Wi Fi RouterAdmin Password Security

Hackers have been hacking wireless networks for a long time, but they don't even need to hack your wireless if you never changed your wireless router's admin password from it's default value.

If you never changed the admin password on your router after you set it up the first time, then you all the hacker needs to do is look up the default password and log in. There are lists on the internet that provide hackers with the default admin passwords for most commercially available routers on the market today. Just Google: "Default Router Password List" and you'll find several sites that provide the default passwords for just about every major brand of wireless router available.

Other sources of default admin passwords include downloadable PDF manuals available in the support section of most router manufacturer websites.

If you're like many people, when you first setup your router you plugged it in, followed a couple of steps on a quick setup card, and everything just started working. You may have not gone back to change the admin password after you used it to setup the router.

Here are the general steps you will need to follow in order to change and/or reset the password on your wireless router:

If you have completely lost the password that you set and need to set the router back to it's factory default password, perform the following steps:

Below are general instructions only. Directions vary by make and model of router. Please consult your router's operating manual before performing any kind of reset procedure, and always follow proper safety precautions indicated in your router's documentation.

PLEASE NOTE: The first step in this process will wipe out all of your router's configuration settings and set them back to their out-of-the-box factory defaults. You will have to change all your routers settings such as your wireless network SSID, password, encryption settings, etc, after performing this step.

1. Press and hold the reset button on the back of your wireless router

You will probably have to hold the reset button from 10 to 30 seconds depending on your brand of router. If you hold it for too short a time it will simply reset the router but won't revert back to its factory default settings. On some routers you may have to use a pin or thumbtack to press the button if it is recessed inside the router.

2. Connect a computer to one of your router's Ethernet ports (but not the one that says WAN)

Most router's have a web browser-accessible administrator page that you must log in to in order to access the router's configuration settings. Some routers disable administration via wireless, so you will need to ensure that you are connected to the router via an Ethernet cable before attempting to access the router's configuration page.

3. In the browser address bar, enter the IP address of your router's administration interface

Most routers have what is called a non-routable internal IP address such as 192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1. This is an internal address that cannot be accessed from the internet.

Here are the standard admin interface addresses used by some of the more popular wireless router manufactures. You may have to consult your specific router's manual for the correct address. The following list is some of the default IP addresses based on my research and may not be accurate for your specific make or model:

Linksys - 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1
DLink - 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1
Apple - 10.0.1.1
ASUS - 192.168.1.1
Buffalo - 192.168.11.1
Netgear - 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.0.227

4. Enter the default administrator login name (usually "admin") followed by the default administrator password.

You can locate the the default admin name and password for your specific router by checking the manufacturer's website or by Googling "Default Admin Password" followed by your router's brand name and model.

5. Click on the "Admin" page from your router's configuration page and create a strong password

Be sure you enter a strong complex password for your router's admin password. If you ever loose this password you will have to repeat the steps above.

If you didn't lose you router password but just don't know how to change it, you can skip steps 1 and 2 and enter the admin user name and password that you have into step 4. This will allow you to change your wireless router's password without wiping out all your other router's settings.

IP Network Configuration

PROBLEMS CONFIGURING ROUTER:

Configuring IP routers is extremely complicated

Diversity of network equipment

Large number of configuration options

Interaction of configuration parameters across multiple routers

Rapid changes to network

Limited configuration tools

Severe consequences of error by manual configuration of individual routers

Router

It consists of a route processor, a switching fabric, a collection of interfaces.

Route processor construct forwarding table based on information of intradomain and interdomain routing protocol.

Route processor is identified by loopback IP addresses

Router name, {loopback IP address}, location, {interface}, {global setting}

INTERFACES:

Position in the router(indicated by interface name).

Each interface has a primary IP address and may have one or more secondary IP addresses; each IP address is associated with a particular prefix.

12.34.56.77 in prefix 12.34.56.76/30

Could associate with static routes , filters.

Router, interface name, {(IP address, IP prefix)}, capacity, queuing strategy, status (up/down),{access list}, {static route},OSPF weight

ROUTING PROTOCOLS:

STATIC ROUTE:

Provides a simple way to associate destination prefixes with edge interfaces.

The router knows to direct packets destined to some prefix to the appropriate next-hop interface.

Doesn’t ensure that the rest of the network knows how to reach this destination prefix.

Advertise static route via OSPF or iBGP.

administrative weight

BGP:

Distance Vector Protocol.

BGP advertisements are exchanged over a BGP session between routers.

iBGP[Pair of routers in the same AS can communicate].

But iBGP intoduces overhead in large backbone network.

OSPF:

Link state protocol.

OSPF routers exchange weight information and compute shortest path

Use flooding to propagate link-state update.

Length of path is defined as sum of weight

Extension for scalability:

Routing hierarchy(OSPF areas)

Each link belongs to SAME OSPF area

OSPF weight in interface section.

OSPF area in router section.

PACKET AND ROUTE FILTERS:

Packet filters

firewall

detect spoofed source IP address.

Route filter

Custom-Provider

avoids problem caused by misconfigured BGP policies in downstream routers.

Access list

IP prefix, permit/deny, {( interface, packet/route, in/out)}

ROUTER CONFIGURATION FILES:

Cisco’s Internet Operating System(ISO) serves as a standard for router configuration.

Language with hundreds of different commands.

Sections for interfaces, routing protocols, filters, etc.

DEPENDENCIES WITHIN A FILE:

Domain-Independent

Referencing undefined items:

Undefined access-list, route-map, …

Similar to compile error: undefined variable

Unused items:

Similar to compile warning: unused variable

DOMAIN-DEPENDENT VIOLATIONS:

Inconsistent definitions

Router level Significance (will not cause inconsistency)

Similar to local variable

For example: access-list

Network wide Significance (problematic)

Similar to External variable or function

A backbone link with interfaces on two routers: two routers should agree on the selection of an OSPF area.

TOOL TO IDENTIFY ERRORS:

Perl script that parses configuration files in Cisco IOS formation.

Populates the network model and detects possible configuration errors for AT&T Common IP Backbone.

Perl Tool:

read configuration files of all routers

read keywords for global settings and section names

forall routers

{

identify section boundaries

parse global variables

check global variables

}

foreach section in (controllers, access lists, interfaces, other filter sections, static routes, OSPF, BGP)

{

read section keywords

read customization input files

forall routers

parse section and check keywords, network model violations

forall routers

perform error checks

}

Error Types:

router1: GLOBAL ERROR: missing parameter BGP-COMMUNITY

router2: GLOBAL ERROR: incorrect parameter CEF value: ip cef

router3: ACL WARNING: default acl 6 missing

router4: ACL WARNING: default acl 7 differs from specification: deny 172.0.0.0/8

router5: CONTROLLER ERROR: missing clock sync for interface Serial2/1/0:2

router6: OSPF ERROR: ospf network 10.127.6.132/30 should either be in area 14 or 3

router7: OSPF ERROR: network: 10.126.212.0 0.0.0.3 area 2 with only one IP address 10.126.212.2

router8: OSPF ERROR: network: 10.126.12.172 0.0.0.3 area 3 with no IP address

router9: BGP ERROR: cannot resolve IP: 10.11.12.56 from ...BGP statement...