5 Router Settings For Better Security and Performance

People once they buy their Wi-Fi Routers, they don't give a second thought to it and leave it there. This can put your data and the data of other members of the family at risk because such unprotected routers are at risk of getting hacked easily. Because there isn't much security on the router, hackers can easily attack and get inside your router and you may be unaware of all.

The main reason why the Wi-Fi routers get hacked is that people don't give much attention to their Wi-Fi Routers. They think that once they set up a passphrase, they are protected from all sorts of attacks. While setting up a passphrase does help in protecting the Wi-Fi router, there are some additional measures that you should apply to keep your router protected. Enlisted below are the 5 Router Settings for Better Security and Performance!

Choosing the best encryption option

The most common reason why the routers get hacked in the first place is that they are not secure. They are not encrypted using a passphrase due to which the hackers can hack your routers without having to do anything. Once you set up your router, you should set a secure passphrase to make your router more secure.

But there are many types of encryption available, which one is the most secure? For most of the modern routers nowadays, the standard is Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3). You can find this encryption on most of the routers and this type of router encryption is currently the most secure one.

However, if you have an older router then you should select either WPA2 or a hybrid option such WPA2-PSK AES because they are much more secure. If your router has WEP encryption set, then you should change it immediately because this type of encryption is hacked easily. The standard default gateway to access your router admin usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 where you can change the factory settings.

If there is only WEP or WPA available then you should update the firmware of your router and if there is no update available then consider upgrading your router.

Setting up a guest network

If you have guests or visitors frequently coming then it is better that you set up a separate guest network for them. Guest networks are meant for visitors who need to access the internet, but by creating a separate network you allow them access to the internet and at the same time prevent them from gaining access to the shared files on the network.

You should set the guest network with a different name (SSID) and also make it secure by setting up a strong and secure passphrase. If you're still worried about your network, then you can disable the broadcasting of your network and your guest network to prevent any roamers from trying to attack your network.

Setting up Parental Controls

Parental Controls are options that protect and shield your children from inappropriate sites. These options are available in most of the routers and it lets you allow or block certain sites. It also has a time-based restriction that lets you block certain websites for a specific time of the day.

You can also set the MAC Address filter by turning on the MAC Filtering feature. This feature is a bit technical, but if you have some knowledge about how things work then you can pull it off. With MAC filtering on, you can specify which MAC addresses will be allowed to connect to your network. You can whitelist or blacklist certain MAC Addresses. All the MAC Addresses in the blacklist will be blocked from joining your network while those in the whitelist will be the only device that will be able to join your network.

Using a VPN

VPN or Virtual Private Network is an excellent way to boost your security and privacy. When you use a VPN then your IP Address remains hidden from the websites that you visit and you are able to surf the web anonymously. All the web traffic is encrypted and no one will be able to know what you are doing on the internet, not even your ISP. It is a good method to protect your online traffic and activity.

VPNs can generally be accessed through software, but some newer routers have the option of VPN pre-built into itself and this will protect all the devices connected to the router instead of separately opening VPN on each device and protecting it.

Turn on the firewall

A feature that can protect your router even if the hackers manage to find most of the information about your router is Firewall. All of the new routers nowadays have a firewall built-in and it protects your routers from harmful incoming data.

A firewall controls the outgoing and incoming data to your network and protects it from harmful data. When setting a firewall, make sure that you don't mess with the settings because if you tweak something wrongly then you can leave your router vulnerable, giving hackers an easy task.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.