In the next two posts, we’ll show you how to lock down your new router and your WiFi connection, keeping them safe from intruders and freeloaders. You have to do this in two separate steps. There is no sense locking down your wireless connection until you secure your router. Unless you have set a password for your router, anyone with an Internet connection can discover the default password, login and change your WiFi settings.

Here’s a link that will give you all of the default settings for your router: List of Default Router Passwords and Default Router IP Addresses.  Find your router’s make and model number, look it up and jot down the default information. Your owner’s manual and/or the CD that came with the router will also have the same information.

TIP: We’re only talking about a new router in these posts. Your ISP has already setup your current router for you and should have given you the password and username for it with the documentation that you received at the time. Adding a new router with N WiFi is cheap and easy. We suggest that you do this instead of changing any settings on your current router. Just check that the router is locked down, specially if you live in an apartment. It’s very popular to freeload on unsecured WiFi connections.

1. Connect your new router to your computer with a short Ethernet cable. Almost all routers come with one. Ethernet cables have a plastic plug on each end. One end goes to the router’s Internet port, clearly marked on the back, while the other end goes into a plug on your computer. A laptop is much easier for this.

2. Open a new tab then type your router’s IP address into your browser’s url space. It should be something like 192.168.0.1 so make sure you get the numbers AND the periods in the right place.

3. Hit Enter and a small window should open up, something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Once you’re in, look for the word Administration somewhere in the maze of links on your screen. Here’s a shot of our Cisco/Linksys router menu with Administration highlighted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Once you click on the word Administration, this menu, or something like it, should be the first thing you see:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. You’ve all seen these boxes before so don’t panic. Type in a new password and confirm your entry. Make sure you write this down and keep it in a safe place. None of this is life and death since you can reset the router with the push of a button but it’s a pain to get everything set but end up forgetting your password. Right?

7. Make sure you save your settings, that’s down at the bottom, and then you can close the browser window.

Just by doing this simple, precautionary setup, your modem is relatively save from intruders. Think about it. The only way someone could access that router is by a direct connection with an Ethernet cable or through your WiFi signal. In our next post we’ll show you how to lock down your WiFi using a passcode or passphrase. We’ll also show you a cool way to really lockdown your WiFi that is much more foolproof than a simple set of numbers and letters.

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