WiFi

Make your WiFi your own!

Broadband Routers are delivered pre-configured with various settings. These include the WiFi name & password, an administrative account & password and various networking services and settings. Most users simply plug-in the device and use it with the default settings.

This of course is fine and is common practice. However, consider that the supplying company know these details & that the details are printed on the router; both are a security risk. Also, note that you will have to reconnect all devices, with the new settings, every time you change supplier and get a new router. 

With the initial settings left unchanged you find yourself using some seemingly random WiFi name with an impenetrable password. When trying to add visitors to the WiFi, frustration ensues as the strange name & password are carefully spelled out and typed in; often several times before final success.

It is easy to change your WiFi name & password. This is done by following the instructions supplied with the router. If you have lost the instructions you can look-up the instructions and settings on the Internet. Usually, this will be to browse (using Chrome, Safari or Edge) to 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 or something similar. You will be prompted to login using the admin password. The control panel for the router will then be displayed and you may make changes as necessary.

Once the WiFi settings are changed you will, of course, need to reconnect all devices using the new settings. However, once done and when you get new routers you need only to change the new router to 'your' settings. Your devices, already configured to use 'your' settings will reconnect without you needing to reconfigure each and everyone of them individually. This is a much more satisfactory situation especially as the number of connected devices increases.

You could also consider changing the password for the administrative account. Always a good idea and this would add a little extra security.

Additionally some of the network settings could be adjusted to make the network your own. This is beyond the scope of this piece, however, a little Internet search will help lead the way.