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Submitted by: William Piker

You may think that your home computer internet network is as safe as a bug in a rug . After all your Linksys or D-Link brand or another popular brand offers state of the art security features. Perhaps you have the standard WEP 64, or the safe as the banks WEP 128 encryption format. Perhaps you have even gone one step further to the ultra newer safe WPA router data security formats or even to greater security heights.

Your computer network is ultra secure. Or so you think and have beer reassured. Perhaps you have even had a computer security professional do the setup and maintenance,

And yet your personal data or banking information may be stolen. Your children may be directed to bad internet sites or worse. Your windows security updates may be compromised leaving your computer and network open to wide and wider scale attacks on your computer. Your confidential passwords whether they are for email, medical, airline or even banking may be compromised or stolen. Finally your computer may be utilized as a zombie in large scale denial of service attacks on the internet. Your computer and many thousands of other may be set, waiting patiently for long periods of time, to be activated as a sleeper agent. Which along with many thousand of other remote computers are set on secret activation to altogether overwhelm some target whether it be government computers, the CNN online news network or whatever?

How are all of these threats possible? Computer security is always a case of cat and mouse with human ingenuity always at the root of the game. The hackers do this.

The computer security network react to fix the security hole it issue whether it be Microsoft, Apple Computer or the Computer Hardware of Computer Hardware accessories manufacturers . And then the computer hackers think of an alternate means of attack.

In this case, even though it apparently seems that even though your wireless or simple cabled non wireless computer network has another gaping security hole. Home routers are at risk of being compromised by remote hackers. As a result of innocently or inadvertently visiting web pages malicious standard java script type software can access the controls of your home router and reset the controls inside the router to cause you big trouble.

Your router can be set to visit certain sites instead of where you wish to go. This may be simply to redirect you to sites containing advertising of the villain s daily choice. You may be taken inadvertently to websites which in a flash download further viscous and mean software, on a regular basis. Or even worse you may be taken to fake sites which are not what they represent. For example you may well type in the bank of America http://bankofamerica.com website. You may even have searched the name by Google. You will think you are being directed to this banking website where you enter your account name and password only to discover you cannot access your account because you are a bogus copy of the front page of that website whose purpose is to steal your banking account and passwords.

The answer to this security problem is simple. Simply change the administration password in your router from the default out of the box, out of the manual and factory to anything else.

As a result the malicious java script will not be able to unlock and enter your router and do its damage. The simple answer to these router security issues and securing your router firmly is to easily and simply change the administration password on your router whether it is wireless or a wired router. Now your home computer network and router will be safe from this threat.

About the Author: Max A. Rubin

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