The network of your home, which gives you support and connection in your moments of recreation and fun in your cave, or that helps you work from home is almost as important as the air you breathe. The good thing, and that few people know, is that you can get much more performance from your domestic network. Stay reading to discover the best tips for those most advanced and demanding users with the domestic network. Look how you can do much more with her than you had thought.
And, if you think your house network is fine, but you know that it could give more of itself, this article is for you. Here you will discover five advanced tips that will not only improve your connection, but will also give you total control over your devices. Perfect if you are looking to squeeze each mega from your connection.
Configure an alternative router for advanced functions
Sometimes, the router offered by your Internet provider falls short to get the full potential of your network. Therefore, installing alternative software such as OpenWRT can be a great change. This type of systems allows you to configure advanced functions such as traffic management, VLAN or even create separate networks for IoT devices. If you do not feel comfortable with technical configurations, options such as Asuswrt-Merlin make things easier for you, since they add extra tools maintaining an intuitive interface. This update will allow you, for example, optimize the quality of the service (QOs) so that your video calls and video games have priority.
Practical Tip: If you decide to install advanced software, make sure you have a backup of your original configuration. You never know when you will need it.
Segment your network with VLAN for more security
Do you have devices such as intelligent cameras or thermostats at home? Those gadgets can be a weak point if someone tries to hack them. The solution is to use VLANS (virtual local area networks) to separate your traffic from the rest of your important devices, such as your computer or your mobile.
With this technique, you can limit what devices have Internet access and which are not. For example, security cameras can work perfectly within your local network without connecting external servers. Thus, you protect your data from possible leaks.
Additional benefit: If you organize your devices in VLANs, you can better control the performance of each one, preventing unnecessary resources from consuming.
Block ads and trackers with Pi-Hole
Fed up with your Smart TV? With Pi-Hole, you can block advertising and trackers on all devices connected to your network. This system works as a local DNS server that automatically filters applications towards unwanted domains. And the best thing is that you can install it in a Raspberry Pi or even in a virtual machine. In addition, Pi-Hole not only improves the privacy of your network, but also accelerates navigation by eliminating those annoying extra requests.
Trick: To maximize its effectiveness, configure your router to redirect all DNS traffic to the PI-HOLE. This will prevent devices from using external servers. Another important aspect is that you can also install Adguard Home that is very similar software, but it has more advanced configuration options.
Use a NAS server to manage your files
A NAS (Network Attached Storage) is not just an external hard drive. It is a device that acts as a central server to save and share files, make automatic backups or even create your own private cloud. This is ideal for those who handle large amounts of data or want to do without services such as Google Drive. Brands such as Synology or QNAP offer affordable options for homes. In addition, some models include applications to stream videos directly to your TV.
Extra data: If you have an old computer accumulating dust, you can reuse it as a NAS installing software such as Scale, Unraid or other operating systems such as OpenMediavault.
Access your network from anywhere with a VPN
Would you like to control your network or access your files when you are not at home? Installing a VPN server (virtual private network) will allow you to do it safely. Modern routers, such as those of ASUS, already include integrated VPN servers, which greatly facilitates their configuration. Using a VPN will not only allow you to connect to your network from anywhere, but also protect your data when you sail from public networks, such as airport or coffee.
Expert advice: configures the Wireguard protocol, which is faster and faster than other options such as OpenVPN.
With these five tips, your domestic network will not only work better, but will also be safer and more versatile. Get to work and become the authentic administrator of your connected home.
