How to secure WiFi. Set the WiFi password. Standard WiFi passwords

With the growing popularity of wireless networks, their users began to face a number of work features that no one had ever thought of before. For example, if a classic wired connection was sufficient to install an antivirus on your computer and, if necessary, a solution to delineate access, now it is not enough. The WiFi standard allows you to work with the access point to all relevant devices that are within the coverage area of the transmitter. For example, an accidental person with a smartphone, passing near the house in which WiFi works, can at least gain access to the global network. And in some ways of implementation, even intercept the data streams of other users' computers, having learned passwords and other confidential information. Today we will tell you how to secure WiFi and configure correctly to differentiate access.

Method of work

Any WiFi equipment can work in two modes - the client and the access point. In the first case, the device by means of radio waves is included in a network broadcast by another device, registered there and gets the opportunity to work with Internet resources (the most common option). An access point is a kind of node to which the Internet is connected via a wire or wireless channel. In this case, the internal transmitting unit creates a coverage area in which the client devices can be registered in the network and accessed. It is also possible to combine these two operating modes. Setting the WiFi password allows you to limit the ability to work with the Internet for client equipment, whose owners do not know the secret combination.

How it works

Anyone who has a smartphone can easily test the operation of this solution. So, being in a busy microdistrict, where almost always there are several access points, you need to activate the WiFi on your mobile device and scan the range. As a result, a list of all the broadcast networks with names will be displayed. Next to each of them is the type of encryption: now it's WPA and WPA2. By clicking on any name, the user will see a prompt on the screen to enter the password. Without its correct indication, it is not possible to work with the selected access point. The same will happen when trying to connect from a laptop or other device equipped with a WiFi module. Everything is simple and effective enough.

Prepare for customization

Most often, the distribution of the Internet over the wireless network is carried out with the help of special equipment - a router, to which the cable from the wired provider is brought. If this device is brought from the store and immediately used without any additional settings, access to the access point will be open to all comers, as the password protection is exhibited by the owner himself. The natural question is how to change the password on WiFi? To do this, you need a computer, a twisted pair cable for communication equipment and the actual router. On the back panel of this device there are a number of Ethernet connectors, one of which is highlighted in color and signed as WAN, and others are simply numbered. It is to the first cable from the ISP. Note that for some implementations of a wireless network, twisted pair may not be connected, and all data exchange occurs via radio waves (for example, repeater mode). This does not affect how to change the password. WiFi router is configured the same in all cases. A prerequisite is to connect an Ethernet cable to any loose connector of the Ethernet router, the other end of which is connected to the corresponding output on the back of the system unit or the side of the notebook casing. Of course, the network controller in the BIOS settings must be activated, and all the drivers are installed in the operating system. Having included a router and a computer, you can proceed to the next step.

How to enter the program "Settings"

Running any browser you like, you need to dial 192.168.0.1 in its address bar. As a result, an authorization dialog opens , prompting you to enter the user name and password to access the device configuration utility. Although this combination of IP is the most common, some manufacturers use different addresses. Usually, the correct one is indicated on the label on the bottom of the router. If it is not there, then the owner has two ways: open the instruction and find the answer to this question or reset the settings to their original state, holding down the Reset button for 5 seconds on the device case. In the case when the router was pre-configured by the employees of the provider company, the reset is not recommended. If no corrections have been previously made, then to access the internal configuration program, you need to use the word "admin" - both for the login and for the password. Some resources explaining how to secure WiFi, forget to indicate this step, immediately turning to the description of the interface.

Access problem

It is worth noting that some popular browsers misinterpret the direct indication of an IP address. As a result, the user is notified that the page can not be opened. This, in particular, "famous" famous "Chrome" from the company "Google". To solve this issue, you need to use, for example, Internet Explorer. As an alternative path, you can search in the instructions to the router direct alphabetic address. So, for the latest models from the manufacturer Tp-Link should be typed tplinklogin.net.

How to view the password from WiFi

If everything is done correctly and accessed to the router setup program , then go through the menu tree to the "Wireless mode" item. After clicking on it, sub-items and general information about the current mode will be displayed. It is here that the user can see the code key that is used on this device. Usually this is the lowest line, which is so signed - "password".

How to restrict access

As we pointed out earlier, every owner who cares about the security of working with wireless networks should know how to secure WiFi. This task is easily solved using the standard mechanism of the router itself. To activate it, select the sub-item "Wireless security". Here you should note the desired encoding mode - WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc. The most reliable WPA2-Personal. Here you need to type the required combination in the PSK password window, click the "Save" button and agree with the reboot. Standard WiFi passwords consist of ASCII characters and must contain both letters and numbers. You can recommend inventing a combination that is difficult to guess by chance to an outsider, but it's easy to remember for the owner.

Additional settings

Studying how to secure WiFi, an attentive user will notice in the configuration window a number of other lines that can be changed. For example, "encryption". This item is responsible for encoding the transmitted data and can take the value of AES and TKIP. It is acceptable to leave the automatic mode, but for responsible systems it is better to install AES, since a simpler TKIP can be decrypted. By default, WPA2 uses a more robust algorithm, and WPA uses a simpler algorithm.

In many models, in addition to the PSK-password, EAP can be used. Its difference is that if in the first case the key is registered in the access point and reconciliation is performed while trying to connect, then in the second the client equipment requests data from a third-party server through the router.

In principle, if the task is "how to secure WiFi", the average computer owner can ignore the above parameters, leaving them by default.