Are You Using the Best Router or Are You Risking Your Privacy?

Before modern routers came around, most of the users had to rely on their software firewall to provide the security against hacking attempts, or – worse yet – didn’t use a firewall at all. The best routers usually have a built-in firewall, however, that doesn’t mean you can just set it up and forget about it; regular updating and a basic knowledge of Cyber Security principles are necessary.

Today, we’re going to show you how you can make the most out of your router and how to follow the most important Cyber Security Essentials.

The risks of poorly configured routers

If you aren’t encrypting the traffic sent through your router, experienced hackers can use their knowledge to sniff packets out of the air, which means getting their hands on your sensitive personal data in the process. You can fix this by using the WPA2 encryption instead of WEP. The reason why you need to get a new router is that the older models don’t even support this option.

Setting up a good password

No password is completely bullet-proof, but generally speaking, the longer it is, the harder it’s going to be for someone to crack it. Also, apart from the normal letters, it should also include numbers, capital letters, and special symbols for good measure. You can also generate it with the help of a tool (however, you’re probably going to need to write it down somewhere safe, since these types of passwords are virtually impossible to remember).

Disable WPA2-PSK

The term may look scary, but basically, PSK stands for pre-shared key. This technology can easily be bypassed with some simple tools without even needing any kind of hacking knowledge.

The benefits of a built-in router firewall

The built-in firewall in your router makes it harder for hackers to exploit a security weakness in your network. However, they are next to useless if they aren’t configured correctly. It’s best to fire up a search engine of your choice and check how to do this step properly for your particular model.

Consumer routers are full of vulnerabilities

Searching the market for a new router is no easy task, at least not if you are serious about protecting your digital privacy. The researchers discovered that many consumer grade routers have numerous Cyber Security vulnerabilities, making them unsuitable for protecting your sensitive data. If you’re looking for the best router 2017, do not even consider buying anything without it being flawless in the security department.

Just buy a good router and update it often

In case you can’t be bothered with updating your router manually, you’ll be glad to know that certain modern routers take care of this tedious task on their own through automatic updates. However, this feature shouldn’t be taken for granted, and you need to make sure that the router you’ve set your eyes on actually has it before committing to the purchase (or simply get used to doing it manually).

Conclusion

While router security is a broad topic, we’ve sufficiently covered its most basic elements. As long as you keep these things in mind and keep expanding your digital security horizons, you will be reasonably safe from most Cyber Security threats.