What is WiFi and how to configure it?

1. What is WiFi?

WiFi is a wireless communication technology that allows to connect to internet electronic equipment, like computers, tablets, smartphones etc, by means of the use of radio frequencies and infrared for the transmission of the information.

WiFi or Wi-Fi is originally an abbreviation of the Wireless Fidelity Trade mark, which means wireless or cordless fidelity. In this sense, WiFi technology is a computer solution comprising a set of standards for wireless networks based on IEEE 802.11 specifications, which ensures compatibility and interoperability on certified equipment under this Denomination.

Wireless communication, as such is that which dispenses with visible cables or physical means of propagation. On the contrary, it uses electromagnetic waves for transmission being that this, however, will be limited to a specific radius of coverage.

For its operation, the WiFi requires a computer connected to the Internet and equipped with an antenna, so that in turn redistributes this signal wireless within a certain radius. The receiving equipment within the coverage area, at the same time, must be equipped with devices compatible with WiFi technology so that they can access the Internet. The closer the equipment is to the signal source, the better the connection will be.

In this sense, WiFi technology allows to implement Internet connection networks that benefit multiple users. Today, many public places, such as hotels, airports, bars, restaurants, shopping centers, schools, universities, offices and hospitals, are equipped with hotspots that offer free or paid WiFi connection.

ASUS BRT - AC828 WiFi Router

2. How does WiFi work?

The WiFi operation requires a router necessarily, which is connected to the Internet through a cable and responsible for distributing the connection to the different devices of the same network wireless. But how does he do it? We explain it to you below.

The router transforms the digital information into radio waves that will be transmitted through the air within a specific range. Subsequently, the decoders of the receiving device return to transform the radio waves into digital signals, which are interpreted by the computer's microprocessor to allow connection to the Internet.

Is WiFi safe? The security and privacy of WiFi is one of the main concerns. Since being a wireless technology, the information travels through radio waves, which can penetrate the walls and even reach the street. If the user has WiFi open, there are certain risks because anyone can not only access the Internet through our signal, but also reach our personal team and get all our keys.

In the face of this, however, there are multiple strategies that can contribute to improving the security of our devices and our connection to the Internet. The recommended measures are the following:

Change the password that comes by default (the default option) and establish a new one composed of 12 digits, in which there are uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols. It establishes the WPA2 encryption system since it is the most advanced and secure.

Modify the default SSID, create a new one that has no relation to the password and does not give clues about the operator used.

Turn off WiFi if you are going to be away from your home or office for several days. Enables MAC address filtering, since it will allow access to the network to those devices that have a specific MAC address. Defines the maximum number of devices that can connect to WiFi.

3. How did Wi-Fi come about?

The companies 3Com, Airones, Intersil, Nokia, Symbol Technologies and Lucent Technologies created the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), known as the WiFi Alliance since 2003. They aimed to promote wireless technology and ensure compatibility between different devices.

Thus, in 2000, the WECA created the IEEE 802.11b standard, but it was commercially called WiFi, with the intention of being an easy name to remember. From that moment on, it was ensured that all devices compatible with this technology could work together, independently of their manufacturer.

Finally, it should be noted that the different WiFi standards have been developed and its popularization has been such that the radioelectric space has become saturated due to the overcrowding of users.

4. How to configure router: 192.168.1.1

First of all is to access the router configuration. The most convenient is to use a computer connected to the WiFi network of the same router and type the following address in any browser: 192.168.1.1. these numbers represent the gateway to the router admin panel of most operators except in the case of Movistar, whose access is via the web.

At this point we will have to enter the user and password, which in the vast majority of the occasions is "admin" in both cases and that is the first weak point of all router. Keep the default setting open the door to anyone who manages to connect to our WiFi network can enter the router configuration.

(1) How to set up the connection

Once we have accessed the router configuration panel we will see many menus and options that we can change, but do not aventures to change data because you could stay offline, but fortunately all have a reset button that pressing several seconds Resets the initial setting. Next we will see how to configure the connection and improving its security and performance.

(2) How to change the router access password

For our guide we will use a Comtrend modem AR-5387. Although the configuration of the routers supplied by the operators is very similar so maybe the menus change something but will be very similar. In our case, to be able to change the access data to the router we have to direct to Management -> Access Control, where only to enter the access data by default we will be able to establish a new password.At this point we will have to enter the username and password, which in most cases is "admin" in both cases, and that is the first weak point of every router.

Maintaining the default configuration opens the door for anyone who manages to connect to our WiFi network to enter the router's configuration.

(3) How to configure the connection

Once we have accessed the configuration panel of the router we will see many menus and options that we can change but do not venture to change data since you could be without connection. Although luckily they all have a reset button that presses it several seconds to reset the configuration initial. Next we will see how to configure the connection, improving its security and performance.

(4) How to change the name of the WiFi network

Once we have made sure that anyone who connects to our WiFi can not alter the configuration of our router. It touches make it harder to connect to it. The first step, to avoid knowing which company belongs to the router (which can give facilities) is to change the name of the network. To do this we go to Wireless-> Basic and in the SSID we change the name of the network to which we want.

Another more drastic option but that can also be very effective is directly hide the network, which leave it activated but that is not visible to any device. To do this you only have to click on the Hide Point Access option in the same previous window. In this way, whoever wants to connect to our WiFi will have to know previously the name of the network.

(5) How to change the WiFi network password

The next step, or the only one that would take many, to secure our router is to change the password it brings by default. We will find this option in Wireless-> Security. In the option Network Authentication we can select the type of security that we want to use. This point does not need to be changed if you have selected the WPA-PSK option, if not the safest option is this.

At this point we have to use logic. If we change the default password to improve the security of our WiFi we will have to use a new robust password, avoiding simple passwords or that use birthdays or similar. The best option will be to make a combination of number and letters (uppercase and lowercase) that is difficult to guess.

(6) Device MAC Filtering

Filter which devices can be connected to your WiFi by using MACs.

Another security measure that you can take to protect that unwanted connect to your WiFi network is to establish a filtering of MACs. That Palabrejo is nothing more than the registration of the WiFi of any device, and with that number you can make that only certain devices can connect or the opposite, that a specific device can not connect.

The ability to make lists of allowed or not allowed Macs is in Wireless-> MAC Filter, where you have to select Allow if you want to make a list of allowed Macs (would not let connect to any other device) or disallow if you want to restrict access to Certain specific devices.

(7) Find the perfect channel for our WiFi network

And now that we have secured our network, there are many who complain that your WiFi does not offer all the speed expected. One of the many reasons that may be behind a low performance is the saturation of channels that can be given in our environment. To avoid this problem the easiest thing is to look at the most used channels by other WiFi networks in our reach to use the freest channel.

The easiest way to check the saturation of channels is through an app, as can be WiFi Analyzer for Android. In the case of IOS there is no app that allows to analyze the channels, but we can also do that check from a PC with Windows.

Once the channel is located less saturated, tell our router to use it is very simple. We just have to go to Wireless-> Advanced and the Channel option choose the one you want.