Your router might be a Russian target

My "new" TP link router has been humming along for years with no attention. I logged in and saw that remote access is turned off, one of the FBI recommendations. I did add a weekly reboot. Is that actually helpful for security issues? I have 22 months left until end of the service life.
 
Another option after it hits end of life, if your router supports it, is to flash it with DD-WRT. Even some of their older home routers have some vulnerabilities.
 
That's a good idea. WiFi 6 was a noticable improvement. Am I likely to see a benefit to WiFi 7?
 
Russians? Every router hooked up to the internet is being targeted constantly from just about every country on Earth. If your device is on the internet it gets probed thousands of times an hour by good and bad actors. If TP-Link routers are vulnerable whoever attacks it first will win the race.

It's best to use zero trust security on every device one uses.
 
Not a tech guy - but does using a VPN help with security. Should I use a VPN on my home laptop?
 
Flyfish1 said:
Not a tech guy - but does using a VPN help with security. Should I use a VPN on my home laptop?
Click to expand...
Using a VPN hides the bulk of the urls you visit; showing only the url of the VPN site you visited. It's like visiting a building and slipping out the backdoor. It doesn't, to my knowledge, stop you from being 'hacked'. It may also block you from accessing some sites which specifically disallow VPNs. However, since your 'new location' may have access to sites you couldn't reach normally, you may also gain some freedom in that way. As with anything else, pluses and minuses.
 
Flyfish1 said:
Not a tech guy - but does using a VPN help with security. Should I use a VPN on my home laptop?
Click to expand...
In short, no. :)

Your home network should be pretty secure, and if not, using a VPN on it will probably not offer you much if any protection if your home network is compromised. VPNs are really ideal for traveling, when most connections available are public wifi, and those networks could easily be compromised.

Look in your router's wifi settings, are you using WPA3, or at least WPA2-AES? If it says WEP or just WPA, you're vulnerable, and you should secure your home network better (by changing settings, and if WPA 2 or 3 are not available, upgrading your home router).
 
The Cosmic Avenger said:
In short, no. :)

Your home network should be pretty secure, and if not, using a VPN on it will probably not offer you much if any protection if your home network is compromised. VPNs are really ideal for traveling, when most connections available are public wifi, and those networks could easily be compromised.

Look in your router's wifi settings, are you using WPA3, or at least WPA2-AES? If it says WEP or just WPA, you're vulnerable, and you should secure your home network better (by changing settings, and if WPA 2 or 3 are not available, upgrading your home router).
Click to expand...

To add to this, people think using a VPN is cloaking their browsing traffic, and it is - from your internet service provider. And webpages only see your VPN's IP address.

However, their VPN provider is looking at all of their traffic and mining data from it, and they're paying them to do that while providing another layer of security which isn't truly needed, IMO.

While I wouldn't want to access safeguarded information (my bank account, etc) over public/free wifi, although it's secure enough if you're using good security protocols, it's a good idea to be mindful of what you're accessing and how you're accessing it. Maybe flip over to your cellular hotspot if you need to access sensitive information and the only alternative is free wifi in an airport, for example.

Keeping your computer/phone's operating system and browsing software up to date is also equally important. We use disk encryption here at home, as well...it's a nice feature of Mac OS.
 
Flyfish1 said:
Not a tech guy - but does using a VPN help with security. Should I use a VPN on my home laptop?
Click to expand...
It doesn't help with the issue mentioned here. It will encrypt your traffic between you and the VPN provider, and beyond the VPN provider, they only see the VPN provider's IP address. These days, most internet traffic is encrypted, even without a VPN. And a VPN doesn't make your home network any more secure. There's a separate thread about whether you need a VPN at home Is a VPN necessary at home? with a youtube video. Actually there are various ones on youtube about VPNs, but I can't vouch for any of them. Be cautious of anyone recommending something for you to purchase.
 
As I have quantity 3 of this router in my home , listed in the CNET article , I would NOT classify it as an Enterprise Router.

TP-LINK WIRELESS DUAL BAND GIGABIT ROUTER ARCHER C7

It was actually very common in the SOHO market and sold through Big Box stores in the US....

-gauss
 
gauss said:
As I have quantity 3 of this router in my home , listed in the CNET article , I would NOT classify it as an Enterprise Router.

TP-LINK WIRELESS DUAL BAND GIGABIT ROUTER ARCHER C7

It was actually very common in the SOHO market and sold through Big Box stores in the US....

-gauss
Click to expand...
You're right. The FBI notice did specify SOHO routers, so the CNET article mischaracterized them as enterprise routers.
 
G-Money said:
....

While I wouldn't want to access safeguarded information (my bank account, etc) over public/free wifi, although it's secure enough if you're using good security protocols, it's a good idea to be mindful of what you're accessing and how you're accessing it. Maybe flip over to your cellular hotspot if you need to access sensitive information and the only alternative is free wifi in an airport, for example.....
Click to expand...
I'm not going to do it but is it safer with passkeys than passwords?
 
gauss said:
As I have quantity 3 of this router in my home , listed in the CNET article , I would NOT classify it as an Enterprise Router.

TP-LINK WIRELESS DUAL BAND GIGABIT ROUTER ARCHER C7

It was actually very common in the SOHO market and sold through Big Box stores in the US....

-gauss
Click to expand...
Yeah, I mentioned that as well, some issues with older home routers. I have the A7 myself. Depending on which hardware version, there are more or less vulnerabilities. Also, certain settings, some mentioned, will tighten up the security a little. Or flash with DD-WRT or OpenWRT, supported on most hardware versions of that router.
 
The obvious question is why are you guys still using TP-Link routers that are 'end of life'? New replacements are fairly cheap.
 
At Walmart, they had new TPlink AC1200 Archer C54 on close out for $16. I almost bought one for backup. Note this model was introduced a few years ago and it’s only WiFi 5.
 
Al18 said:
At Walmart, they had new TPlink AC1200 Archer C54 on close out for $16. I almost bought one for backup. Note this model was introduced a few years ago and it’s only WiFi 5.
Click to expand...
For a very short term backup. It is limited to 100 Mbps on the wired ports.
 
Thanks for jogging my activity.

I updated my firmware and set my router to auto-reboot once per week.

Also checked I had previously changed the default pwds.
 
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