Tag Archives: router

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How to upgrade your router with the latest firmware or replace it completely

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It’s difficult to accept that we made an unwise purchase or even that a piece of technology has gone obsolete. But when it comes to the security of your home network, it’s time to face up to it.

Last February, Craig Young, a researcher at security firm Tripwire, published research showing that 80% of the 25 best-selling small office/home office (SOHO) wireless router models on Amazon had vulnerabilities. Because some routers, in fact, a lot of them, have so many non-patched vulnerabilities, the easiest way to secure your home network is to replace the router completely with a secure model.

Your WiFi network is not secured

Your WiFi network is not secured

 

How to update your router

But let’s not spend your money yet. Only four of the reported vulnerabilities were completely new, and many have been patched in later models, so you should first look for firmware updates. Some conscious manufactures release updates for their hardware controls and, if applied, could solve all (or at least some) known vulnerabilities.

Routers do not perform automatic updates, so the process requires appropriate patches to be manually downloaded and installed. Avast 2015 includes a Home Network Security scanner that can help you determine what needs to be done, explain why, and can direct you to the router manufacturer’s website.

Open the Avast user interface, click Scan from the menu on the left, then choose Scan for network threats. Avast will take a look at your router and report back any issues. In most cases, if there is an issue to be addressed, then it will direct you to your router manufacturer’s website.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus Router Attack

If you’re not convinced that router attacks are something to be concerned about, then think back on the attack from earlier this year. Attackers remotely altered DNS configurations for more than 300,000 small office/home office (SOHO) routers, subsequently opening up victims to a host of compromises

Among several vulnerabilities around, there is one that is quite common. It’s called ROM-0 and allows the attacker to easily gain control of the whole router and, subsequently, your Internet connection. In short, the attacker could request ROM-0 through HTTP (i.e. http://192.168.1.1/ROM-0) and then he can download all the important and secret data stored in your router: Your ADSL login/password combination, WIFI password and basically all your configuration data.

How to avoid attackers from downloading your Rom-0 configuration file and manipulating your router?

It’s simple (if you are comfortable around computers. Ask a techie to help you, if you’re not):

  • Forward port 80 on the router to a non-used IP address on your network.
  • Enter your router configuration and go to “Port forwarding” configuration.
  • Send all http traffic, of all protocols, to star and end port 80 in a non-used local IP address (something like 192.168.0.xxx, where xxx would be a non-used IP).

There are free guides of “port forwarding” for quite a lot of routers. Check your model here.

Avast Software’s security applications for PC, Mac, and Android are trusted by more than 200-million people and businesses. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

 

 

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How to disable access to your router from the Internet

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When Avast Home Network Security (HNS) displays the following error: “Your network router is accessible from the Internet” that means that hackers can access your router’s administrative interface.

Your WiFi network is not secured

Your WiFi network is not secured

 

Although that doesn’t mean imminent threat, the fact that the router is accessible from the Internet is not good. A cybercrook could modify your network settings and even disable your Internet connection or, the worst, steal your personal data.

For sure, if you use the default password in your router, everyone can access your router. However, you won’t do that, will you? If you’re reading this article, we suppose you’re technically educated and will know that using the default password is a serious risk.

hns3Routers, especially Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) wireless routers, are usually quite vulnerable to all sorts of exploits and exposing the admin interface of the router to the Internet is like leaving your door unlocked when you leave home. According to Tripwire, “80% of Amazon’s top 25 best-selling SOHO wireless router models have security vulnerabilities.”

Why should we worry about routers?

“Unsecured routers create an easy entry point for hackers to attack millions of American home networks,” said Vince Steckler, chief executive officer of Avast. “If a router is not properly secured, cybercriminals can easily gain access to an individual’s personal information, including financial information, user names and passwords, photos, and browsing history.”

Set up a strong password

I already explained how to make sure you have the highest level of encryption set on your router. If you missed it, please go back and read my blog, How to turn on WiFi encryption in your router settings.

The next step is to replace thedefault administrator password.Some of the most common mistakes made, not only by common users but also from a significant number of IT professionals, are to use the default administrator password and use the popular WPS and its insecure technology that allows hackers to discover (much easier) the router encryption passphrase.

When creating a new password, make sure it is long and strong, using a mix of numbers, letters and symbols. If you have many visitors to yourhome, it’s a good idea to set up a guest network with a separate password.

Avast 2015 includes a Home Network Security scanner that can help you determine what needs to be done, explain why, and can direct you to the router manufacturer’s website. Read more about it on our blog,  Your home network is at risk of cybersecurity attacks.

Avast Software’s security applications for PC, Mac, and Android are trusted by more than 200-million people and businesses. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

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How to turn on WiFi encryption in your router settings

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Eavesdropping is a major concern when we talk about the security of home WiFi networks. People around you, your neighbors in the next apartment, or even your own government, can discover anything flowing through your Internet traffic. Your personal data, like passwords and log in credentials, your credit card numbers, and  your photos and videos, are at risk.

