Securing your home network
Locate your router. Underneath the router there’s usually a sticker with the following information:
Model: (eg. D-Link DIR-853, Asus RT-AC2900, TP-Link Archer AX50)
IP address: (eg. 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1)
Username: (eg. admin)
Password: ********
Default wifi name
Default wifi key
Open up a browser and do an online search for “<Model name> Manual”, eg. “D-Link DIR-853 Manual”. Look for a link to the manufacturer’s website and find your product manual.
Follow the guidelines in your manual to:
- Set a secure Wi-Fi password if you have not already done so previously. A good password should be as long as possible and consist of both letters and numbers.
- Some routers have separate settings for 2.4ghz and 5ghz Wi-Fi. These are two different frequencies for Wi-Fi access. If they are separate, they can be set to have the same name and password. Make sure to set both of them.
- Update your routers firmware to the latest version. If there is a checkbox for automatic updates, check it to make sure your router is always on the latest firmware over time.
- If supported by your router - Set up a guest network. The guest network should have a different password than your main Wi-Fi. Guest network might be found under a menu named “Guest Zone”, “Guest access” or something similar. Sometimes its on the same page as the settings for your main Wi-Fi network. If there is a setting for “Guest Isolation”, make sure to set isolation to true. Isolation is what prevents the guests to communicate with other devices on your local network. Sometimes there is no such setting, which usually means it’s implicitly isolated. This should be stated in the manual.
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