Cybersecurity Checklist

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting ourselves and our families online, as well as securing our personal information. Common sense, accountability, and responsibility are the cornerstones of cybersecurity.

We are all digital citizens living, working, and communicating in a cyber environment. In a world where so many of our activities and interactions can take place online and in cyberspace, it is critical that we recognize our individual responsibility to be aware of cybersecurity issues and educate ourselves on cybersecurity threats and defenses. We are all responsible for practicing and promoting cybersecurity.

Here are some basic steps you can take to start protecting yourself from cyber threats:

• Create and use strong, unique passwords
• Install anti-malware/anti-virus software on your computers and devices
• Update operating systems, anti-malware/anti-virus software, application software, and mobile apps
• Use screen locks & passcodes on your devices
• Back-up your content
• Think before you click!

How to recognize a phishing scam

Cyber criminals exploit people and steal confidential and sensitive information through various email-based strategies.

Here are some clues  to help you recognize a phishing scam.

• Requests for your username and/or password.(Credible institutions and organizations will not request personal information via email or phone)
• Time sensitive threats (e.g., your account will be closed if you do not respond immediately)
• Spelling and grammar mistakes
• Vague or missing information in the “from” field or email signature
• “To” field contains multiple random email address or is alphabetized
• Impersonal or awkward greetings, such as “Dear Mr. account holder”
• Unexpected files or downloads
• Links that don’t refer to the sender or sender’s organization
• Emails about accounts that you don’t have, such as eBay or PayPal, or banks that you don’t have accounts with
• Emails “from” celebrities
• Asks you to reply in order to “opt out” of a service
• Plays on human emotions to evoke sympathy, kindness, fear, worry, anxiety, or excitement

How to find IP Address of your Router on Windows and Linux

Windows

Windows has multiple ways to do this. We will see it with the command prompt and the network settings area.

And it would help to know that Windows designates the router as Default Gateway.

Open Command Prompt and type ipconfig and press enter:

The IP address given against the Default Gateway is the one we were trying to find. For instance, mine is 192.168.1.1

Now let’s try finding this from the network section.

Enter ncpa.cpl in the Run to directly navigate to Network Connections:

Double click the connection name (ex., Ethernet) to access related settings. Finally, click on Details, and locate the Default Gateway.

Linux

One of the techniques for the Linux people is to have the router’s IP from the terminal.

Open the terminal, type ip r, and hit enter to find the default IP address.

(this should work for most Linux distros)

Android

Looking up your router’s IP address on Android is a three-step process. The first one is to navigate to the WiFi settings. You can do this from the notification panel by long-pressing the name of your WiFi network. Or, you can enter into Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi.

Afterward, tap the Gear icon (⚙️).

Subsequently, open the Advanced panel, and scroll down to the Gateway to find out the router’s IP address.

However, these steps depend on the Android type you may have. For instance, the preceding steps are valid for stock Android version 10.0.

But a Samsung Android 11.0 user will have to go through this to find the IP address of the WiFi router.

Here, the IP address is in the URL bar, redirecting to the router’s setup page. Conclusively, this might be slightly different based on which Android device you have.

How to Fix a “Wi-Fi Doesn’t Have a Valid IP Configuration” Error

First of all, try restarting your PC. If that still doesn’t helps, try these fixes.

Restart Your Router

In most cases, the “Wi-Fi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” error shows up due to random faults on the router side. The solution—restart your router.

Start by turning OFF the router. Then, wait for at least 10 seconds before turning it back ON. Once your computer re-establishes its connection to Wi-Fi, check if you can access the internet without issues.

Reset Wireless Network Adapter

Disabling, and then re-enabling your PC’s wireless network adapter is another potent fix for connectivity-related issues in Windows 10.

1. Press Windows+R to open the Run box.

2. Type ncpa.cpl and select OK

3. Once the Network and Sharing Center shows up on the screen, right-click the wireless network adapter and select Disable.

4. Wait up to 10 seconds.

5. Right-click the Wi-Fi adapter again and select Enable.

Renew Your PC’s IP Lease

1. Press Windows+X and select Windows PowerShell.

2. Run the commands below one after the other while pressing the Enter key:

• ipconfig /release
• ipconfig /flushdns (optional)
• ipconfig /renew

3. Exit Windows PowerShell.

Reset the TCP/IP Stack

If renewing the IP lease didn’t help, you should reset your PC’s TCP/IP stack. That requires running a couple of commands again but via an elevated Windows PowerShell console this time.

