Critical notice: 86% of WiFi routers should change their password immediately

Browsing the Internet is not a child’s play, and it is advisable that our computer has an antivirus to avoid any misfortunes.

Exactly the same thing happens with mobile phones, since clicking on the wrong link or even downloading a program where we shouldn’t, can cause hackers to steal all our information.

But there is a fundamental aspect of the Internet connection that goes unnoticed by most users, and it is both the router and the WiFi connection.

Now a new study has revealed a surprising fact, and that is that 86% of Internet users have never changed the default password on their router.

This is clear from the latest survey on router security carried out by Broadband Geniein which they surveyed more than 3,000 Internet users.

As we said, 86% have admitted that they have never changed the default router password that comes from the factory.

It also emerges that 52% of users had never reviewed their router settings to configure the device differently than the default.

“Leaving the password as the default is the easiest way for someone to access your router and, therefore, your network and connected devices,” he warned. Alex Toftbroadband expert Broadband Genie. “It is an open invitation for malicious characters to snoop around and take what is theirs.”

If your model router is newer, this urgency is likely to be less, because they usually come with unique passwords.

But the routers that were distributed a few years ago all had exactly the same access password.

They don’t change the WiFi password either.

The survey has also revealed that 72% of users never change their WiFi password.

“Like the router’s administrator password, default WiFi passwords are well known,” Toft said, “and would take seconds for a skilled hacker to gain access.”

More worrying, 89% of respondents said they had never updated their router firmware.

Luckily, most modern routers usually update their firmware automatically.

“Cybercriminals take advantage of firmware bugs and vulnerabilities to access your online information,” he said. Oliver Devanesenior security researcher at McAfee. “Keeping the firmware updated with the latest security patches will prevent this from happening.”

In this way, it is totally recommended that you change the password of both the router and the WiFi connection, and also change the network name of your connection to something completely unique.

This is especially important if you live on a ground floor or first floor, since practically anyone from the street could try to access your connection and thereby create a security hole that you could regret.

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Tags: cybercriminals, WiFi, Routers