Home Router DNS Hijacking On the Rise

A new variant of trojan virus has emerged that exploits the fact that many users never think to change the factory default login name and password on their home wired or wireless router. This is easily overlooked by many home users because once they have their router working, it is sometimes easier to leave well enough alone. Routers are also not the friendliest of interfaces to navigate.

What this means is that you may accidentally download something that will hack into your router using the default password and change your DNS settings to point to a Rogue DNS server so that they can control where you go on the Internet. This exposes every computer on your home network to dangers such as phishing, bogus sites, and even more malware.

We released an updated version of EZDNSWatch today that mimics the techniques hackers use to gain access to your router. It will let you know whether or not it was able to hack into your router and advise you what needs to be done to correct any problems it finds. It will not do any damage to your router and does not change anything, but it will alert you if you are vulnerable.