Four port Netgear router administration password reset:

I have spoke to a several people over the last week and noticed a few common issues.



There can be many reasons that you want to reset the password on your router. Change for security, not known, or even stolen and used without authorization. Physical security is always important as direct access to the router device means easy access to your network.



The first thing you want to do to reset your router to factory settings is grab yourself a paper clip or pin. On the back of the router there is a little hole with a button in it. Often this will be labeled as reset or factory reset. Pushing this sets all passwords and settings to when you first bought it.



Now that you have changed back to default, you want to add security onto your networking device. Some routers come with an instructional CD that will walk you through setting it up. I will explain the way if you do not have the luxury of that CD.

The first thing you want to make sure is that you are connected via Ethernet cable from the router to a computer.  Make sure your computer is set up for DHCP or to auto obtain IP addresses.



Open your command prompt and at the blinking cursor type in ipconfig. This will give you your default gateway and with that, your access to the routers internal pages. This number could be different things but for this blog I will choose the common 192.168.0.1.



Open your web browser (Chrome, Internet Explorer, or Firefox) and the first thing you want to do is clear all the information at the top of the address bar (Even the http ://). Enter that default gateway (192.168.0.1) and hit enter. This should bring up a username and password request.

The default user name should be Admin and the password will either be blank or the word password. If those don’t work, contact your router manufacture for details. Once inside the routers internal pages, you can then start setting up your security.



The first settings you want to change are the password for access to internal pages. This is commonly located in the maintenance area. You will most likely get kicked out after you change this password, if you do, simply follow the instructions one paragraph above to regain access using the password you just created.



The next settings you want to change will be the wireless password if you so choose to use one. This will help keep your network safe by allowing only authorized use of the network and internet. To start this, often look in the advanced settings and it may say wireless settings.

Most cases want to enable the SSID or make it visible to the public. Anyone can see this broadcast but still require a password for access.



In the wireless settings part of your router, you will have the ability to change the SSID name. This is optional but are often changed it if there are multiple routers. Next you want to pick your security options; normally I set to the highest use (WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES]).

Next is your security phrase, this will be the password people are to enter when asked for a wireless password when trying to connect to a router or access point.



After that the rest is not needed for an everyday user, your IT person can help with the rest.



Thanks for reading!

kb.netgear.com

Sabotage Networks