Internet, Networking, & Security Home Networking 552 552 people found this article helpful How to Hack-Proof Your Wireless Router Maybe not hack-proof, but at least hack-resistant by Andy O'Donnell Writer Andy O'Donnell, MA, is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a senior security engineer who is active in internet and network security. our editorial process Andy O'Donnell Updated on April 28, 2020 reviewed by Michael Barton Heine Jr Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries. our review board Article reviewed on Oct 14, 2020 Michael Barton Heine Jr Tweet Share Email The Wireless Connection The Wireless Connection Introduction All About Wireless What Does Wireless Really Mean? 802.11 Standards Explained The Range Of A Wireless Network Dual-Band Wireless Networking Explained How Bluetooth Works With Wireless Measure It: Wi-Fi Signal Strength What Is A Wi-Fi Hotspot? The Best Wi-Fi Channels For Your Network Access Your Router As An Administrator 5 Tips for Securing A Wireless Network How Many Devices Can Connect To One Wireless Router? How To Connect At Home How to Name Your Wireless Network How to Change Your Wireless Router's Admin Password Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number to Avoid Interference Build a Wireless Home Network Use Wireless Speakers In Home Theater Connect Your Echo & Alexa To Wi-Fi Connect Google Home to Wi-Fi Wirelessly Connect An iPad To Your TV Use a Free Firewall Program How To Connect On The Go How to Find Free Wi-Fi Locations Get 4G or 3G on Your Laptop Connect To Wi-Fi in Your Car Get Wireless Internet Access in a Hotel Use Your Android As A Wi-Fi Hotspot Set Up Personal Hotspot On Your iPhone Connect Nintendo Switch To Bluetooth Headphones Connect To A Wireless Network With Windows Access Your Computer Remotely How to Troubleshoot Wireless Issues 7 Reasons Wi-Fi Connections Drop Disable Automatic Wireless Connections on Windows How to Hack-proof Your Wireless Router How to Fix OS X Bluetooth Wireless Problems What to Do When Google Home Won't Connect To Wi-Fi How to Hide Your Wireless Network Can't Connect To The Internet? Try This What to Do When There's No Internet Connection The Future of Wireless 5G Changes Everything How 4G And 5G Are Different Why 5G Really Is Faster All About 5G Cell Towers 5G Challenges: Why It Isn't Rolling Out Faster Is 5G The High-Speed Replacement for Cable? When 5G Is Coming to the US The 12 Best 5G Phones Coming in 2019 There's no such thing as hack-proof or hacker-proof, just like there is nothing out there that is completely waterproof. Therefore, in this article, we'll show you how to make your wireless router as hacker-resistant as possible. Your wireless router is a prime target for hackers who want to infiltrate your network or just freeload off of your Wi-Fi connection. Here are some things you can do to make your wireless router harder to hack. Enable WPA2 or WPA3 Wireless Encryption If you aren't using a minimum of Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) encryption to protect your wireless network, this leaves your network wide open because hackers can virtually walk into your network. If you use outdated Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) security, which can be cracked in seconds by most hackers, upgrade to WPA2 or preferably WPA3, which is backward compatible with WPA2. Older routers may need a firmware upgrade to add WPA2 or WPA3 functionality. Check your router manufacturer's manual to learn how to enable WPA2\WPA3 wireless encryption on your router. GodfriedEdelman / Getty Images Create a Strong SSID Network Name and Pre-Shared Key You will also need to make a strong SSID (wireless network name). If you use the router's default network name (for example, Linksys, Netgear, or DLINK), then you make it easier for hackers to hack your network. Using a default SSID or a common one helps hackers crack your encryption because they can use prebuilt rainbow tables associated with common SSID names to crack your wireless encryption. Create a lengthy and random SSID name even though it might be hard to remember. You should also use a strong password for your pre-shared key to further discourage hacking attempts. Turn on Your Wireless Router's Firewall If you haven't done so, enable your wireless router's built-in firewall. Enabling the firewall can make your network less visible to hackers looking for targets on the internet. Many router-based firewalls have a stealth mode that you can enable to reduce your network's visibility. Also, test your firewall to ensure that you have configured it correctly. Use an Encrypted Personal VPN Service at the Router Level Virtual private networks used to be a luxury that only large corporations could afford. Now you can buy a personal VPN service for a small monthly fee. A personal VPN is one of the biggest roadblocks you can throw at a hacker. A personal VPN anonymizes your true location with a proxied IP address and puts up a wall of strong encryption to protect your network traffic. You can purchase a personal VPN service from vendors such as WiTopia, StrongVPN, and others for as little as $10 a month or less. If your router supports personal VPN service at the router level, this is the best way to implement a personal VPN. It allows you to encrypt all traffic entering and leaving your network without the hassle of setting up VPN client software on your computers. Using a personal VPN service at the router level also takes the encryption process burden off of your client PCs and other devices. If you want to use a personal VPN at the router level, check to see if your router is VPN-capable. Many manufacturers have several models of routers with this capability. Disable the Admin via Wireless Feature on Your Router Another way to prevent hackers from messing with your wireless router is to disable the admin via wireless setting. When you disable the admin via wireless feature on your router, it makes it so that only someone who is physically connected to your router with an Ethernet cable can access the admin features of your wireless router. This prevents someone from driving by your house and accessing the administrative functions of your router if they compromised your Wi-Fi encryption. Given enough time and resources, a hacker might be able to hack into your network. However, taking the steps above will make your network a harder target, hopefully frustrating hackers and causing them to move on to an easier target. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. 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