Increasingly, users are aware that privacy and security start from home. We install antivirus and protection programs on the computer, but few think of looking at an element that we all use to connect to the Internet: the router.
And it is possible to protect the same source of our connection thanks to the possibility of acquiring a VPN router that has a client integrated to configure a VPN that allows us to surf anonymously at any time and from all the devices that connect to the Wi-Fi of our house.
Why is it recommended to protect Wi-Fi at home with a Wi-Fi router
Virtually no one already has a Wi-Fi connection without a password, but this is not a guarantee that there is no risk that someone, without our permission, enters our local network and can see all the documents and data that circulate through it.
This is done through a simple program called “sniffer”, which is simply dedicated to intercepting packets that, if not encrypted, enter and leave the Wi-Fi access point until it finds the one with the password.
This is a risk, but not the only one. There are not a few companies eager to know our browsing data to do business with them or, which also worries many, government agencies determined to spy on what we citizens do.
There are different systems that allow us to be more protected. Some of these tips are to hide our SSID (the name of the WiFi), establish passwords of the WPA2-PSK type, more secure and difficult to hack, but the most effective is to get a VPN router, capable of encrypting and protecting all the connections that they go in and out.
And it is that this option, although it involves a certain investment, offers more security guarantees since, to begin with, it will protect the connections of each and every one of the devices in the house without having to configure the VPN in each of them, including those that are not compatible or have a way of activating such a service.
On the other hand, certain services allow both to choose the country from which we will connect and to independently tunnel the different connections. And finally, although it is not something related to security, with this type of services connected to our router we break barriers and censor content.
That is, we could access things like the Netflix catalog of another country, legally, with our current account, or buy digital content, such as video games, that are available outside our borders.
What VPN routers are there?
The first question is, are all routers VPNs or do they have the ability to configure a VPN? The answer is no. Now, the offer in the market is wide and of many brands. The most recommended are those from Asus (AC56, AC68U, AC87U), Lynksys (WRT1200AC, WRT1900AC (S), WRT3200ACM) or Netgear (R6300 and Nighthawk R7000).
The reason is simple. They are the ones that allow an easier and safer configuration, and also, compatible with different applications so it is automatic.
Other brands such as D-Link, Netduma or TP-Link also have models with the possibility of configuring a VPN, but it is either something that must be done manually and does not offer the same level of security.
A VPN router is only half of what you need
We already have our VPN router installed at home … is it connected and ready? No, the other part of the equation is to have a VPN service that allows us to securely protect and, if possible, make our connection easy. The offer in the market is wide but the first advice is to avoid free options since their level of functions, services and protection is usually not very high.
Once we already have our account registered in the service that we have found most interesting, we will only have to enter the router’s configuration panel, usually through the address 192.168.1.1 in any web browser. From there, with the username and password of the router, we can access the different configuration menus and, among them if we have chosen any of the routers previously recommended, enter the data to protect Wi-Fi and Internet connections of all the appliances in our house.
