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Understanding Router Settings

Understanding router settings is essential to configuring your router. Without understanding the settings, you might never get a functional router, or you might be missing vital security protocols.

Access control. Access control varies depending on the router, but it enables you to create custom settings for Internet and Web access. You can permit certain Web sites, or block them. You can also use access control to give some applications permission to access the Internet, which you may need to do if you participate in online gaming.

DHCP. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Practically speaking, when DHCP is enabled, your router assigns devices on your network an IP address when they connect. DHCP can sometimes cause IP address conflicts, such as when you have a printer connected to the network with a specific IP address and the router assigns the same IP address to a computer or laptop. The default DHCP settings are usually sufficient, but you might need to edit them if you have frequent IP address conflicts or issues.

DNS. DNS, or Domain Name System, is a part of your Internet connection data. You can typically enter a default DNS, or a DNS provided by your ISP, for most Internet applications. However, if you're hosting your own Web site or you need to use a custom DNS setting, you'll need to make some specific edits to this setting.

MAC address filter. Every device on your network has a unique address, called a MAC address. For added network security on wireless routers, you can set up MAC address filtering. When MAC address filtering is enabled, only permitted MAC addresses can connect to your network. You must manually enter the MAC addresses for permitted devices in your router settings. Any device whose address is not entered in your MAC address filtering panel is unable to access your network.

Port forwarding. Some software programs or applications use specific ports to connect to the Internet and send data. By default, routers allow data transfer only through certain ports. If a device on your network attempts to send data through a blocked port, it won't go through. You can use port forwarding to open ports specifically for one computer or device, such as if you need it for online video conferencing or online gaming.

Visibility. Visibility controls whether or not other people can "see" your wireless network. When visibility is turned on, anyone within range of your router can see your wireless network's name on a list of wireless connection points. For added security, turn visibility off; then only people who know the network is there are able to connect to it.

Web site filter. A Web site filter works in one of two ways: Either you can set it to block all Web sites except the ones on the "allowed" list, or you can set it to allow all Web sites except those on the "blocked" list. Consult your router's documentation to determine how your Web site filtering works.

Wireless channel. The wireless channel is just like a wireless phone channel. If you experience interference on your wireless channel, you can try changing the channel to reduce interference.

WEP, WPA and WPA2. These are all encryption protocols to protect your network and data, in order of least effective to most effective. WPA2 is the best security protocol you can utilize in wireless routers, but not all devices support it. You might need to select a less effective protocol if your devices won't support higher-level protocols.

Source: life123.com