When it comes to our connection, most of us leave everything by default. We never stop to think about configure the router to use WPA2 and make your home network more secure. However, it is something of the utmost importance that we must take the time to be able to configure it correctly.
What is the WPA2 protocol?
Actually, WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access, which would be the previous version of WPA2. Today, WPA3 already exists, although it has yet to gain wider adoption to become a standard. Therefore, WPA2 is what is widely used around the world.
The people in charge of the Wi-Fi Alliance started WPA in 2003, although it didn’t last long until it was supplanted by WPA2 due to the large number of vulnerabilities it had. Among the new things that appeared with the second version, we find the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), it is a military-grade protocol that provides greater security to the network compared to the previous one.
Likewise, this does not mean that our WPA2 + AES network ensures that we will be 100% protected against third parties. Obviously, anyone with access to the username and password could wreak havoc.
When can’t I use WPA2?
Older operating systems like Windows XP do not support the standard. Additionally, if we are using a 2006 or earlier router, we will not be able to use it either. It’s highly unlikely that we’re still using Windows XP and a 2006 router, it’s something we have to consider.
Configure router to use WPA2 and make it more secure
In order to have WPA2 in our router we will have to follow these steps. One thing to consider before proceeding is that each router has slightly different options. However, this guide can be useful to have a general idea of what we should do.
- We will have to open our favorite web browser and from the address bar we will write the following: 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 and press Enter.
- Next, we are going to log in with the router’s credentials. If we don’t know them, we’ll have to check on the back of the router. If we have changed the key, then we will have to press the reset button on the router.
- After logging in we will click on WLAN in the side panel or tab (depending on the router).
- From this section, we are going to choose Basic Network Configuration of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.
- We will have to make sure that the Enable WLAN check mark is activated.
- We go to the section that says Authentication mode.
- We will click on the drop-down menu next to it and select WPA2.
- On the same page we will have to search for Encryption mode, once we find it in the drop-down menu we will choose AES and we will have to add a password.
- We will complete the process by clicking the Apply button.
After doing this, the router will need to be updated and we may need to log in again. We recommend unplugging all devices and plugging them back in.
