WiserHours
Menu

Follow your curiosity

Protect and recover · Lesson 9 of 11

Safer Wi-Fi: Secure Your Router and Know What a VPN Does

Change your router's two passwords, pick the right Wi-Fi security, keep the router updated, and learn what a VPN can and can't do away from home.

FREE LESSON
Cover picture for lesson 9: Safer Wi-Fi: Secure Your Router and Know What a VPN DoesVideo coming soon
The video is not out yet. The written lesson below has the same content.
THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

Your router is the box that connects every device in your home to the internet. Yet it may be the one computer in the house that nobody ever updates. In this lesson you give it a short checkup, and you learn what a VPN can and can’t do for you when you use Wi-Fi away from home.

Your router has two passwords

Most people know the Wi-Fi password: it lets your phone, laptop and other devices join your network. But your router has a second one, the admin password, which opens the router’s settings page. That is the one that matters most. Whoever has it can change everything else, even the Wi-Fi password, and undo your other precautions.

A router in the middle. On the left, a padlock labelled Wi-Fi password, with a phone and a laptop connected. On the right, a larger padlock labelled Admin password above a Settings panel, with a dotted arrow back to the Wi-Fi password. A label says The admin login controls every setting.(opens the full-size picture)
The admin password opens every setting, including the Wi-Fi password.

Change both from the factory passwords

Both passwords start as factory passwords. The admin login is usually printed on a sticker on the router, where anyone who has stood in your hallway can read it, and default logins may also be listed online. So sign in to the settings page with the details on the sticker, and change both passwords. Make the new Wi-Fi password long, like several random words.

A router with an example sticker listing a settings address and an admin login as rows of dots, under labels that say Factory passwords and May be listed online. A Router settings sign-in box, and two padlocks with the labels Admin password changed and Wi-Fi password changed. Below: New Wi-Fi password: several random words.(opens the full-size picture)
The sticker gets you in; then change both passwords.

Store the new passwords

Save both new passwords in your password manager, so you never need the sticker again. A manager can also make up a long Wi-Fi password for you.

Choose newer Wi-Fi security

Menus differ by router, so you may need to look around a little, but look for the Wi-Fi security setting. It decides how the signal between your devices and the router is scrambled, so neighbors can’t read it. Choose the newest option, WPA3. If some of your devices can’t connect after the change, choose WPA2 instead.

A Wi-Fi security menu with WPA3, marked Newest, selected, and WPA2 below it with the note If some devices can't connect. A note above says Menu names vary by router. Beside it, a phone sends scrambled symbols to a router, labelled Scrambled.(opens the full-size picture)
Pick the newest option all your devices support.

Switch off extras you don’t use

Routers come with extras that make them easier to use, and easier to break into. Switch off the ones you don’t use, like changing settings from outside your home (often called remote management), or joining the Wi-Fi with a button or a PIN (often called WPS). Each one is a way in you don’t need, and you can still join with the password.

An Extras panel with two switches set to Off: Change settings from outside home, often called remote management, and Join Wi-Fi with a button or PIN, often called WPS. A label says Each one is a way in you don't need.(opens the full-size picture)
Fewer features switched on means fewer ways in.

Update the router, or replace it

Your router’s own software needs updates too, to fix weak spots, just like your phone. Look for an update or firmware page in the settings, install the latest version, and turn on automatic updates if your router offers them. Makers only support a router for a limited time. When the maker stops sending updates, replace the router, and choose one that updates itself.

A faded old router beside an Update panel showing Up to date and Automatic updates on. A calendar page with the note No more updates from the maker leads to a new router labelled Updates itself and a button that says Replace it.(opens the full-size picture)
An old router that gets no more fixes should be replaced.

Away from home: what a VPN does

On café or hotel Wi-Fi, a VPN can help. VPN stands for virtual private network. It sends your browsing through a scrambled tunnel to the VPN company’s server, so the café and the internet provider can’t see into it. But the traffic has to come out somewhere: the VPN company now sees what the café no longer can. So choose one you trust.

Two rows under Café Wi-Fi. Without a VPN, a laptop connects through the café router and the internet provider, both marked with a red eye. With a VPN, a tunnel passes the café and the internet provider, their eyes closed, to a VPN company marked with an eye. Labels say A VPN can help and Choose one you trust.(opens the full-size picture)
A VPN moves who can see your browsing; it doesn't remove it.

What a VPN can’t do

A VPN does not make you anonymous, and it does not stop scams. A fake bank page works just as well through the tunnel, and a harmful download installs itself either way. The habits from earlier in this course, your passwords, two-step verification and updates, often do more for your safety than a VPN.

Two crossed-out notes: Does not make you anonymous and Does not stop scams. A tunnel leads to an example fake Your bank sign-in page, labelled Still a fake. Below, three cards with blue checks, Passwords, Two-step verification and Updates, above a label that says Often do more.(opens the full-size picture)
The everyday habits protect you whether or not a VPN is on.

YOUR TURN

Read more

Read the full lesson script

In this lesson, you will make your Wi-Fi safer, at home and away. Your router connects every device in your home to the internet, yet it may be the one computer nobody updates.

Your router has two passwords. The Wi-Fi password lets your devices connect. The admin password opens the router's settings. Whoever has it can change everything else, even the Wi-Fi password.

Both start as factory passwords. The admin login is usually printed on a sticker on the router, and may be listed online. So sign in with it, and change both. Make the Wi-Fi password long, like several random words.

Menus differ by router, but look for the Wi-Fi security setting, which scrambles your signal. Choose the newest, WPA3. If some devices can't connect, choose WPA2.

Switch off extras you don't use, like changing settings from outside your home, or joining the Wi-Fi with a button or a PIN. Each one is a way in you don't need.

Your router's own software needs updates too, to fix weak spots. Install the latest, and turn on automatic updates if you can. When the maker stops sending updates, replace the router.

On café or hotel Wi-Fi, a VPN can help. It sends your browsing through a scrambled tunnel that the café and the internet provider can't see into. But the VPN company sees it instead, so choose one you trust.

A VPN does not make you anonymous, and it does not stop scams. A fake bank page works just as well through the tunnel. Your passwords, two-step verification and updates often do more.

So, change both router passwords, and keep your router updated. Away from home, a VPN can help, but it won't stop scams. Before the next lesson, find the sticker on your router, and check whether its admin password was ever changed. Next, you will back up what you can't replace.