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Router Hacked: 3 Things to Do Immediately

Protecting your router is as important as securing your device

5 min. read

Updated onApril 22, 2024

updated onApril 22, 2024

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If you see thatyour bandwidth is hogged, and you can’t access your router or can see unrecognized devices on your network, then it is safe to suspect your router is hacked.

Here, in this guide, we will discuss all the signs to look out for a router being hacked, along with the steps you need to take to fix the problem.

How can I tell if my router has been hacked?

What can I do if my router has been hacked?

Before are some prerequisite checks you need to perform below applying the fix below:

1. Change your router credentials

Once you reset your router, log in to your router using the default credentials provided. Then replace the admin password with a unique and long password as you log in.

This could be one of the effective ways to avoid hacker attacks in the future. For demonstration purposes, we have used a TPlink router; follow these steps:

2. Create a new SSID and password for the Wi-Fi network

The next step would be changing the SSID (Service Set Identifier). The default SSID is usually the brand name, which is an easy one to guess for hackers.

Replace the old SSID with a new complex and lengthy SSID. Also, replace the password with a unique one with special characters and random letters.

It is suggested to create a password of about 20 characters. For the TPlink router, follow these steps:

3. Update the firmware of your router

Upgrading your router’s firmware is essential. You can set it to update automatically, or you can do it manually. For the TPLink router, follow the below-mentioned steps:

What happens if your router is hacked?

As a hacker takes control of your router, he can utilize the bandwidth in many activities, including botnet activities, distributing malware to another network,crypto-jacking, internet piggybacking, and more. Hence, keeping your bandwidth occupied without your knowledge.

Once the hackers have access to your router, they can spy on all the devices connected to the network. They can also usepacket sniffersto keep an eye on your data and track incoming and outgoing data.

Hackers can use your internet connection to upload illicit media and pirated content and use it on the dark web.

All thepersonal data stored on your devicebecomes available to hackers, including your passwords, email credentials, bank credentials, social media accounts credentials, or private messages. They can use any of these in any way they want.

Since the device is vulnerable, the attackers can inject malware or malicious code into it. This could comprise your entire network. Also, it can use your device to target other malware attacks.

Hackers can also executeDNS hijacking, rerouting users to websites they were not planning to visit. The rerouted website usually is a phishing website.

If your router is hacked, all the devices connected to the network are under attack. It means all the devices are equally at risk.

So, this is all you need to know if your router is hacked. To sum up, to keep your router secure, it is essential to check thenumber of devices listed on your networkand always use a complex SSID password.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, feel free to mention them in the comments below.

Router Hacked: 3 Things to Do Immediately#

How can I tell if my router has been hacked?#

What can I do if my router has been hacked?#

1. Change your router credentials#

2. Create a new SSID and password for the Wi-Fi network#

3. Update the firmware of your router#

What happens if your router is hacked?#