9 Tips to protect your router from cyber attacks (and your neighbor)

The Wi-fi signal from our router has become part of the family, how many do not depend on this small device to keep the family happy? We all want it to keep working perfectly, but surely you have not bothered to protect your router until the neighbor manages to connect to it. How he did it?

Imagine that your router is an open door to your home, think of all the devices that are connected to it, if you do not take the necessary security measures, you will not only be leaving the doors open for your neighbors to use your internet connection without paying it, but also you are responsible for the pages that he / she visits, and therefore, you risk being an easy prey to a cyber attack.

How can we prevent intruders from connecting to our Wi-Fi? Although we do not have the magic formula to achieve total security, at least we can help you improve your daily practices and reduce the risk of an attack by following this tips:

First steps to protect your router: Change everything that is by default

1. The first step is change the user, avoid leaving “admin” and configure something customized.
2. Second and one of the most important, change the password which comes by default by the manufacturer or operator. Use the strongest passwords you can, with combinations of uppercase, lowercase, numbers and special characters.
3. Also, change the IP address of the router: it is usually 192.168.1.1, just by changing the last digit and making it difficult for any intruder to enter.
4. The name of the Wi-Fi: here you can use something simple or easy to remember, but do not put information that refers to you: your name, nickname, physical address or any other unnecessary information.

After making the necessary changes, you can apply other stronger measures to protect your router:

5. Limit the emission power of the antennas: one of the simplest measures, because if you limit its scope, it will be difficult for others to get connected, only to those who are inside the house. Most routers allow managing the antennas power to limit the radius coverage of the network.
6. Configure your network with WPA encryption: It is recommended to enable the most current WPA3 WPA configuration with a 192 bits encryption and the ability to individually protect each device that connects to the network. However, most modern versions of WPA like WPA2-PSK can also secure your network, since it offers a high level of protection. Is not recommended to use WEP encryption, since it is not secure enough, modern routers it does not have this option configured, nevertheless, it is worth reviewing it.
7. Update the firmware: your router has its own operating system like your mobile devices and computers, it should be updated to correct possible bugs and vulnerabilities.
8. Create different networks: Some new routers can create different networks, this will allow you to have networks for different purposes.
9. Filter the MAC addresses: the MAC addresses identify every devices, there are not two computers with this identification number. Register the MAC addresses you want on your router, and only they will have access to your home’s internet.

If you want to be aware of other cybersecurity tips, we invite you to visit our Syneidis blog.