With the increase in mobile device usage over the past 5 – 10 years, the number of wireless networks in homes has also increased. The days of only connecting to the Internet through a network cable are gone, and you are now free to go online from anywhere around your home. You can even connect to the Internet from your backyard.

Of course, with the mobility freedom comes a new worry to contend with: security. Unlike wired networks, where someone would need to physically connect a cable to their computer to connect to the network, someone can connect to a wireless network simply by being within range of the wireless router.

This means that an unauthorized user can connect to your wireless network and perform some malicious activity on the Internet, and the IP address they use will be traced back to you. Not a good situation to be in, for sure. The best way to avoid such a situation is to properly secure your wireless network.

Once you have unpacked your wireless router, and have powered it on and connected to it, the first thing you should do is change the administrative user ID and password. These credentials are used to connect to the dashboard where the router and network settings are modified. Anyone can find the default administrative ID and password for any router online, so it is important that you take the time to change it.

Once the login credentials have been changed, the next step is to change the security mode to WPA/WPA2 and set a strong passphrase. Ensure that the passphrase is at least 10 characters long and contains both upper- and lowercase, numbers, and special characters. This passphrase is used to connect to the wireless network so making it hard for others to guess it important to prevent unauthorized users from connecting.

Some routers may even have a USB port for connecting external devices, such as printers and external hard drives. The Linksys E4200 router is one such router that allows either a printer or external hard drive to connect to its external USB port. By securing your router and restricting access to your wireless network, you are also ensuring that any device that is connected to your router is also safe from unauthorized users – especially if you keep personal data on the hard drive.

While all wireless routers include documentation on how to properly secure your router, if you are still confused there are excellent guides online that may be easier to follow. One such guide shows how to secure the Linksys E4200 router, with step-by-step instructions and the ever-important screenshots.

Once you have purchased, unpacked, and powered on a wireless router, it is important to first properly secure the router. Failure to do so can allow unauthorized users to connect to your wireless network, and then could result in a very bad situation.