How to protect your Wi-Fi-network and router
Tips Technologies / / December 19, 2019
I'll tell you a story that is still going on at one ISP in my town. One day, going to the other, I asked him for access to Wi-Fi. Save this network on your smartphone. While in another part of town, I suddenly found that reconnect to Wi-Fi other. How is this possible? It turns out, the Internet provider is the same network name and password for all routers that were issued to subscribers when connecting. I passed more than a year, but I still free Wi-Fi in almost every yard. Username and password to access the routers, incidentally, is also the same. :)
Naturally, I told a friend about a funny opening and reconfigure his router. Are you sure you do not are in a similar situation?
How dangerous is unauthorized access to your Wi-Fi router and
Imagine that the attacker connect to your Wi-Fi, downloaded a few gigabytes of child pornography and placed a few hundred extremists and other "razzhigatelnyh" messages. Contract for the provision of Internet services designed for you, and ask for the violation of the law, respectively, will also be with you.
Even if you are connected will not commit illegal acts, he can swing round the clock and to distribute large files (Including illegal content from torrent trackers) that will affect the speed and stability of your Internet connection. The network is full of stories with Freestuff neighbor's Wi-Fi. Perhaps you, too, are the good neighbor?
A situation where a stranger know the login and password to the router itself, includes all of the above risks, and also adds a few new ones.
For example, a practical joker simply changes the password for Wi-Fi and you lose access to the Internet. He can change the password to the router, and you'll have to reset to factory settings and re-everything adjust (or cause the expert, if there is no appropriate skills) to take back control of their equipment. Also reset can execute himself joker.
No absolute protection, but you do not need
There are many ways of hacking networks. The probability of breaking is directly proportional zamotivirovannosti and professionalism uncrackable. If you have not made enemies and do not have any information overvalued, it is unlikely that you will be focused and hard to crack.
Not to provoke passers-by and neighbors eager for freebies, just close elementary security holes. Encountering the slightest resistance on the way to your router or Wi-Fi, a man abandon the planned or choose the less secure prey.
We offer you the minimum sufficient set of actions with a Wi-Fi-router, which allows you to not be subject to dirty tricks or someone khalyavnykh access point.
1. You get access to your Wi-Fi router
The first thing you need to take control of your own router. You must know:
- IP-address of the router,
- login and password to access the router settings.
To find out the IP-address of the router, turn the device and look at the sticker below. There, among other information, will be defined IP. Usually it is either 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1 either.
The address of the router is indicated in the manual. If the box with an instruction from the router is not available, then a user guide to help Google electronically.
You are free to find out the address of the router from your computer.
- In Windows, press Windows + R.
- In the window that appears, type cmd and press Enter.
- In the resulting window, type ipconfig and press Enter.
- Find the line "Default Gateway." This is the address of your router.
Enter the resulting IP-address of the router in the browser. You will see the login page of the router settings.
Here you must enter the login and password that you need to know. In most cases, the default username is admin word, and password - or an empty field or the same admin (login and password by default are also listed at the bottom of the router). If the router has got from your ISP, then call him and find out.
Without the ability to change the settings, you actually lose control over their own equipment. Even if you have to reset the router settings and re-configure everything, it's worth it. To avoid problems with access to the router in the future, make a note of your login and password and keep them in a safe place with no access to outsiders.
2. Come up with a secure password to access the router
With access to the router, the first thing you need to change your password. router interfaces vary depending on the manufacturer, specific model and firmware version. In this case, as well as when performing the following actions to improve the protection will help the user manual for your router.
3. Come up with a unique name (SSID) for the Wi-Fi-network
If your neighbors do not understand anything at all in technology, the network name like fsbwifi or virus.exe can scare them. In fact, a unique name will help you to better navigate among other hotspots and identify its network uniquely.
4. Come up with a secure password for the Wi-Fi-network
Creating a point of access without a password, you actually make it publicly available. Secure password does not allow you to connect to your wireless network to other people.
5. Make your Wi-Fi-network invisible
You reduce the likelihood of an attack on your network, if it can not be detected without special software. Hiding the name of the access point increases safety.
6. Turn on encryption
Modern routers support a variety of encryption methods, transmitted over a wireless network, including WEP, WPA and WPA2. WEP gives way in terms of reliability, but is supported by older hardware. WPA2 is the best in terms of reliability.
7. Disconnect the WPS
WPS was created as a simplified way to create a wireless network, but in fact turned out to be extremely unstable to cracking. Unplug the router settings in WPS.
8. Including filtering MAC-address
router settings allow you to filter access to the network by a unique identifier called a MAC-addresses. Every device has a network card or network interface has its own MAC-address.
You can create a list of MAC-addresses of trusted devices, or disable connection devices with specific MAC-addresses.
If desired, the attacker can forge a MAC-address of a device with which it tries to connect to your network, but for the ordinary consumer wireless access point, this scenario is highly unlikely.
9. Reduce the radius signal Wi-Fi
Routers allow to change the signal power by increasing and thus reducing the range of the wireless network. Obviously, you use only inside a home or office Wi-Fi. Lowering the transmission power to a value when the network signal is received with confidence only within the premises, you are the one side, make its network less noticeable to others, while on the other hand, reduce the amount of interference to neighbor Wi-Fi.
10. Update the firmware of the router
There is no perfect technology. Yourselfers find new vulnerabilities, their manufacturers close and release "patches" for existing devices. Periodically updating the firmware of your router, you lower the probability that the attacker take advantage of flaws older versions of software to bypass security and access to your router and network.
11. Block remote access to the router
Even if you can help protect your wireless network, and the entrance to the router settings passwords, hackers can still access the router through the Internet. To protect the device from such outside interference, find the settings of the remote access feature and disable it.
12. firewall
Some routers have a built-in firewall - a means of protection against various network attacks. Look in the settings of the router security functions with names like Firewall, "Firewall" or "Firewall" and turn it on, if it is present. If you see additional parameters firewall, read the official instructions on how to configure them.
13. VPN
VPN-services creating a sort of encrypted tunnel for secure data transmission between the device and the server. This technology reduces the likelihood of identity theft, and complicates efforts to find a user's location.
To use a VPN, you need to install the gadget on a special client software. Such software exists for mobile devices and computers. However, some routers can also be connected to the VPN-services. This feature allows you to protect gadgets all at once in a local Wi-Fi-network, even if they do not have special programs.
Does your VPN router, you can find in the manual or on the manufacturer's website. The same applies to the necessary adjustments.