Most of us have long used a Wi-Fi router for wireless Internet access. But such a connection must be protected, otherwise they will be able to use by outsiders, which will lead to a deterioration of the signal, and in the worst case - to its loss.
There are enough protection options to maintain a good signal and speed of your network.
Practically all of us know that it is necessary to set a password on Wi-Fi, but there are still several ways to secure your network. We will consider how to install a good key to protect the network and use in the complex all the available security measures for the router.
Protection of the settings menu of the router
Since most routers have a standard IP address, any outsider can enter it in their device and access the settings. Therefore, before changing them, you need to close the entrance to the parameters of the router by changing the login and password.
Often in all models, regardless of the manufacturer, the word Admin is used to fill in both of these lines. We should establish a new name and key so that other people cannot change the hardware configuration.
To do this, do the following:
- Go to the System Tools section.
- Select the Password tab, enter the standard and new data to enter the settings - create original username and password that will be impossible to guess for strangers, but it is easy for you to remember.
Setting a password for Wi-Fi
A password is a basic means of protecting a wireless network. To protect it with a good and complex combination as a key, you need to go to the settings of the router. We will consider how this happens on TP-Link models. So, enter your IP-address in the browser, select the section Wireless. Here we select the Wireless Settings item where the password menu will appear.
Enter the old code, the new login information and repeat it in the bottom line. Remember to save your changes!
How to create a good key?
- Use numbers and letters, combine upper and lower case characters.
- Make the code long — between eight and twelve characters.
- The most reliable type of encryption is WPA-PSK.
Changing the name of the router
The SSID identifies the name of a Wi-Fi point, it knocks us out on the list of enabled networks. Thanks to the name, we know which access point we connect to, choosing it from the list among the rest of the equipment.
But the connection name is available not only to us, but to everyone who is in the coverage area of the router. Therefore, besides creating a good key, you should hide the SSID so that it is invisible in the list of connections when searching for a network via Wi-Fi.
To hide the name of the router, do the following:
- Go to its settings through the browser address bar.
- Go to the Wireless section and uncheck the box next to Enable SSID Broadcast.
One question remains: how to connect to the network if it is not displayed in the list? To do this, select the item to create a new connection below in the search list of available networks, manually enter the login and password. If all data is entered correctly, you will connect to the Internet.
MAC address filtering
A Wi-Fi point can be made visible for a specific row of devices, if you add them to the list in the settings of the router. This is done using the MAC address - it is available on every computer or laptop, smartphone.
To find out its coordinates on a PC, go to the Network Control Center via the Control Panel, select your Internet connection and view the properties. After clicking “Details” you will see the Physical Address - this is the MAC ID.
On other technology, you will learn the relevant information in the section "About the device".
To restrict access by MAC address, follow these steps:
- Go to the settings of the router and select the Wireless section, then stop at the Wireless MAC Filtering menu.
- Here select the line for the list to access. After saving the settings, the Wi-Fi point will be open only for those devices that are in the list.
How to add your address to the settings? In the same menu there is the Add new ... key, with its help you enter all the MAC addresses that you allow access to the Internet.
This protection option has only one drawback: if new devices are often connected to Wi-Fi, it will be inconvenient to add them to the list each time. Filtering by MAC-address is not completely reliable, but it should be used in conjunction with other measures to protect your network from someone else's equipment.
Setting individual IP addresses
This method of protection is more perfect than the previous one. You create a separate IP using the MAC ID of each individual user, and everyone else will not be able to use Wi-Fi.
To set the address, first of all, go to the DHCP section in the settings of the router and disable the server of the same name so that the coordinates of the connection are not automatically determined.
Below on the page you will see a list for the introduction of equipment to which you allow the connection. First of all, add your computer to it. To do this, you will need its MAC address, then, at your discretion, invent a separate IP code for it. And so with each next device. Do not forget to change the computer’s IP address to the one you assigned to it in this list.
How to check who uses my Wi-Fi?
From time to time, check who uses your Wi-Fi to be sure of the security mechanisms of the router.
Use the settings, select the Statistics section. Here you will see the MAC addresses of all the technology that uses your Internet connection. Knowing the MAC address of your computer and other devices that you have allowed access to, you can weed them out and see if there are any other addresses in the list.
Using all of the above methods of protection, you can secure the network, protect it from unauthorized access by other users.