Your WiFi network is not secured

Your WiFi network is not secured

We have written a lot about how to protect our communications using a VPN. To summarize, a Virtual Private Network, or VPN, is an encrypted tunnel where your data travels from your computer to a secure server on the Internet. Avast SecureLine is a VPN that you can use when outside of your home; at cafes, hotels, or airports.

Get your home network secure

But now, it’s time to bring your attention to your home network security. Your router should be correctly set to achieve the highest level of protection. Until you secure your router, you’re vulnerable to people accessing information on your computer, using your Internet service for free, and potentially using your network to commit cybercrimes.

There are basically three levels of security on a home router. These come in types of encryption. They are WEP, WPA and WPA2. These strange acronyms refer to different wireless encryption protocols which protect – in fact, encrypt – the information you send and receive over a wireless network.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was the first protocol used in late 90s. It should not be used nowadays as it has serious security weaknesses which are easily hackable by even the most novice hacker. So, the first wise thing to do is move away from WEP. Your router must be quite old if you can’t do that, and you should consider purchasing an updated one, or ordering a new one from your ISP.

WPA (WiFi Protected Access) replaced WEP, but very soon after that, WPA2 replaced WPA. WPA2 implements the latest security standards, especially for data encryption with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a strong encryption algorithm.

Using WPA or, better, the WPA2 protocol, means that when any device tries to establish a connection to your wireless network, it will be prompted to enter the security key or password to connect.

Most wireless routers allow you to select WPA2 during the setup process. Unfortunately, the default in many wireless devices is WEP or, even worse – nothing -  which means anybody in range can connect to your WiFi to use the bandwidth and access your other devices (printer, network disk, etc.).

What to do at home

Avast Home Network Security scans for vulnerabilties.

Avast Home Network Security scans for vulnerabilties.

Verify your wireless network router (or other access point) supports WPA2. If necessary, go to your router manufacturer site and search for the latest firmware to be downloaded and applied according to its instructions. Apply compatible WPA2 settings on each WiFi device, choosing the WPA2 encryption and the correct authentication info.

Although encrypting your traffic won’t protect you from rogues, denial-of-service (DNS) attacks or interference, it will ensure secure wireless communication.

Also, change the default password. Make sure the one you use is long and strong, using a mix of numbers, letters and symbols.

Avast 2015 includes a Home Network Security scanner that can help you determine what needs to be done, explain why, and can direct you to the router manufacturer’s website. Read more about it on our blog,  Your home network is at risk of cybersecurity attacks.

Avast Software’s security applications for PC, Mac, and Android are trusted by more than 200-million people and businesses. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

 

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Avast 2015 new feature: Home Network Security scanning

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Nowadays, security is team work: Software and hardware should work together to achieve the most complete protection possible.

Avast 2014 Home Network Security

Avast 2015 Home Network Security scans for vulnerabilities in your router.

Complete protection is why the developers at Avast Software decided to include a security feature called Home Network Security (HNS) in the new Avast 2015. HNS is all about scanning your router for vulnerabilities and identifying potential security problems that open the door to threats. Routers are the weakest security point in many home and small business networks these days, so this is a very valid and needed feature.

Here comes the problem. There are zillions of different routers available around the world, but the majority of users just acquire one “that works and is not so expensive” or they get whatever their ISP gives them.  That means the security is already compromised. HNS has been conceived to solve these major threats:

  1. 1. Your wireless network is not secure due to lack of encryption. Thus, anybody in range, like your neighbor, can connect to your Wi-Fi to use the bandwidth and access your other devices (printer, network disk, etc.).
  2. 2. Your network router is accessible from the internet, so hackers can access the router and modify your network settings, even disabling the internet connection or stealing your personal data.
  3. 3. Your router is vulnerable to hacker attacks, i.e., hackers can easily read your router settings, get access to the router, and modify it. Your personal data might be in risk.
  4. 4. Your internet connection is compromised and your router could be hijacked. Your router is already hacked (i.e., some well-known sites are re-directed to fake IPs).
  5. 5. Devices on your network are accessible from internet. This happens when Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6 ) is enabled on the router and the devices get IPv6 addresses that are not firewalled. The problem is not primarily in the protocol, but in the router, which is not able to secure the devices with these addresses

Avast can help you protect your home network

With Home Network Security  on all  Avast security products, we can translate this into security protection for you. This 7-part series published on the Avast blog this month will show you what to do to enhance your network security and how Avast can guide you through the task.

HNS scans your router.
HNS reports the results.

 

Before we continue, know that there are a lot of free guides available from the major router manufacturers that provide step-by-step information. Take a look, for instance, here. Look for your model and read a bit. Remember, all you learn will work toward protecting your network. You can also download and install a router detector that could help you in this job.

Avast Software’s security applications for PC, Mac, and Android are trusted by more than 200-million people and businesses. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.