您可能从未查看过路由器的加密设置。但是，当您忽略 Wi-Fi 安全性时，它就会容易受到黑客的攻击。例如，当您成为中间人攻击的受害者时，您的机密信息可能会受到损害。
损害机密客户数据的完整性或在不知情的情况下与黑客共享您的信用卡信息可能会让您损失大量金钱和声誉。但是，您可以通过以良好的安全性保护您的 Wi-Fi 网络来轻松避免这种情况。
如果你想保护你的无线网络，你应该使用最好的加密标准，目前是WPA2（Wi-Fi 保护访问）。WPA3已经发布，但WPA2仍然是大多数路由器上最常见的设置。
什么是 WPA2(What Is WPA2)
WPA2是WPA的继承者，与 WEP （有线等效保密）(Equivalent Privacy)等其他协议(other protocols like WEP)相比，提供了增强的无线安全性，与WPA2 AES 128 位密钥大小相比，WEP 使用易于破解的 40 位加密密钥。
Wi-Fi联盟(Alliance)于 2003 年推出WPA来取代WEP。但是，该组织在WPA中保留了WEP的几个元素，以确保与旧设备的兼容性。这也意味着WEP的一些漏洞仍然存在于WPA中。
WPA2是在 2004 年(WPA2)WPA之后不久推出的。它解决了许多路由器安全漏洞，这些漏洞使WPA用户容易受到攻击。
WPA2和WPA之间的主要区别因素是WPA2使用高级加密标准(Advanced Encryption Standard)( AES ) 而不是 WPA 使用的临时(WPA)密钥完整性协议(Temporal Key Integrity Protocol)( TKIP ) 。
AES是一种军用级安全协议，可提供比TKIP更好的网络安全性。但是，WPA2不会让您的网络完全免疫。如果有人可以访问您的网络，他们仍然可以侵入连接到网络的其他设备。
Wi-Fi Alliance继续发现漏洞以提高安全性。该联盟于 2018 年宣布了 WPA3(WPA3)，但仍处于实施过程中。同时，WPA2仍然是您保护网络安全的最佳选择。
如何配置路由器以使用 WPA2(How to Configure Router to Use WPA2)
大多数现代路由器都有WPA2协议，但WPA2可能不是默认协议，具体取决于您使用的路由器。
如果您想将路由器配置为使用WPA2，您可以通过配置路由器中的安全设置来实现。
所有路由器都有一个管理控制台，您可以从中更改所有路由器设置。您需要路由器的用户名和密码才能登录并使用管理控制台。
如果您尚未更改登录凭据，则可以使用路由器品牌的默认组合(default combination for your router brand)。
如果您确实更改了凭据但不记得它们是什么，重置路由器(resetting the router)将允许您使用默认凭据登录（尽管您需要从头开始配置所有内容）。
获得用户名和密码后，您就可以将路由器配置为使用WPA2了。
请注意，不同制造商的路由器使用不同的固件。因此，将路由器配置为使用WPA2的过程可能因您的路由器而异。
例如，如果您查看Linksys路由器的固件，它看起来与 Netgear 路由器的不同。虽然术语和界面可能有所不同，但您仍然可以使用下面说明的过程作为一般指南。
- 启动 Web 浏览器并在地址栏中键入以下 IP 地址之一：
按Enter。您现在应该会看到 Wi-Fi 路由器固件的登录屏幕。
您可以在任何带有网络浏览器的设备上访问路由器固件，包括Mac、iPhone、iPad 和Android。
- 查找无线 LAN ( WLAN ) 设置。在 WLAN(Within WLAN)中，您需要找到安全(Security)设置。
WLAN安全选项可能位于路由器的不同部分。不过，您通常可以通过检查页面是否包含网络名称（即SSID）、Wi-Fi密码以及最重要的加密协议来查看您是否在正确的位置。
- 在无线设置中，寻找更改身份验证类型、加密标准或类似内容的选项。看看您是否可以展开下拉列表并显示Shared Key、WEP和WPA等选项。从列表中选择WPA2-PSK（WPA2 预共享密钥(WPA2 Pre-Shared Key)）。
- 接下来，您还需要选择一种加密算法（可能称为无线路由器上的加密方法）。要验证您查看的选项是否正确，请展开AES(AES)和TKIP等选项的下拉列表。选择AES。
- 重新输入密码（或WPA 密码(WPA passphrase)）。保存(Save)更改，退出路由器固件，然后重新启动路由器。
- 使用新密码将您的设备与路由器重新连接，以检查一切是否正常。
您的办公室或家庭网络现在比旧的WEP标准更安全。
什么时候不能使用 WPA2(When Can You Not Use WPA2)
在以下两种情况下，您可能无法使用WPA2 ：
- 旧操作系统：(Old Operating System: )如果您运行的是Windows Vista或更高版本，则无需担心检查您的操作系统版本。如果您运行的是Windows XP，则需要Service Pack 2或更高版本。
- 路由器不支持 WPA2：(Router Doesn’t Support WPA2: )如果您在 2006 年之后购买了路由器，那么您的路由器很有可能可以使用WPA2。如果您在 2006 年之前购买了路由器并且没有看到WPA2作为选项，您可能需要检查是否有可用的固件更新。
除非您的任何设备（计算机、接入点、调制解调器或路由器）非常旧，否则您可能可以选择使用WPA2。
您刚刚提高了 Wi-Fi 安全性(You Just Improved Your Wi-Fi Security)
WPA2安全性使您的网络更加安全。使用WPA2(WPA2)代替其他加密标准没有缺点，但有几个好处。只需花几分钟时间配置您的路由器以使用WPA2来巩固您的 Wi-Fi 网络的安全性。
您还可以采取其他措施来确保在线安全。例如，您可以使用VPN（虚拟专用网络(Virtual Private Network)）通过加密隧道传输互联网流量。
How to Configure Your Router to Use WPA2
You might never have looked at your router’s encrуption settings. When you ignore Wі-Fi security, though, you’re leaving it vulnerable to attacks from hackerѕ. For еxample, your cоnfidential information may be compromised when yоu become a victim of man-in-the-middle attacks.
