Stay Safe: Malware Attack on Home Routers
Staying safe on the internet is becoming more and more difficult in this day and age. There are many ways that hackers can try to steal your information and gain access to your computer or home network. One of the latest major malware attacks has been on home and small business routers. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that the malware is called VPNFilter and is targeting routers all around the world. This gives these hackers the ability to see and receive private data from any of the devices connected to the router. The FBI believes that 500,000 or more routers could be currently infected with the malware. Almost any home router has the possibility to become infected with this malware, including the big name brand ones like Linksys and Netgear.
The easiest ways to fend off the VPN Filter Malware:
- Restart your home router right away
- Update the routers firmware to a new release from the manufacturer protecting against the specific attack
- Change the default login password for the router
- Replace older routers that are not supported or don't receive updates
- Disable remote connections to the router
Restarting your home router is the first and most important thing you should do, according to the FBI. With the type of malware that VPNFilter is, when you restart your router it disrupts the malware on the device. You can restart your router by simply unplugging the router, wait for 10 seconds, and then plugging it back in. Restarting the router will not prevent future malware from getting on the device however, to help prevent malware getting on the router it's a good idea to update the firmware for the router. Updating the firmware will put the latest security patches on the router and make it less likely to get the VPNFilter. If you have any questions about VPNFilter or need help updating the routers firmware give us a call and we will be happy to assist you.
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