Your Home Router
When it comes to home security, much of this stems from your Wireless Router. Many users commonly just plug it in and use it and do not change many of the settings. However we will look in depth at a few important items.
Important Basic Items
- Router Admin Password
- Change this password! Never rely on the default router password on a router as this can easily be found out and someone can then make changes to include being able to remotely make changes from outside of the home.
- Rename the SSID
- The SSID is the name of the Wireless Network that you search for on your devices. Personalize this so it is easier for you to identify especially if you live close to other others with their own routers from the same Internet service provider.
- Change the Wireless Password
- Always change the password to access your wireless router as someone who you may not want on your network can access it just by finding your wireless access point. We will discuss which encryption to use later.
Important Advanced Optional Items
- Hide the SSID
- Most routers give you the option to hide the router. When you do this you can not simply search for your network but will be required to manually add it. It can still be found if someone is scanning in the area but this minimizes the chances.
- MAC Address Whitelisting
- If you want strong control of what devices on your network, whitelisting the MAC address of your devices can be done. A whitelist is a list of authorized devices that the router will ONLY talk to. The MAC Address is a 12 digit alphaneumeric number that is like a Social Security Number. No two devices are alike.
- Guest Networks
- Newer routers give you the option to allow guest networks within your home. The router will broadcast a seperate network that users can join in the home. Guest networks are suggested if you want to allow visitors to access the internet from your home without the worry about them being able to access other computers within the home.
Wireless Encryption & Why it is Important
Wireless encryption may not seem much or even be a hassle but it is nessessary to minimize the changes of others listening in on your home network. It is vital to understand some of the key differences with wireless encryption protocols.
The following is a table that is copied from https://community.fs.com/blog/wep-vs-wpa-vs-wpa2-vs-wpa3.html. The purpose of this table is to explain the differences of the different encryption methodology utilized for wireless network connections.
|
WEP |
WPA |
WPA2 |
WPA3 |
| Release Year |
1999 |
2003 |
2004 |
2018 |
| Encryption Method |
RC4 |
TKIP |
AES |
AES |
| Session Key Size |
40-Bit |
128-bit |
128-bit |
128/192-bit |
| Cipher Type |
Stream |
Stream |
Block |
Block |
| Data Integrity |
CRC-32 |
Message Integrity Code |
CBC-MAC |
Secure Hash |
| Key Management |
None |
4-way Handshake |
4-way Handshake |
SAE |
| Authentication |
WPE-Open WPE-Shared |
Pre-Shared Key |
Pre-Shared Key |
SAE |
What does this mean in English‽
Technology and encryption has changed over the years and with this previous methods to encrypt information proved broken (useless) or not strong enough as faster computers can now break the encrption and figure out the passwords. NEVER use WEP or WPA as these are essentially useless to protect your information. WPA2 is the current standard but WPA3 is out and slowly being implemented worldwide. (Switch over to WPA3 when all of the devices within your home are compatible with this.
OOPS! I made a mistake!
So... you made a mistake and now the router doesn't work? No need to worry. All routers have a little reset button to reset the router to factory defaults. Just find a pen or pencil and push in the button for 5-10 seconds and let go. Router should reset and reboot automatically.