1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:08,080 Speaker 1: The FBI says, reboot your router. I'm Rich dmiro. This 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: is rich on Tech Daily. Well, this is an odd headline. 3 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: The FBI is urging folks to reboot their Wi Fi 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: routers to avoid running some malware that can steal your 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,159 Speaker 1: website user names and passwords. This one's kind of a 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,680 Speaker 1: head scratcher, but I put it under the file of 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: you might as well do it. And it's a good 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: time to kind of check up on your router in general, 9 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: because lots of us buy these things and then we 10 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 1: never think about them again, and really we are avoiding 11 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: all of the firmware updates that probably need to be 12 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: done on these things every once in a while. But 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: before we get to that, let's go to the beginning. 14 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: What is your router? Well, your router is that device 15 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: that sits near your computer or TV and it has 16 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: the connection from the cable company or your phone company 17 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: into it, and then it serves up your Internet to 18 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: the rest of your house. The FBI says that this 19 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: VPN filter pro can steal your login information and send 20 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: it to the bad guys, or worse, completely disable your router, 21 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,479 Speaker 1: which means you'd have no more Internet signal. In your 22 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: home until you get a replacement device. Normally I would 23 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: not be as concerned about something like this, but this 24 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: malware really affects some big name brands of routers, Lots 25 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,640 Speaker 1: of routers that people have, including Linxis, neck Gear, and 26 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,399 Speaker 1: also tp link. Those are among some of those popular brands. 27 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 1: There are some other brands affected as well, including microtich 28 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: and q NAP, which are network attached storage devices. But 29 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: if you have one of those, you probably know what 30 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:35,400 Speaker 1: you're doing when it comes to the tech department. Just 31 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: looking at some of the pictures of these routers, you 32 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: will recognize them. They are some of the most popular 33 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,240 Speaker 1: routers out there. Some of them are pretty inexpensive, which 34 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: means a lot of people purchase them. I've personally owned 35 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: several of these routers over the years. They go from 36 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: the low end to the high end. Now, if you 37 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: want the full list of affected model numbers, you can 38 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: find that on my website rich on tech dot tv. 39 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 1: But they have model names like Lynxis E twelve hundred, 40 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: Netgear R six four hundred, Neckgear WNR one thousand. Again, 41 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: these are all pretty popular routers, tp Link R six 42 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: hundred VPN. So what do you do. If you have 43 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: one of these routers, well, the first thing you want 44 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: to do is follow the cord from the back of 45 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: the device all the way to the power outlet and 46 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: unplug it. Then wait about thirty seconds for it to 47 00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: fully power down. Then you can plug it back in. 48 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: The Justice Department says this simple step can help you 49 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: avoid a portion of the threat, and I'd recommend doing 50 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: this no matter which router you have, even if it's 51 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,799 Speaker 1: not specifically listed above. This is a pretty easy thing 52 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: to do and will only interrupt your Wi Fi connection 53 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: at home for about five to ten minutes while everything 54 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 1: boots up again. Now, after this, there are two more, 55 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: much more involved steps to take if your router model 56 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: is specifically mentioned on the list. This includes a factory reset, 57 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: a firmware update, and also changing the default password on 58 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: the device. Now, the factory reset is probably the minimum 59 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:58,240 Speaker 1: thing you want to do if you suspect that your 60 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,800 Speaker 1: router is a part of this problem. This involves basically 61 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: bringing the router back to the way it was from 62 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,800 Speaker 1: the factory. And this involves a little tiny reset hole 63 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: or button you'd probably never noticed on the back of 64 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: the router until now. You basically put a paper clip 65 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: in there and push down the button for several seconds 66 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: until the router starts to blink a bunch, and that 67 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: will signal that you have successfully factory reset it, and 68 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: then it will take a while to boot back up. Now, 69 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: if you do this, keep in mind this literally puts 70 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: your router back to new So imagine taking it out 71 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: of the box. You will have to set up your 72 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,839 Speaker 1: entire router again from scratch. You're gonna have to create 73 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: a new Wi Fi network and password, and then of 74 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: course reconnect all your devices. Now you can use the 75 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: same network name and password that you had previously set up, 76 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,119 Speaker 1: and then your devices will find the new router all 77 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: by themselves. But this is a less secure option, so 78 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: proceed at your own risk with that one. Now, after 79 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: you do the factory reset, this is the most important thing. 80 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: You want to set a new login password for your router. 81 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: A lot of time these routers have the same exact 82 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: login and password. It's usually admin and password. That is 83 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: not secure because if you're a hacker, you can literally 84 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: get into all these people's devices across the nation just 85 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: by using the default username and password. Not smart. Now, 86 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: some of the newer routers have more unique passwords that 87 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: are set from the factory, and those are printed on 88 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: the bottom of them, but still it's not as good 89 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 1: as something that you set on the device yourself. The 90 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: other thing you should do, and you should probably do 91 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 1: this once in a while anyway, is make sure the 92 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: firmware on your router is up to date. This is 93 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: really kind of the operating system on the router. Think 94 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: of this as updating the software on your iPhone or 95 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: your Android device. This is kind of involved because you 96 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: have to log into your router from your computer using 97 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 1: a special web address, which is usually something like one 98 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: nine to two dot one six ' one dot one 99 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: dot one or my router admin dot net or something 100 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:55,719 Speaker 1: weird like that, which most people just don't bother with. 101 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: But the good news is most of the newer routers 102 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 1: have a button once you you get to that web 103 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: in or face where you can just say check for 104 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: new firmware and then you can install it. So that's 105 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: the good news here, But that is a little more complicated. 106 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: You probably want to enlist the help of someone that 107 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: knows what they're doing. Keep in mind if you have 108 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: one of these newer mess style router systems like those 109 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: from euro Google Wi Fi or Neckgear orby This is 110 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: why I love these things. These things are so easy 111 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: to update. You can update the firmware right from your 112 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: phone's app, and it's much easier than going in and 113 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: having to do any of this stuff from some sort 114 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,760 Speaker 1: of control panel using your web browser. And if you 115 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: get one of these newer mess style router systems, you're 116 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:37,679 Speaker 1: gonna get way better Wi Fi coverage throughout your house 117 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 1: and much better security overall. Hopefully this helped out when 118 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,560 Speaker 1: it comes to the FBI telling you to reboot your router. 119 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: You can find my full write up on the website. 120 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: Just go to richon tech dot tv if you want 121 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: to see a list of all the routers that are 122 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: affected and the step by step instructions on how to 123 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,039 Speaker 1: fix things. Thanks so much for listening. If you could, 124 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: if you like what I'm doing here, leave a review 125 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts that would be the best. I'm Rich Tomiro. 126 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: I will talk to you real soon. M