With so many of us working from home, keeping our home networks secure has never been more important. With this in mind, I have put together a quick checklist of things to do to keep your home network safe with a minimum of fuss.
Most of these activities will require you be able to access the administration panel of your home router. Likely you received instruction on how to do this when you got the router, but in general you can open up a browser on your computer, and type in one of the following IPs:
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.2.1
- 192.168.100
If none of these take you to a login screen, then look into your computer networking setup. Under the IP Address tab (or properties, depending on your operating system), there will be a field labelled:Gateway, with an address similar to the ones above. This may very well be the address you need to use.
Your router will usually have the admin credentials on the bottom of it.
Change your admin credentials.
This is the first, easiest, and most important thing to do. Once you have found the “Administration Panel” on your router, there will likely be a panel labelled “Advanced Setup” or “Security. Within that section, there will be a link “Administrator Password” that allows you to change the password to access this screen.
Change your network name
Many wireless networks come preconfigured with information bearing names that have the make and model of the router. This makes it easier for bad actors to know what exploits to which your router may fall prey. So change the network name to something simple. I recommend “FBI Surveillance Van #24”
Create Multiple Networks
Modern routers all have the capabilities to support several “sub” networks on the same hardware. Usually there is a dropdown where you can rename an SSID (the network name) to something else, and assign it a new password. It is a good practice to separate your work network, your gaming/home/streaming network and a guest network.
Use STRONG Passwords
When creating a password for a network, make it long, with multiple numbers and special characters. But also make it something you can remember. Or save it in a password manager such as last pass.
Use STRONG Encryption
When setting up your router credentials, you can determine what level of security your router uses for authentication. WPA2 PSK is the recommended setting, though WPA2-Personal is also acceptable. WPA is not a good setting.
Turn off Remote Management
Some modern routers come with the option to manage the system remotely. This means that anyone NOT connected directly to your network can try and access it, login, and if successful, make changes. This setting should be disabled.
Turn On the Firewall
Some modern routers come equipped with a firewall. This is one of the most useful tools for keeping your network safe. A firewall acts to prevent unexpected accesses of your network by blocking traffic that doesn’t meet certain criteria. In general the Medium setting is a good starting point to enable for your firewall within the router. The firewall settings are usually found under “Utilities” or “Advanced Setup”.
Following these steps is a good start to securing your home network, and keeping you and your families internet activities safer.