WE STOCK WHAT WE SELL.....All products are fully tested, and ships from our WAREHOUSE in Plymouth, MN! When you call many a competitor, they often are calling us looking to fill their orders. Cut out the middle man next time, and deal direct with the source, for high quality, refurbished Networking Hardware! Call us at 763-208-6495 or email us at sales@novianetworks.com with any questions that you may have!

Why Novia Networks?

• 1)EXPERIENCE – over 25 years in the technology industry, 10 years as Novia!
• 2)Certified technicians work on your products - you can TRUST that you will receive a quality item from us!
• 3)Overnight shipping options available
• 4)Strong Warranty – Minimum of 90 days, and up to lifetime for some others – call for details!

Tip #1 Specify which IP addresses can manage the router and how

When we're talking about routers and wireless internet access, we need to touch on something called wireless local area networks (WLANs). They're exactly what they sound like: wireless computer networks that link two or more computing devices together using some wireless signal distribution method in a limited area such as a building or office.

Home users generally manage a router and gain access to its web-based management interface only from within the WLAN. There's normally no need for them to manage the router remotely. But sometimes that's not the case.

If remote access is needed, users should employ a virtual private network (VPN) to first securely connect to the local network and then access the router's interface. That way, attackers can't directly access the router from the web.

Once that's out of the way, users can further lock down their routers by specifying a single Internet Protocol (IP) address from which they can manage the router. They can do this by manually configuring a computer to automatically use a specific IP address not already assigned to other devices on the WLAN via the router's Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) whenever it needs to connect to the router.

While they're at it, users should also see if they can change their router's LAN IP address to something other than the first address in the DHCP pool. They should ideally restrict the router's entire netblock such as by assigning it to those addresses reserved for private networks. Doing so will help protect the router against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks.

Tip #2 Disable Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS):

Most new users connect to a router by turning on Wi-Fi on their devices, selecting the right router network, and entering in the Wi-Fi password (otherwise known as pre-shared key, or PSK).

Apparently, router manufacturers thought this process took too long, so they outfitted their products with something called Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS). The feature allows new users to join the network by entering in an 8-digit PIN that, when submitted correctly, transmits the more complex PSK to their device with instructions to store it from now on.

WPS might sound like a good idea, but according to the security and data privacy company Sophos, there are many reasons this is not a good idea.

The biggest flaw was seen in 2011 when the security community discovered that an attacker within radio range could brute force the WPS PIN, gain access to the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) password, and mount additional attacks once they connect to the network. There's no universal patch for this flaw, as it depends on manufacturers rolling out firmware updates. Without knowing if their devices are vulnerable or, if they are, when they could be patched, users should disable WPS on their routers and set them up the regular way.

Tip #3 Consider network segmentation and MAC address filtering:

Some consumer routers give users the ability to set up what are known as VLANs within larger networks. VLANs are perfect means of segmenting those pesky (and oftentimes incredibly vulnerable) Internet of Things (IoT) devices from the rest of the network. If an attacker compromises a device and gains access to a VLAN, they won't be able to move to the larger network in most cases.

To take it one step further, users can leverage each computing device's media access control (MAC) address, or its unique hard-coded identifier, to whitelist that device and approve its access to the Wi-Fi network. Taking this step will prevent rogue devices that might have access to a network's name and password from connecting to the router.

Tip #4 Combine port forwarding and IP filtering:

Many consumer routers come with a firewall that blocks all devices on the internet from connecting with a device on the local network. To get around that setting, both routers and computing devices alike oftentimes come with a feature called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). Activating UPnP enables devices on the network and Internet to "discover" one another dynamically and set up a connection.

Not all computers come with that capability, however. In some cases, users might not want wayfarers on the internet to discover a certain device on their network. To accommodate that type of scenario, users can set up what is called port forwarding. It's a set of inbound firewall rules that tells the router to read each incoming data packet's source IP address, destination TCP port number, and other characteristics. Depending on those traits, the router will either send the data packets a device on the network or will block it outright.

When users combine port forwarding with IP filtering, or specifying which IP addresses can use a specific port to reach services on the network, they strengthen their router's security that much more.

Factory firmware is weak. Custom is the way to go!

Let's face it: most of the time, the firmware that comes pre-installed on a router is weak in terms of its security. Users would be better off installing custom firmware they can download from online. For help choosing what is best for your setup, consult the article found here.

We are streamlining and cleaning up our site in order to better serve you, our clients and business partners. We hope you will take some time once we launch and explore our on-line “office” as we hope you will refer to it for all of your networking questions and needs.

Whether you are on your desktop, tablet or phone, our new drop down navigation will allow you to find our company information and products with ease. The NoviaNetworks blog will be a great way to keep up to date about what’s going on in computer networking and any new products we have to offer.

As 2017 is looking to be the Year of Innovation & Technology, our staff will blog regularly about our favorite new or old technology and products, hoping to inspire our clients to discover what their network is capable of this year. We are always looking to improve and look forward to adapting our website to suit our clients ever changing needs.

We often look at our business in an attempt to become more efficient. We believe there is a correlation between business efficiency and customer satisfaction. Efficient companies care for their customers quickly, meaningfully, and affordably. At NoviaNetworks we are inspired to provide premium products and services to each of our business partners. To achieve this goal, we are updating and innovating our processes and customer experience. This allows us to keep current with digital marketing trends and potential security threats. We are updating our website platform to better serve our valued business partners. We plan on acheiving this without any downtime (i.e. no interruption to either website), which is a feat!

The 3 Reasons We Updated our Platform:

#1 Design: 

The new platform will allow us to keep up with modern design trends more effectively. Design can have a large impact on the customer experience, and we want you to be able to not just find what you are looking for, but also enjoy the experience. A website with modern design components is easy to navigate and guides you through your purchase.

#2 Functionality: 

There are multiple functionality enhancements we are rolling out with the platform update. These changes will allow us to optimize our internal processes.

Efficient processes allow us to keep services affordable while still delivering a premium product. Furthermore, we strive to make these edits as quickly as possible. The platform update will have a positive impact on your purchases and your time!

#3 Security: 

Our website’s security is critical. There are people whose sole purpose in life is to hack into websites. Did you know 50% of all small business owners have had their website breached? Furthermore, the average cost to fix damage done to a website by a hacker is $9,000. You have to pay a professional to fix the problem, and it’s not fixed over night. It costs time, money and lost opportunity for business owners.

Not only is security part of the reason we are enhancing our platform, but we will be monitoring constantly to stay in front of any threats. We want our online presence to be more than simply owning a website. As a business owner you often don’t have time to manage a website, let alone an entire web presence. With new staff on board at NoviaNetworks, we will proactive and perform maintenance to enhance our site and platform regularly. This is critical to the security, visual appeal and growth of our and your businesses.