Router Encryption

artha

Currently have a Belkin G+ cable router which is on the blink(keeps losing connection). This uses WPA encryption. One PC which is used solely for financial activities(banking, purchases etc) is connected (wired)to the router. Two other laptops which are used for general browsing access the router wirelessly.

I have access to a brand new unused Netgear router(ex Virgin) which I was thinking of replacing the Belkin with rather than go out and buy a new router. I note however that the encryption is WEP which I gather is not that good.

If the weakness of WEP is exploited what can a hacker get access to? I always use very strong passwords for sensitive applications and the router

closed

Unless it's very old, it will allow wpa and probably wpa2 too

it will need to be of the same type, ie adsl or cable

the likelihood of anyone attempting to hack your router whatever encryption you have is very low, https sessions are also encrypted.

fwor

artha wrote: »

If the weakness of WEP is exploited what can a hacker get access to? I always use very strong passwords for sensitive applications and the router

In terms of monitoring your traffic on the internet, you don't have much to fear provided that all of your sensitive traffic (e.g. online banking) is protected by SSL (i.e. the site address start https://), because this includes an extra layer of encryption that is near impossible to crack in a realistic timeframe.

However, they may be able to monitor unencrypted traffic between devices on your home network. Whether this is a risk depends on what data you exchange across your home network.

They may also be able to "probe" your home PCs for vulnerabilities via their network interfaces. If all of your equipment is well patched and up to date this probably does not represent much of a risk.

I'd agree with what closed says about attempts to hack your router. I (accidentally, obviously) left my router's management interface enabled on the WAN side (i.e. open to anyone on the internet) for several months with maker's default username and password, and nobody messed with it.

esuhl

fwor wrote: »

I (accidentally, obviously) left my router's management interface enabled on the WAN side (i.e. open to anyone on the internet) for several months with maker's default username and password, and nobody messed with it.

:eek:

My god - that's awful! Did the manufacturer set it that way by default?! If so, they should be shot.

When my delightful Netgear DG384 is swamped by a very strong nearby wireless signal it crashes and reverts to its default settings... which are to enable the wireless access point with no security and the default username/password for accessing the router's web server interface. Nice, eh?

Anyway, just thought I'd mention that WEP is trivially easy to crack - you can gain access to a WEP network without knowing the password within minutes.

artha

closed wrote: »

Unless it's very old, it will allow wpa and probably wpa2 too

it will need to be of the same type, ie adsl or cable

the likelihood of anyone attempting to hack your router whatever encryption you have is very low, https sessions are also encrypted.

The router is a Netgear WGR614 v9 that is about 3-4 years old and was the standard router supplied by Virgin at that time. It was a replacement sent to my daughter to solve a connection problem at her house but in the end not needed so has remained unopened and sat in my garage. I was searching on Amazon for a new cable router when I noticed this router (an 802.11g) is still available and in the technical details it said that encryption was 64/128 bit WEP. Not understanding much about encryption I did a search and all articles seem to imply thatWEP is a waste of time.
Following the suggestion that it should support WPA and better I did a search and found more info that confirms this. I don't have an installation CD but I guess that I can do it manually by replicating the settings that my Belkin is using

closed

Are you on virgin cable?

If so, yes you can login to the router interface in a web browser and set it up, there's no need for software installations on any router.

Whether it cures the problem is a different matter.

artha

closed wrote: »

Are you on virgin cable?

If so, yes you can login to the router interface in a web browser and set it up, there's no need for software installations on any router.

Whether it cures the problem is a different matter.

Yes I'm on Virgin Cable. Going in to the router interface is what I planned to do after finding an instruction manual online which covers manual set up. I plan to go into the Belkin in the same way to extract the information I need to do this.

Whether it solves my original problem of increasingly needing to regularly reboot the Belkin to get wireless internet connection remains to be seen. Hence wanting to try something for nothing with a new router before spending any money