1. Press Windows+X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. Run the commands below one after the other while pressing Enter:

• netsh winsock reset catalog
• netsh int ip reset

3. Exit the Command Prompt console and restart the computer. If a corrupted TCP/IP stack was at the source of the error, you should be able to connect online without problems.

Reinstall the Wireless Network Adapter

If you still keep receiving the “Wi-Fi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” error message, you must uninstall and reinstall the wireless network adapter on your computer. That should rule out a corrupted driver from the equation.

1. Press Windows+X and select Device Manager.

2. Expand Network adapters.

3. Right-click your wireless network adapter and select Disable device.

4. Select Yes.

5. Right-click the wireless network adapter again and select Uninstall device.

6. Reboot your computer, and it should re-install the wireless network adapter automatically.

Note: If your computer fails to detect and install the wireless network adapter after the restart, open the Device Manager again, right-click your PC’s name to the top, and select Scan for hardware changes.

Update the Wireless Network Adapter

If disabling and reinstalling the wireless network adapter didn’t help, you must update its driver. Windows 10 installs a generic driver by default, but it’s a good idea to grab an up-to-date copy from the device manufacturer’s website. You must—obviously—use a device with an active internet connection for that.

Once you’ve downloaded and transferred the driver setup file, just run it and follow all on screen instructions to update the wireless network adapter.

Obtain the IP Address Automatically

Have you configured your PC’s wireless network adapter with a custom IP address and DNS settings? If so, you should switch back to obtaining them automatically.

1. Press Windows+R to open the Run box. Then, type ncpa.cpl and select OK.

2. Right-click the Wi-Fi adapter and select Properties.

3. Under the Networking tab, double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties.

4. Select the radio buttons next to Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) Properties.

Change the Router’s SSID and Password

Another way to fix the “Wi-Fi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” error is to change the SSID and password of your router. To do that, you must visit the router’s settings.

Note: You need the router’s gateway IP, username, and password to gain access to its settings. You can typically find the details on a label somewhere on the router itself.

1. Enter the gateway IP into a new browser tab—in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge—and press Enter.

2. Log in to the router using the username and password.

3. Sift through the router settings and change the SSID and password. Then, save your changes.

Once you’ve done that, you must update your PC’s connection to the router with the new SSID and password. Don’t forget to update the network on other devices that connect to it as well.

Run the Network Adapter Troubleshooter

Now that you’ve already worked your way through a substantial number of fixes, it’s time to diagnose your Wi-Fi connection once more using Windows 10’s network troubleshooter.

1. Press Windows+X and select Network Connections.

2. Select Network troubleshooter.

3. Select Wi-Fi. Then, select Next and follow the onscreen instructions to resolve any issues.

If you run into the “Wi-Fi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” again, move onto the next fix.

Reset Your PC’s Network Settings

It’s time to reset your PC’s network settings. That should revert every network-related setting to its default and likely patch out incorrect or corrupt configurations for good.

1. Press Windows+X and select Network Connections.

2. Select Network reset.

3. Select Reset now.

After resetting the network settings, reconnect to Wi-Fi, and you probably won’t run into the “Wi-Fi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” error anymore.

WAN Port on Router Explained

The WAN Port, one of the most important ports on your router, but where is it for? And how do you recognize it? The WAN port looks exactly the same as the LAN ports on your router, but there is a big difference between the two.

What is a WAN Port?

WAN stands for Wide Area Network which is basically the internet. The WAN Port is used to connect the router to your internet connection. Your ISP has supplied you with a modem that builds up the internet connection. But to distribute the internet connection through your home network you will need a router.

The router is connected to the modem. This allows it to access the internet. All your local network devices, like your computers, mobile phone, printer, are connected wired or wireless to your router.

It’s the router’s job to route the traffic between your local network devices and the modem. This allows each network device to access the internet.

WAN vs LAN Port

Besides the WAN port, you will also find LAN ports on the backside of the router. Most routers come with 4 LAN ports and only 1 WAN port. LAN stands for Local Area Network and is used to connect your local network device to your home network. Devices connected to the LAN ports can see (connect to) each other, which is useful if you want to access your network printer or NAS.

WAN ports are only used to connect your router to your internet connection. The WAN and LAN ports look the same, and may even be placed next to each other. But internally they are separated with a firewall. This way devices connected to the WAN port (everybody on the internet) can’t access your devices that are connected to the LAN ports.