Compromising the integrity of confidential client data or unknowingly sharing your credit card information with a hacker can cost you a ton of money and reputation. However, you can easily avoid this by protecting your Wi-Fi network with good security.
If you want to keep your wireless network protected, you should use the best encryption standard, which is currently WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access). WPA3 has been released, but WPA2 is still the most common setting on most routers.
What Is WPA2
WPA2 is a successor of WPA and offers enhanced wireless security compared to other protocols like WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), which uses an easy-to-crack 40-bit encryption key compared to WPA2 AES 128-bit key size.
The Wi-Fi Alliance introduced WPA in 2003 to replace WEP. However, the organization retained several elements of WEP in WPA to ensure compatibility with older devices. This also meant that some of WEP’s vulnerabilities were still present in WPA.
WPA2 was introduced soon after WPA in 2004. It addressed many router security loopholes that left a WPA user vulnerable.
The primary differentiating factor between WPA2 and WPA was that WPA2 uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) instead of the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) used by WPA.
AES is a military-grade security protocol that offers significantly better network security than TKIP. However, WPA2 doesn’t make your network completely immune. If someone has access to your network, they can still hack into other devices connected to the network.
Wi-Fi Alliance continues to identify vulnerabilities to improve security. The alliance announced WPA3 in 2018, but it’s still in the process of being implemented. In the meantime, WPA2 remains your best bet to secure your network.
How to Configure Router to Use WPA2
Most modern routers have the WPA2 protocol, but WPA2 might not be the default depending on which router you use.
If you want to configure your router to use WPA2, you can do so by configuring the security settings in your router.
All routers have an admin console from which you can change all router settings. You’ll need your router’s username and password to log in and use the admin console.
If you haven’t changed the login credentials, you can use the default combination for your router brand.
If you did change the credentials but can’t remember what they were, resetting the router will allow you to log in with the default credentials (though you’ll need to configure everything from scratch).
Once you have the username and password, you’re ready to configure your router to use WPA2.
Note that routers from different manufacturers use different firmware. For this reason, the process for configuring the router to use WPA2 may be different for your router.
For instance, if you look at a Linksys router’s firmware, it will look different than a Netgear router’s. While the terminology and interface may be different, you can still use the process illustrated below as a general guide.
- Launch a web browser and type one of the following IP addresses into the address bar:
Press Enter. You should now see a login screen for your Wi-Fi router’s firmware.
You can access the router firmware on any device with a web browser, including a Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android.
- Look for Wireless LAN (WLAN) settings. Within WLAN, you’ll need to find the Security settings.
The WLAN security options may be in a different section of your router. Still, you can usually see if you’re in the right place by checking if the page has the network name (i.e., SSID), Wi-Fi password, and, most importantly, the encryption protocol.
- In wireless settings, look for the option to change authentication type, encryption standard, or something similar. See if you can expand the drop-down list and reveal options like Shared Key, WEP, and WPA. Select WPA2-PSK (WPA2 Pre-Shared Key) from the list.
- Next, you’ll also need to select an encryption algorithm (maybe referred to as the encryption method on your wireless router). To verify you’re looking at the right option, expand the drop-down list for options like AES and TKIP. Select AES.
- Re-enter the password (or WPA passphrase). Save changes, exit the router firmware, and reboot the router.
- Reconnect your devices with the router using the new password to check everything’s working as it should.
Your office or home network is now more secure than the older WEP standard.
When Can You Not Use WPA2
You may not be able to use WPA2 in two cases:
- Old Operating System: If you’re running Windows Vista or later, you don’t need to worry about checking your OS version. If you’re running Windows XP, you’ll need Service Pack 2 or later.
- Router Doesn’t Support WPA2: If you purchased your router after 2006, there’s a good chance your router can use WPA2. If you bought the router before 2006 and didn’t see the WPA2 as an option, you may want to check if a firmware update is available.
Unless any of your devices—computers, access points, modem, or router—are extremely old, you’ll probably have the option to use WPA2.
You Just Improved Your Wi-Fi Security
Your network is much safer with WPA2 security. There’s no downside to using WPA2 instead of other encryption standards, but there are several benefits. It’s just a matter of spending a few minutes configuring your router to use WPA2 to solidify your Wi-Fi network’s security.
There are also other things you can do to ensure online security. For instance, you can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to transmit internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel.
