security cams literally all over the place and more. But what about the Wi- Fi router, while everything in the house is under lock and key, your Wi- Fi router may provide an open doorway of sorts to anyone wanting to enter. This article shows you 5 Router security settings that you need to implement to close that open door right now.
Getting The Encryption right as a First Step to Changing Settings:
Most of us have a password protected Wi- Fi which is good and an essential first step to good router security settings. But have you stopped to ask yourself whether it is of the effective kind?
Most of us seem to use WPA2 or the decade old Wi- Fi Protected Access 2 which again is something that is susceptible to attacks.
To set up a Wi- Fi password all you have to do is go on to the Wi- Fi or router security settings page under the tab “Wireless” or “Security”. From there you’d have to choose an encryption protocol which should be something starting with WPA2… or better still choose WPA3. But it may not be something that is an option on all router security settings, in that case your best available option is WPA2- PSK AEs or maybe even the option WPA2- PSK AES + WPA- PSK TKIP.
Oh! point to remember, never select something that will enable open network or WEP, those are like giving an entry ticket to outsiders to get on your Wi- Fi network.
If you still don’t get the required options then check for a router update and even after updating if you still don’t get the right options, then chuck that thing out and bring a new one.
Set up a Guest Network in your Router security Settings:
Setup a guest network on your Wi- Fi security settings with a whole different network name or SSID and password this will help keep your home devices protected and safe.
Have Kids- Use parental Control on your settings:
Use your router security settings page and set parental controls on websites or apps you don’t want your little ones using. You can even set timings for when you want the kids to use internet on a particular device. But you may require a little skill to pull this off. There’s always YouTube to help you with that.
Use a VPN in Security settings:
A VPN protects your online browsing activity form your data provider and also hides your devices IP address from others like the websites or apps you visit. Most newer routers will have VPN on the router security settings but if not you will have to purchase additional software for this.
Under the router security settings, you will get an option as DD-WRT which you can configure to use VPN.
Protect yourself from hackers:
Almost all routers security settings have a built in firewall. With this type of setting you can specify incoming and outgoing data ports and protect yourself from any unwanted intrusions.
