I really don’t like anyone using my WiFi! What should I do to secure my router’s WiFi from anonymous people? I want to keep my WiFi secure from potential threats! If such questions are bothering you, then the good news is that keeping your WiFi secure from intruders is now easy. Here’s our tutorial on how to secure your WiFi from potential threats in minutes. Let’s take the plunge!
How to Secure Your WiFi in 5 Easy Steps
Step 1: Change the Router’s Username and Password
A default username and password (network key or passphrase) is given to users for helping them out to configure their router without any hassle. But, 90 percent of the router users ignore changing it. In this way, they are putting their WiFi on high risk. Thus, to keep intruders at bay, it is suggested to change the default username and password by navigating to the login page of your router using http://192.168.1.1 IP.
Keep in mind to give your router a unique, strong, and hard-to-crack password. Use special characters in the password. A set of digit, alphabets, upper case, and lower case characters.
Step 2: Keep the Firmware of Your Router Up-to-date
Another troubleshooting tactic that you can apply to secure your WiFi is to update the firmware of your router to the latest version. A few models of routers can get firmware updates automatically but you need to manually update the firmware on many. To manually update the firmware of your router, follow the tips highlighted below:
- First things first, connect your modem to the router using an Ethernet cable.
- Make sure to plug your router and modem into a working wall outlet. Keep in mind to provide your devices a steady power supply.
- Turn on your computer or laptop.
- Connect the device to the router’s WiFi.
- Access the router login page using 192.168.1.1 IP.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Step 3: Create a Guest Network
At times, relatives or friends visiting you can for your WiFi password. You can deny sharing your WiFi password with them. Well, this can also be one of the biggest security concerns. Need not to worry! You can easily create a separate WiFi network for your guests. Thus, in this way, you can avoid sharing your WiFi details with everyone.
Note: Before applying this tip, make sure that your router has the guest access network feature.
Step 4: Hide Your Router’s SSID
This is one of the most effective tip to secure your WiFi fro, potential threats. Every router has its own SSID. For security reasons, you have to hide it. If you don’t want to hide your router’s SSID, then make sure that it is set to unique. And, if you hide the SSID of your router, then no one will be able to see it, including you. Thus, risk of WiFi leeching would be low.
Once you’re done with this process, try to connect to your router’s WiFi and Ping 192.168.1.1. See, if you can still see your router’s SSID on the list of available and active networks.
Step 5: Disable Remote Access
In the event that you are not in the mood of accessing your WiFi outside your home, then you are advised to disable the remote access feature of your device by navigating to its settings page using 10.0.0.1 IP.
Bonus Tip: If your router supports the WPS feature, then it is suggested to deactivate it as well. This will reduce the risk of hacking.
To Conclude
That’s all folks! These were the 5 simple tips that you can use to protect your WiFi from potential threats. Just in case, you need any assistance, please drop all your queries into the comments section.