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4 Important Netgear Router Security Settings that You Must Follow
The bad news: Most of the users don't even think about their router after setup. This throws their connected devices in a dangerous landscape. A report by US-CERT, aka, United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, has raised an alert about hackers carrying out cyberattacks against a large number of home WiFi routers.
Important Point: We have applied all the following security settings while performing the 'Netgear N600 setup.' The configuration or security settings can vary as per model or manufacturer.
Some routers are severely impacted and can never fix. To enhance your home router's security, here are the three basic settings to safeguard your home or local network, devices, and data from cybercriminals.
So, let's nailed it!
#1: Apply Parental Controls
You can apply parental controls and time-based internet usage restrictions to shield your kids or other users from visiting malicious or inappropriate sites.
To enable the parental control's filter, visit your home router's admin panel or Nighthawk app, and select the 'Parental Controls' option. Here, you have the freedom what type of sites to disable, set the schedule when the filters are in effect. You can assign specific IP and MAC addresses too.
#2: Check Your Netgear Router's Admin Web Page
Before beginning, ensure you get into your Netgear router's admin panel, the console where you can manage your home router's settings, including Nighthawk router setup key management to firmware updates.
Firstly, ensure your desktop or laptop is connected to your home router. Run any web browser on your computer and type the default router's IP address. The IP address is a string of numbers, and it can vary as per router's manufacturer. The common ones are the following:
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192.168.1.1
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192.168.0.1
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10.0.0.1
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192.168.2.1
Bonus Tip: If you don't know your router's default IP address or login credentials, prefer the router user manual.
#3: Choose the Encryption
Hackers love unsecured WiFi routers. Secure your home network can guard against unwanted connections that may use your WiFi network for malicious or illegal purposes. Therefore it's essential to protect your Netgear router wireless network with secure encryption.
There are different types of WiFi encryption, and it's up to you that which one you can employ. The widely-popular WiFi security protocol right now is WPA2. If you have recently purchased a new WiFi router, you might have the newest security standard called WPA3.
Never go with Open or No security, or if you are using WEP, change it to WPA2 immediately. You can change your router's security passphrase key using the Netgear Nighthawk app (only applicable for Netgear router users).
#4: Set Up An Additional Wireless Network
Set up a 'Guest Network' and put visitor devices on a separate network. By doing so, the visitors' devices won't be able to access your shared files and devices within the local network. Even it shield your router's admin panel from various IoT attacks.
To avoid confusion between primary and guest networks, set up a guest network with a different network SSID name and passphrase key. Keep your guest network security key reliable and secure, so the strangers don't mooch off it for security causes.
by hazelsmith on 2020-08-13 08:25:15
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