Secure Your Wireless Signal

It was common when early wireless routers came out for home users to set them up by simply plugging them in and then connecting to them from their laptop using a wireless card. As time has passed, home users have come to understand that securing your wireless signal is important. However, there is still a large number of users who leave their wireless signal open for anyone to piggyback on.

Wireless routers, by default, do not send out a secured wireless signal. This means that anyone who is in range of your signal will be able to use and “listen to” your internet connection. This is often a result of router manufacturers wanting to make it easy for users to set up. Unsecured wireless signals are a sure sign that other things on the router, namely the administrative interface, is probably not secure as well.

The good news is securing your router isn’t as difficult as it seems. The first thing to do is consult the user guide that came with your router. It will often give great directions on how to configure your specific make and model. The instructions below are generic and your setup may differ slightly.

1. Access your admin interface. To gain access to your administrative interface on your router you will need to plug into the router via an Ethernet cable. Make sure you plug into the Local Area Network (LAN) side of the router. Next, you will need to configure your network connection to use a static IP that is in the same network range as the router. Be sure to consult your user guide to know what that range should be. Next, open up a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. Type in the default address of your router in the address bar. Typically this is http://192.168.1.1 or something very similar.
2. Update your administrative password. As soon as you open the admin interface of the router you will be prompted for a user name and password. You will want to consult your user guide for the default username and password. Typically, the username is “admin” and the password is either left blank or “password”. Once you are in the admin interface you will want to look for a place to reset the password. Be sure to reset the password to something strong. It is a good idea to use numbers and symbols to make it more difficult to guess.
3. Update the network name. This is also known as the SSID. This is the name that is broadcast out to wireless receiving cards. Most routers default the SSID to the brand of the router, such as “linksys”. This is often the first tip-off to would-be signal thieves that you haven’t secured your wireless signal. You can use anything you like here but do make it somewhat cryptic so as not to tie it to your building or name. Be sure to keep it under 32 characters as well.
4. Turn of SSID broadcasting. Broadcasting is often on by default with most routers. You can turn this off. Then the router won’t report its signal to receivers in the area. The receiver would have to know the SSID and intentionally ask for it in order to connect. While there are other ways of seeking out SSIDs that are not broadcasting, those techniques aren’t common.
5. Enable encryption on your router. This is the most important part of securing your signal. This is switched off by default. You will need to turn it on by selecting your encryption type. There are choices of WEP, WPA and WPA2 for most router models. The strongest of these is WPA2, so you will want to use this method. Be sure when you are setting up your PCs that you choose the same type of encryption for the receiver.
6. Restrict devices by MAC address. This step is not necessary, but adds an extra layer of security for peace of mind. Every piece of hardware has a unique number associated with it called a MAC address. You can set up a list of MAC addresses that have access to the wireless signal. Only devices on that list will be able to get a signal and use it.

By following these simple steps you can have piece of mind that no one is stealing your internet signal. It is a good idea to write down these settings and store them somewhere safe, so if you ever have to reset your router you can do it quickly. Some routers even have the ability to back up their settings to a file so they can be restored quickly.

One final note, router manufacturers often come out with updates for their products. You will want to keep yours up-to-date with the router’s built-in firmware update function. Be sure to consult your router’s manual for help on this.