Home Router Security

What You'll Learn

• Access your home router's admin panel and change the default administrator password to a strong, unique credential
• Identify all devices connected to your home network and remove unauthorized or unknown connections
• Update router firmware to the latest version and enable automatic update checks where available
• Configure WPA3 encryption and disable insecure features like WPS that expose your network to brute-force attacks
• Verify your router's DNS settings to detect and prevent DNS hijacking attempts that redirect traffic to malicious sites

Training Steps

1. Working From Home

   Welcome to Beacon Consulting Group! You are Alice, a consultant who works remotely from your home office. Today started like any other day - a cup of coffee, a few emails to catch up on, and a client report to finalize. But something isn't right with your internet connection.

2. Something Feels Off

   Pages are taking forever to load, emails are slow to send, and a video call with a colleague kept freezing and dropping. Alice decides to check her internet speed using an online speed test tool.

3. Connection Problems

   The results are alarming. Alice's ping is 347ms - it should be under 30ms for a normal connection. Her download speed is just 2.1 Mbps, a fraction of the 100 Mbps she pays for. Something is seriously wrong with her network.

4. Quick Check

   Before investigating further, consider what might be happening on Alice's network.

5. Inspecting the Router

   Alice suspects her home router might be the issue. Before accessing the admin panel, she needs the login credentials. Most routers have a sticker on the device with the default username and password.

6. Accessing the Admin Panel

   Alice found the default credentials: admin / admin. She opens her browser and navigates to 192.168.1.1 - the router's admin panel address.

7. Logging In

   The router login page appears. Alice uses the default credentials she found on the router label: admin / admin. Using default credentials is a major security risk - anyone who knows them can access and reconfigure the router.

8. The Dashboard

   Alice is in the router's admin panel. The dashboard immediately reveals several problems: 8 connected devices - Alice only has 3 personal devices Encryption: Disabled - the WiFi network is completely open Firmware v2.1.3 - possibly outdated Eight connected devices when she only owns three? That explains the slow internet.

9. Unknown Connections

   The Connected Devices page confirms Alice's suspicion. She can only identify 3 devices as her own: Alice's Laptop (her work machine) Alice's iPhone (her phone) Living Room TV (her smart TV) The remaining 5 devices are completely unknown - names like 'android-7f2a', 'DESKTOP-X9K2M', and 'unknown' suggest strangers are connected to her network.

10. Quick Check

    Before taking action, think about the best approach to handle the unauthorized devices.