So, you just purchased a brand new WiFi router! Congratulations! Perhaps you got it as a gift or you just made up your mind to upgrade to a new router. No matter what the case is, the priority lies is in securing the new router as soon as you can! There are a few things you can do to make it more secure once it is out of the box.
Cheers! This post covers all those things! Yeah, just go through this post once, find the settings you have to change, and ultimately get a more secure router! Read on.
How to Secure New WiFi Router?
A few extra steps during and after the WiFi router setup can make a big difference! Follow the tips mentioned below to secure your WiFi router:
1. Set a Strong Router Admin Password
Once you get started with the router setup process, ensure that you change the admin password and create it a strong one.
Using the default password is not a good idea at all because it can be easily cracked by anyone who knows the manufacturer of your router. You can change the router admin password by accessing the routerlogin-net login web page.
2. Turn on WPA2 Wireless Encryption
As soon as you set up your new wireless router, you are prompted to select the type of wireless encryption. It is recommended you to avoid the outdated WEP encryption and the original WPA.
Choose the WPA2 encryption method. It is the latest encryption standard and helps you safeguard your wireless router from malicious attacks.
3. Enable Your Router's Stealth Mode
Some WiFi routers come with a 'Stealth Mode' that makes your router as well as the devices connected to it, less eye-catching to hijackers on the internet.
Basically, this mode doesn't respond to requests sent by hackers to check the presence of open ports. Thus, it helps you hide the status of open ports of your WiFi router.
4. Set a Strong SSID and Pre-Shared Key
A strong SSID or wireless network name and password is truly important to make your router secure. Wondering what is a strong password? Well, it is just a combination of random numbers, alphabets, and special symbols.
For example, you want to keep 'sweetcat' as the network password. In this case, you can create a strong yet easy-to-remember password like '$weetc@T'. You can change the network SSID and password through the default router IP address.
5. Enable and Configure Your Router's Firewall
Odds are that your new WiFi router features a built-in firewall. You must make the most of this feature and enable and configure it to secure your WiFi network.
Don't forget to test your firewall to make sure that it is working properly once you have set it up.
6. Turn Off Your Router's 'Admin Via Wireless' Feature
In order to prevent others from doing a 'drive-by' WiFi attack, you should turn off the 'Admin via Wireless' feature. Disabling this feature will make your router only accept administration through one of the Ethernet ports.
In simple words, you are unable to gain access to your WiFi router's admin console unless you have a physical connection to the router.
7. Update Your Router's Firmware
When you purchased a new router, possibilities are that it may have been resting on a store shelf for some time. During this time, the manufacturer may have found some vulnerabilities or bugs in the firmware. And to fix them, they have introduced a new firmware version for that particular router.
So, make sure that you are using the latest router firmware update. For this, you are required to check the firmware version on your router to see if it is current or the older one. If your router is running the older firmware version, update that right away and make it secure.
