Secure your router: How to help prevent the next internet takedown

Secure your router: How to help prevent the next internet takedown

-- Tom

 

I blow the firmware away and load linux. Usually ddwrt. Good way to permanently ditch wps, which is a hacker's treasure.

 

good pick

 

I'm trying to download firmware for an old router I have to test, and, for starters the website is super slow then I can't download the firmware cause either the page does not open or I can't see where to download.

 

It'll be worth it if you get it set up. I have a home router I setup for somebody using a $150.00 mid level router and I swear to you it runs like a much higher end router since swapping out the firmware. It NEVER flinches or pauses or anything and it gets worked to death. All kinds of extra settings too.

You didn't mention a model, which is fine, so we can't help you discover if ddwrt is available somewhere else.

 

Sounds great performance multiplied.
Model: I pm'ed you.
Jeez I'm lost searching the database...

Appreciate a lot your help.

 

The article wants to help, but I would say, it is obvious. Disable everything, you do not use.
As for password for router or wifi, that is easy, if you can remember it, it is a bad one.

I know the feeling, I had a router for $100 before and only problems and disconnects, I had it replaced for a new one, the same issues.
Now I have $20 router and it runs so smoothly, I do not even know I have one, no need to restart or anything, more settings as well.

 

OR instead of a password you can use a passphrase which is easy to remember and more secure e.g.
"The passphrase of my wifi network is very simple to remember!!!"

Panagiotis

 

One thing I did NOT see mentioned in the article on securing a router is to change the default router LAN IP address from (typically) 192.168.x.x to something non-standard, example 21.23.25.27 or 71.73.71.99.

 

You mean to assign random public ip address on the router? For what reason? How will this secure the router?
http://networkengineering.stackexch...-of-using-non-private-ip-addresses-internally
http://superuser.com/questions/579291/can-we-use-public-ip-addresses-on-private-networks
http://serverfault.com/questions/273944/having-public-ip-addresses-for-computers-in-private-network
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/17081

Panagiotis

 

I'll assume pandlouk's links provide sufficient warnings about using IP Addresses that belong to others on your internal network. On top of that, it is probably not a good idea to use 21.x.x.x.

 

10.x.x.x could be used according to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserved_IP_addresses

 

Yes the router from my ISP uses 10.0.0.138.

 

This article explains it pretty well:
http://routersecurity.org/ipaddresses.php

 

Thanks for the link!

Edit:
What's strange in this article is when he suggests addresses like 191.68.x.x.
These don't seem to be useable according to the wiki.

 

Nope. I give up.
Can't easily find a proper link to my download, Encore ENHWI-N3.

It says:
Chipset RT3050F
Requires ESR9752 build
RAM 16 MB
FLASH 4 MB

Additional information
Serial Flash firmware.bin
WAN,LAN LEDs Do not work after flash
downloads ---> here is were I get completely lost

 

Thanks for the link. To mitigate those there is no need to use random public addresses. You could use any of the following ranges:
10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
198.18.0.0 – 198.19.255.255
192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255

Panagiotis