First was the internet connection in homes. Then came broadband, ADSL, and fiber optics. And in an indeterminate moment among all the previous ones, the WiFi came to our houses. And with it, hand in hand came the possibility that any stranger could, knowing the key, connect to our network and peek into its guts without a physical connection.
The main barrier that exists between the intruder and our network is the password of the WiFi network. Without it, you could not even access the router and, in fact, the first step when we want to connect from a new device is to enter that key. But is it the only barrier that exists? Join us and learn to change the password, and to avoid intruders on your network.
Understanding our network
To be clear about how our WiFi network works, we first have to know its scheme. The most common is to have a router, provided by our internet company, and that router is the to distribute the signal, both by cable and wirelessly, to the rest of the devices.
However there will be cases where, between the router and our devices (mobile phones, tablets, computers, etc ...) let's have other devices acting as a bridge, either to amplify the signal of our network or to avoid losing speed in it. We recently told you precisely how to amplify the signal of your WiFi network and extend its range through a series of devices, such as repeaters, which we will also have to take into account.
First thing: access the router
The first step to improve the security of our network and change the password to prevent them from accessing our information is to access the router. But no, that doesn't mean taking out the screwdriver and opening it to get inside. It is much simpler than this.
Like any device connected to a network, be it a computer, a tablet, a mobile or any gadget, the router also has its own address within it. Well, we must find out that address to access it. As a general rule, the router is the first element in a network, that is, the element from which the rest of the devices that connect to the network hang, be it a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer, etc. It is because of that the router address will be, in 99% of cases, 192.168.1.1.
We will have to enter this address in the browser that we prefer, be it Chrome, Opera, Safari, Firefox, etc., and press the enter key, as if we were accessing any website. Once the page has loaded, we will find that It asks us for a username and password to access the configuration thereof. These access data can be found at the bottom of it, along with the default password for the WiFi network itself.
Once we have accessed the router's configuration menu, we can vary a large number of parameters at will thereof. Depending on the make and model, we will have more or less freedom when making changes, although from Blusens we recommend touching the minimum possible parameters and stick to those that we know are safe, as we could misconfigure the router or even the internet connection itself, and require a visit from our company's technical service to restore it.
As you can see in the image above, in my case, with a Movistar ADSL router, we have at a glance the field with the current WiFi access password. This is the one that we must change, although be careful, we have to bear in mind that, after changing it, All our devices connected by WiFi will be disconnected automatically, and we will have to enter the password again to enjoy the connection again.
We can also, at this time, change the name of our WiFi network, which will be the one that will be shown to all the devices that want to connect to it to access the internet. We just have to modify the fields and click OK.
But let's go one step further. Do you remember that there is a password to access the configuration? Well if we want improve security of our network even more, It does not hurt to also change that password to access the configuration. Remember that all the barriers are few to prevent us from stealing the connection or even the data stored on our computers or devices.
In the same configuration screen, in our case, we have the option of Change Password. By clicking on the button that we can see in the image above, a drop-down will open in which we will have to specify the old password, as well as repeat the new password twice that we want to establish for access to the router.
Remember that, depending on the router model, the steps may varyWell, perhaps there is an option that we should search more among the menus and we do not have the buttons so close at hand to make these changes. We just have to navigate between the different menus, and look for one that refers to the security of the WiFi network for changing the name and password, or to the access data to change the password.
What if it doesn't work with 192.168.1.1?
It is possible that, in cases of more complicated installations, with more elements involved, or that the router we are wanting to access is not the company's own, the router's IP address is not the default. In this case, we will have to find out. Don't worry, because it is a really simple procedure, and only some number will vary, because will always keep the schema "192.168.xx".
If our operating system is Windows, we will have to access command prompt, that is, press start and type DCM. The typical black windows command window will open, and typing ipconfig and pressing enter, will show us all the details of our connection.
Once we have all the details of it, we have to look at the Default Gateway. The address that marks us on the right is the one we have to use to access the router. If you use Mac, this step is much easier. We just have to hold down the button or on our keyboard, at the same time we click on the WiFi connection menu, on the top bar.
The value that we have to take into account is the framing, that is, the router address. This in each case will be different, although always follows the pattern "192.168.xx". Once we know what address our router has, it is time to access it. For this we must enter the web browser, and write that address in it, pressing enter to access. The rest of the steps from here on will be exactly the same as you have seen previously.
With these simple steps, you will get considerably improve the security of your WiFi network, and above all keep the data safe. But although you will reduce the chances of intruders accessing itRemember that if you still have suspicions, you can follow this little guide and make sure by checking if someone is actually stealing your WiFi.