Networking 101: Building a Faster, Safer, More Secure Wireless Network
Thinking of replacing your aging home wireless network or building a new one? While this may be a daunting task, creating a safe, secure wireless network is actually quite simple and will quickly pay for itself in speed, security, and convenience. This is especially the case if you are still stuttering along at 54mbps with an old wireless B router or using an older, less secure wireless security protocol such as WEP for your wireless network,
Here are a few tips to get you started:
Buy the Router You Need for Next Year, Not Today
The use and popularity of wireless devices are exploding and with it the need for more and more wireless bandwidth in our homes. Where five years ago most homes may have had a laptop that needed wireless access, today’s families typically have multiple devices that need wireless access: computers, laptops, tablets, cell phones, gaming consoles, security cameras, streaming multimedia systems, and so on. And this will only get worse as more and more devices gain wireless connectivity. That’s why it is important to buy a wireless router with sufficient bandwidth and range to connect every device in your home for not just today but for the foreseeable future. Do your research and take the time to get the right router for your home.
Security Should Come First
The first step in setting up a wireless router is to set up a secure administrator account password on the router. Why is this important? The default administrative password on many routers is as simple as admin, meaning anyone who can access your network can login as the router administrator and network settings on the router at will.
The next step is to set up at a WPA2 security with at a minimum seven character password, preferably one that mixes letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and special characters. This is the password you will use to connect devices to your wireless network and will help you control who connects to your network. The more secure your password is, the less likely your network will have uninvited guests.
Sharing is Good, but Security is Better
You may occasionally have guests in your home who will need wireless internet access whom you do not necessarily want to have full access to your network or to other devices on your network. This is where a secure guest network can save the day.
Most wireless routers offer an option to set up a completely separate guest network, with its own password and security settings. Guest networks can be configured to give your guest access to the internet and nothing else, or you can choose what level of access guest will have to your network.
Control Your Traffic
Most modern routers offer a feature called Quality of Service (QOS), which allows you to shape bandwidth usage based on what type of data is flowing around your network and out to the internet. What this means is that the router can intelligently route data traffic based on which data should have high priority, such as Voice Over IP (VOIP) calls, streaming media or gaming services. This may be off by default but should be turned on if you use any of those services.
Need help? Feel free to contact us for more tips and tricks on setting up and maximizing your wireless network.