Tech Advisor - UK (2020-07)

JULY 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 33

Change the router password. You should know and
change the password for the administrator function, as
defaultadministrationcredentialsandpasswordscanbe
usedtoinfectyourrouter.Makethepasswordcomplex
andunique.Youcanevenwriteitdownsomewhere–if
someonebreaksintoyourhouse,you’llhavea lotmore
toworryaboutthanrevealingyourrouterpassword.

Ensurethat yourrouter’sfirmwareis updated.Most
usersignoretheirrouterfirmware,andunfortunately,
updatingitisn’talwaysasuser-friendlyasitcouldbe.
While some modern routers use smartphone apps
asadministrativetools,othersrequireyoutotypein
theIPaddress(usually192.168.1.1,bydefault)intoa
browserandenteryouradministratorpassword.You’ll
thenneedtostepthroughtherouter’swebinterfaceto
findouthowtoupdateitsfirmware,whichisn’talways
automated.Secureit,turningoffremoteadministration
tocloseoffanotherentrypointforhackers.

A quicknoteaboutcables.WhileWi-Fihashelped
eliminatecableclutter,EthernetandUSBandHDMI
cablescansnarlyourdeskregardless.Takeadvantage
ofcablerunsupmonitorstandsandpossiblythrough
yourdesk.Cabletiesorspiralwrapsarecheap,and
canbefoundatyourlocalDIYstoreoronline.Justtie
everythingdownafteryouhaveyourset-upinplace.

Check the location of your router. While you can
certainly play around with the physical location of your
routertomaximizecoverage,theimportantthingis
toavoidsignificantphysicalbarriers.Rememberthat