Did you know that your wireless Internet router can be used to do more than simply connect you to the Internet? It can be used to monitor the Internet activity that has been transmitted through it. Here, you will learn how to use your router to monitor Internet activity.

Many wireless routers actually provide you with an easy way to learn what websites have been visited through your Internet. To find this information you simply:

1. Open and log into the Administration panel
2. Click on router settings
3. Click on Troubleshooting
4. Click on Logs

Information Provided

You should now be viewing the Internet IP address, the devices that are connected to the Internet through the router and what websites are being viewed on each device. The router will provide you the date and time in which the websites were visited by each device making it easy to track who has visited what sites at what time of the day. This can be extremely helpful when trying to determine if one of your kids has accessed websites that they should not have, or if they have been logged on to the Internet when they should not have been.

Assign Device Names

If your router does not display the devices by name, you will have to judge what device it was by using the IP address that the router provided you. This can take more time than it should. Instead of having to deal with that, assign each device a user name through the router. This can be done through the Administration panel. Gather each device, turn each one on individually and connect them to the Internet. As you turn it on, click on the device and rename it.

Note: How to change the device name will vary from router to router. Use the Help section or the instruction manual to learn how to change the device names on your particular model.

Increased Security

Checking the Internet activity on your home router is helpful for more than learning what your kids have been up to online. You can quickly learn if your neighbors have been using your Internet and block their connection to it. Their activity could negatively impact you if they have been visiting sites that are not legal or have been making illegal transactions online.

Spend a little time every few weeks to learn the type of Internet activity the router is connecting to. This could protect you and your family from many of the Internet dangers. For more information about routers, contact IT Outlet Inc.